Natasha Baldin/B次元官网网址 Staff
Seven months ago, Yana Hempler, 33, was so sick she could hardly sleep, eat, walk or sit up for long periods of time.
Her strange combination of symptoms puzzled doctors and left her bedridden, forcing her to take three months off work and four months off from her biggest passion B次元官网网址� running.
B次元官网网址淚 wasnB次元官网网址檛 sure if I was ever going to get better, and my mental health as a result of that took a beating,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 wasnB次元官网网址檛 sure if was ever going to return to what I wanted to do, which was to run.B次元官网网址�
In late December, she started noticing she could stand for longer periods of time and has since been working to build her endurance back up.
Starting on July 3, she will be running 10 marathons in 10 days on Greater VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Lochside Trail between Tillicum Road and Saanich Road as part of an effort to raise $1 million for the Victoria Hospitals Foundation.
The Saanich resident is no stranger to leading marathon campaigns for a good cause. She completed her first 10 marathons in 10 days in 2020 and raised roughly $21,000 for the foundation. Then, during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, she ran 30 marathons in 30 days and raised another $90,000.
But she said this time is different. In addition to raising money for a good cause, she said she has B次元官网网址渇ar more of an appreciation of life and for runningB次元官网网址� following her illness and hopes she can inspire others recovering from illnesses or injuries.
B次元官网网址淎 lot of people go back to this comparison game where they compare their past abilities to their current abilities, and you have to be kind to yourself and start back up slowly. ItB次元官网网址檚 going to take some time,B次元官网网址� she said.
While recovering from her illness might make this her toughest campaign yet, she is encouraging others to join her in her runs to inspire her to persevere.
B次元官网网址淚 havenB次元官网网址檛 done it for so long and IB次元官网网址檓 just getting back into it, so IB次元官网网址檓 going to be a lot slower than IB次元官网网址檓 used to running a marathon in, I will probably be more tired and IB次元官网网址檒l probably need to take more walk breaks than I normally would,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址淗opefully there will be other people who join me to come and run with me so that I can get distracted from the actual tiredness of the running.B次元官网网址�
Those looking to support Hempler in getting across the finish line . She will also be donating a portion of sales from her clothing line, Dream Nation Apparel.
B次元官网网址淭imes have been tough for everybody with the cost of everything going up, but I hope that people will find it in their heart to donate to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation because they do so much work here,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭hey really help a lot of people and they save a lot of lives, so any donation is greatly appreciated.B次元官网网址�
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