Athabasca’s Jonathan LeMessurier will bike 130 kilometres from St. Albert to Athabasca to raise money to combat breast cancer on July 20.
LeMessurier has always been fast — a gifted athlete who recently graduated from the personal fitness trainer program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) and started his own company, Baseline Training.
But this year, the 21-year-old was reminded that there are some things you can’t outrun.
When his girlfriend’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in February and began chemotherapy, LeMessurier was overcome with dread.
“It was definitely one of the hardest things I’ve had to hear. I know people always think the worst right off the bat, and I think that’s what’s so scary,” he said. “But you’ve got to try to stay strong and think the best.”
LeMessurier has good reason to hope: his grandmother, Eileen Chamberlain, just celebrated her 10th anniversary of being breast cancer free.
“Those two women are the main reason I’m doing the bike (ride),” said LeMessurier.
Chamberlain said that, after her mastectomy a decade ago, her doctors told her they did not recommend chemotherapy or radiation treatments.
“I thought, ‘Oh my gosh; shouldn’t I be on that?’” she recalled. “And they said, ‘But we would like you take a hormone pill.’ I said, ‘I can do that.’” She was relieved at the less taxing — and ultimately successful — treatment option.
LeMessurier said of his grandmother, “I’d always played sports growing up, and she’d always come and supported me. She’d come into the city for my soccer games. I guess this is just a way for me to show my support, because she’s always been there for me.”
Because the route he often traveled for sports games — and that his grandmother took to watch him — was Highway 2 into Edmonton, LeMessurier chose the road for his fundraiser.
“I wanted to do Highway 2 to Athabasca because that’s my hometown. I think it’ll be pretty neat to have my Grandma there to meet me.”
He will leave St. Albert at 8 a.m. and estimates the ride will take him seven hours, meaning he’ll arrive at the Athabasca riverfront between 3 and 4 p.m., where people are welcome to greet him.
It’s an ambitious goal: despite being fit, LeMessurier says he has not ridden a bike in a couple of years.
“For me, the toughest thing is training, because I’ve always been a runner. My parents lent me their exercise bike, so I’ve been training pretty hard on that lately.”
Said Chamberlain, “It takes me about an hour and a half to get to the top of the St. Albert hill, so he’ll be riding a lot more than that.”
LeMessurier started training on June 20 and says come July 20, ready or not, “The only thing holding me back would be lightning.”
His mother will follow him in a vehicle to ensure his safety.
LeMessurier’s goal is to raise more than $1,000. He has already raised more than $200.
LeMessurier can be reached at 587-337-1448 for anyone wishing to donate. His father, Brian, is also accepting donations at the Aspen View Public Schools Division office in Athabasca. Cheques can be made out to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
“You just have faith, and they’ll find a cure for all kinds of cancer,” said Chamberlain.
