Kris Swanson traditionally arrives a few days before the Emperor’s Challenge, and stays with Linda and me. In 2015 I was there when he arrived and got out of his car in front of our home.
I couldn’t believe what I saw – he was hobbling and limping, moving slowly, nursing his arm. He told me that a week earlier he had come off his motorbike, broken his collarbone, sustained a major 10 cm long laceration on the top of his foot, and suffered numerous abrasions. He added that he had decided he wouldn’t miss the Emperors Challenge for anything, that winning wasn’t important, and if he had to be at the back of the pack with the walkers, that would be fine, as long as he was able to collect his finisher’s medal. He showed me his X-Ray, which confirmed a severely displaced fracture of his collar bone.
The day before the race he tried to go for a jog, and came back in agony. I thought we could rig up a uniquely special sling for him, so that he would have three different angles to choose from, at which to hold his arm. He came into the Emergency Room late Friday afternoon before the race to have this sling fitted. I came and chatted to him, and that is when he asked me what I thought the chances were of him running and going for gold.
It is well known that runners should not seek advice from physicians who are not runners themselves. Non-runner physicians simply don’t understand the running mindset, and sometimes may give non-helpful, inappropriate or even harmful advice. But this question took me into a whole different league, about what was right and proper advice. It also took me back to eight years earlier in Regina, when I was due to compete in the Canadian Masters 800 metre event, a week after I had broken my rib after a silly fall at Windfall Lake. I felt I could hardly move, pulled out of the warm-up, and considered withdrawing. However, when the starting gun went I forgot all about my pain, and managed to win the race. The only payback had been a slightly longer recovery period.
I told Kris about this, and suggested we look at the worst-case scenarios. The foot laceration might open up, leading to a long recovery time and weeks or months away from running. The collar bone fracture might move, and conceivably there might be a need for surgery. We agreed that none of these consequences were likely to be life threatening. He asked me again if he could run.
I told him that a) he was crazy, b) he had to understand the risks he was taking, c) that I doubted any sane colleague of mine would be giving him the same advice and d) yes, he could run.
The happiest moment of my 2015 race was at about km 8, when I saw something lying beside the route. It was the special sling. Kris had obviously felt it was just an encumbrance and had tossed it aside. He won the race by three minutes, and proceeded to collapse in agony. Trent Ernst put a memorable headline into Tumbler Ridge News: “Kris Swanson breaks collarbone; wins anyway”.
Not that I needed any proof, but Kris Swanson’s actions over those few days of the 2015 Emperor’s Challenge convinced me that he was that rarest of individuals: the true champion.
Excerpt from Charles Helm’s XX: Twenty Years of the Emperor’s Challenge book, published by Ridgelines Publishing. Grab your copy today!
