 Wysłany: Nie 5:16, 15 Gru 2013 Temat postu: Vince MacDonald remembered |
|
| Vince MacDonald remembered
Vince MacDonald may have taught in schools in Port Hawkesbury and Dartmouth, but in the summers it was in his hometown of Trenton you'd find him more than likely running in the Steeltown Park or watching some sporting event nearby. The morning of the day he died he was there and ran with his cousin Buddy Murray. That night he stopped by the Scotia Park to watch a ball game but tragically passed away with a heart ailment. He was 43. "To tell you the truth, we were sort of taken by surprise that 20 years had gone by so fast," said coorganizer Jim Hiscott. "Each year is a lot of work for the organizers and volunteers, but after it is all over and we have seen the satisfaction on the faces of the runners no matter what the weather conditions, we are always glad that we continued on to have the run again." This year organizers decided to supply tshirts in honor of the anniversary and to help remember MacDonald. MacDonald ran many marathons and other distances during his career as a runner with his first marathon in May of 1978. His best marathon time was 2 hours and 54 minutes in 1981. Before his death he was training for the Roy Oliver 10 mile race. He also participated in running, softball, judo, hockey, rugby and coached various school teams. "He was very dedicated to the task at hand and worked very hard to do his best whether it be as a participant or as a coach," said Hiscott. "He was also very knowledgeable in the sports he was involved with; so much so that he was often sought after, especially us runners,[url=http://www.holisteroutlet.cc]hollister france[/url], for advice on training techniques, injury prevention and injury recovery. He was very much up on sports medicine in the early years when the term wasn't even that common. He eagerly gave advice and assistance freely whenever required." Although MacDonald was a quiet person, Hiscott said he liked to talk with people and joke and laugh with his friends. "He was the kind of guy liked by everyone and the type of person you didn't forget," he said. "It was his dedicated and competitive spirit and being renown for his toughness and perseverance while participating in running that we remember most. He always seemed to be able to pull up some additional strength no matter how tired he was to complete the race and beat some of his usual competitors." It is for that reason that the directors of the race named a special trophy for MacDonald called the 'Annual Sportsman like Tough Person Award', which is given to a person each year that exemplifies these similar qualities. This year's winner was Fred MacDonald. "Vince was a great friend to the running community and to see all the participants at his annual race is something he would have wanted them to continue to do: to keep on running." |
|
