JESSE RUBINOFF
Argonauts.ca Staff
TORONTO — On Saturday, May 14, climbers from across Southern Ontario will participate in the Climb for Cancer in support of the Juravinski Cancer Centre. The pledge-based fundraising event is held at Hamilton’s Chedoke Golf Course Escarpment Stairs.
For the past five years, Toronto Argonauts running back Bryan Crawford has been heavily involved in the organization. He credits one of his old high school friends for approaching him to be a part of such a great cause.
“One of my best friends, Brian Humphrey, came up with the concept five years ago, now. He’s in the health and wellness business and he had lost a client, a young client, to cancer and he came to my wife and I about being involved to help him organize it.”
As it turned out, Crawford didn’t need much convincing. He had felt the sting of what it’s like to lose someone to cancer in 2006, the same year Humphrey approached him with the idea for the climb.
“Everyone obviously has a close connection to cancer,” said the six-year Argos veteran.
“For me, someone who was really important to me from Queen’s University, our running back coach, Berk Brean, lost his life to cancer during my second year in the CFL.”
Since then, Crawford has felt a sense of responsibility to help those who have gone through the pain of either dealing with cancer or those who have lost a loved one to the disease. For the Hamilton native, the most appropriate way he can contribute to the healing process is to join the fight against cancer.
“I’m a born and bred Hamiltonian and it’s really important to be involved in the community because it’s home. It’s my responsibility to help because I have the resources available to do something.”
Crawford returns year after year to help organize the event, not only because he considers it a responsibility, but the success and annual growth of the climb fuels him to continue.
“It’s rewarding to have everyone come out there and be raising awareness and fundraising as well,” said Crawford.
“It’s also really neat to see people who maybe thought they wouldn’t be able to do it or were apprehensive about doing the event and then climbing more flights of stairs than they ever thought.”
The climb usually takes about an hour. The day is separated into one-hour blocks starting at 9:00 a.m. It’s reasonable to think that a CFL running back would have the record for most flights of stairs climbed in one hour, but that’s not the case!
“Usually, I aim for 10 to 12 flights in the hour, it’s quite grueling and it’s quite a challenge.”
“The best I’ve done is 14 flights in the hour. The best we’ve ever had anyone do was 19 flights and that’s pretty impressive.”
The Ron Lancaster Memorial Climb will also be taking place from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. and will be followed by a tailgate BBQ hosted by CFL Fans Fight Cancer. In addition to the Lancaster Memorial Climb, this year’s event will once again feature the Climb for Cancer Wellness Fair.
Come May 14, Crawford and many others around Southern Ontario will try to improve on their career-best stair climbing totals, all in the name of an incredibly worthy and important cause.
If you would like to make a donation to Bryan’s efforts on May 14, click here.