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Local cyclist spins his wheels for a good cause

Martin Durocher is biking as part of the Great Cycle Challenge Canada, a fundraiser for SickKids Hospital to raise money to combat childhood cancer

At first, it was an excuse to get back on the bike.

But Martin Durocher has turned it into a way to give back and help in the fight for a cause close to his family, and many others.

The Guelph cyclist is into his fourth year raising money for SickKids Hospital in Toronto, an effort through Great Cycle Challenge Canada (GCCC) to fight childhood cancer.

"When I was young, I had a cousin (Denis Génier) who was 13, who ended up being diagnosed with a brain tumour and ended up dying of cancer at that age," he told GuelphToday. "I was only five at the time, and we didn't really speak a lot about it at home.

"But it was sort of that first 'oh my god, this happens to kids too.'"

Like many, Durocher knows of others hit with the disease. From the son of a close university friend who survived a scare a few years ago, to his mother-in-law who was diagnosed and passed away in a short period of time.

Raising funds for SickKids seemed like a slam dunk, knowing through his wife Lisa — a registered nurse who used to work there — the work they do with children and their families on a daily basis.

The GCCC began in 2016 and has raised over $30 million, all to support research and development of treatments for childhood cancer.

This year's event officially begins in August, but Durocher has been collecting money since at least February.

Photos on his GCCC page include the results of bottle drives that garnered him almost $1,000.

There's also the multiple posts of rides he's taken in Guelph.

He's teamed up with a couple of his family members this year, with the goal of raising $3,500. The team has already collected over $2,600.

Durocher is also looking to pedal 500 kilometres through August.

"Five hundred (kilometres), I feel, pushes me to really get out there and ride," he said. "It's not an easy goal to achieve, and I didn't want it to be an easy goal because my thought is what these kids are going through isn't easy. 

"If I'm expecting people to donate, then I'm going to put in the effort to do that as well."

Donations can be made on a year-round basis on Durocher's page.


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Mark Pare

About the Author: Mark Pare

Originally from Timmins, ON, Mark is a longtime journalist and broadcaster, who has worked in several Ontario markets.
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