WINNIPEG -Cole Choken used to be able to polish off four pizzas and a box of chicken in one evening. But after shedding 100 pounds and training for months, the 21-year-old completed a marathon across the prairies Saturday, raising money for diabetes research.
"I never thought I could do it. But you put your mind to it, you can do anything you want," said Choken, who ran 1,300 kilometres from Calgary, where he started Aug. 1.
Choken was greeted with hugs and cheers as he ended the run at the front steps of the Manitoba legislature with aching knees and blisters on his feet.
The former fat kid says he found the strength to finish the run from his family, friends and fellow runners who would occasionally join him on the Trans-Canada Highway. He also found inspiration from movies.
"To get myself psyched up, especially Rocky, I love Rocky."
After watching his grandfather succumb to diabetes, Choken started to worry he might meet the same fate. He surprised his younger sister by saying he was going to jog a few blocks to his old high school. Halfway through the run, he vomited. But he made it back home that day and continued training.
Choken liked eating so much, he'd have pizza delivered to his bedroom window as he watched movies late into the night, a habit that caused him to balloon to 320 pounds by the age of 19.
He'd barely crossed into Winnipeg's city limits Saturday and was already talking about running across Canada, or maybe even from Mexico to Winnipeg to raise more money for the Canadian Diabetes Association.
"I can't believe it's done already. I just want to do another one," he said. "It really affected me a lot."
Roughly two million Canadians suffer from diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle, is especially prevalent on reserves such as Dog Creek, the reserve 100 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg where many of Choken's relatives still live.
"You have to keep going to the gym, taking care of yourself. You have to keep fighting," he said.
Brenda Choken says she would repeatedly find mounds of pizza boxes under Cole's bed following his late-night movie parties. She even resorted to making a bed on her living room couch so she could stop delivery people from dropping off fatty foods.
"I was thinking in my head of putting a chain around the fridge, that's where it got to."
His mother joined Choken on his five-week journey across the prairies and admits it got lonely at times. Cole's countless blisters and sore knees were also hard on her.
"It gets hard as a mother to see your son running and suffering through the pain," she said, adding that she's already promised to be by his side on the next journey.
