Langley Nicholas Marshall has spent this week hiking and climbing on the Coquihalla Summit to help children with cancer.
With a 30-pound pack strapped to his back, he tackled some “spectacular” and some “little less desirable” terrain during an estimated 23 hours of hiking in the B.C. mountains. He set off on Tuesday, and covered roughly 53 kilometres of trails rated as either “difficult” or “hard.”
He thought it ambitious, but believed it is “completely doable,” Marshall shared part way through his adventure.
While he didn’t cover as much terrain as he initially hoped, only tackling two of the four trails and scaling three mountain peaks on the summit, he’s back home “recovering” and said he’s glad he took it on.
“This was truly a humbling, challenging, and fun experience,” Marshall said.
“I am incredibly happy that my idea, and desire to make a change came into fruition. I can’t believe I hit, and surpassed, my target fundraiser goal in such a short amount of time. And it’s still climbing,” he noted, the page registering $1,845 Saturday morning. His goal was $1,500.
”Why am I doing this you may ask? I have decided to put myself through this rigorous journey as I have lost family and friends to cancer and have also witnessed firsthand how large of an impact this horrible disease has on those I care about,” Marshall said.
”It is crazy that cancer still exists; however, through cancer research, it is truly amazing that some forms of cancer are becoming easier to treat and recovery rates are increasing.”
He believes research and groundbreaking discoveries are made possible thanks to ongoing fundraising efforts, and he picked for his donated to go the Canadian Cancer Society through the 2020 Cops for Cancer – Tour de Valley event coming up – where 100 per cent of the funds go to the cause.
Cops for Cancer Tour de Valley is an annual event where law enforcement and emergency services personnel cycle over 800+ kilometres across the Fraser Valley and engage communities on-route in raising money for childhood cancer research and support services at the Canadian Cancer Society. This year, due to COVID, the ride has changed, reducing to 500+ km. with reduced stops.
RELATED: Langley City corrections officer rides for cancer cure
Fundraising through a GoFundMe account, Marshall thanked his 28 current donors, hoping more might still come through and give in the days to come.
.
_________________________________
Is there more to this story?
Email: news@langleyadvancetimes.com
Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter
_________________________________