Road warriors take to the streets in the fight against IBD


Gabriel Teyssedou


In his own words, Gabriel Teyssedou of Montreal felt “useless” as he watched his younger brother Nicolas battle Crohn’s disease starting at the age of fi ve. T rough his teenage years, Nicolas got progressively sicker until he was hospitalized for an entire month.


“T at’s when I realized that I needed to do something. It is hard to accept being powerless, therefore I knew that I needed to contribute in some way,” says Gabriel. He decided to get involved with CCFC.


At this point, Nicolas’ condition had deteriorated so rapidly that he needed part of his colon removed and a temporary stoma. He had to put his studies on hold for a semester to focus on his treatment. Regardless, his determination led him to pursue two classes while he was recovering at home.


“During the last 15 years, I have accompanied my brother as best I could but often felt useless on the sidelines. As time went by, I realised how Crohn’s disease was misunderstood not only in the medical community, but in society.


“Inspired by the courage and the determination of my brother, I decided to battle against Crohn’s in my own way. My battlefi eld was the road. I decided to raise funds by running a series of marathons and half-marathons in Montreal, Quebec city, Brome Lake and Ottawa.”


Gabriel is one of a virtual army of CCFC “road warriors.” In the past year, he has been joined by two other selfl ess young men who are running to raise funds and support their friends with Crohn’s disease.


Back in 2007, when he was just 16 years old, Austin Roth of London, Ontario decided he was not satisfi ed to simply run in his school’s cross-country high school meet. He wanted to create a companion event to raise money for a cause close to him as well.


EDITION 3 | 2011 The Journal 13 Zachary Valique e


He created a night-time run as a fundraiser for CCFC in honour of his good friend Ben Loyon, who battles Crohn’s disease.


“I remember seeing him on the edge, battling this condition when I was in high school and there was a chance for me to do something to help my friend,” Roth recently told T e Londoner newspaper.


“But I was 16 and not sure how I could help. I went to visit him a few times and came up with the idea of doing the night time run for him. I made the run for Crohns and colitis for my friend Ben, and for my good friend Ezzie Batura, who also has the condition,” said Roth.


Wendy Clark had been battling Crohn’s for years before she met her future husband Dave in 2000. In 2006, Wendy and Dave had their son Ryan - prompting them to get more active in the search for IBD cures. At the time, Dave was a competitive distance runner, taking part in multiple events every year. He says he stopped at one point and thought: “Why am I travelling to everyone else’s events? Why not hold our own as a yearly fundraiser right here in Whistler?”


Dave started the Whistler Half Marathon in June 2011 to raise money for CCFC and the BC Children’s Hospital, causes Wendy and Dave had been supporting through a variety of fundraisers since 2002. T e goal of 300 runners for Year One of the North Face Whistler Half Marathon was not only surpassed by nearly 600, but the event sold


out more than nine weeks ahead of race day. A total of $7,400 was raised for CCFC.


And fi nally, a recent article in the Canadian running magazine iRun features eight-year- old Zachary Valiquette of Ottawa. Zachary set out to raise at least $500 in the 2011 Heel ‘n’ Wheel-a-T on to support a close family friend who has Crohn’s disease. He collected pledges and even held a bake sale at school, raising over $1,100 for CCFC.


“My little brother even gave me $2 from his piggy bank,” says Zachary. “Crohn`s is a terrible disease and causes the people who suff er from it to experience a lot of pain and discomfort. It would be great to fi nd a cure!”


Similary, Gabriel Teyssedou set his sights low at fi rst – his objective when he fi rst reached out to CCFC was to raise $4,000. CCFC provided Gabriel with a webpage where he could direct online donations and provide more information about his running schedule, and he took full advantage.


“I solicited friends and family, but also corporations,” says Gabriel.” I even decided to sell advertisement space on my running shirt!”


Gabriel raised an astounding $10,235 for CCFC that season.


T anks to all of CCFC’s road warriors, we will reach the “cure” fi nish line that much faster!


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