In 1983 on the 20th of August, twenty three men and one woman entered the water in Penticton, starting what was to become an official qualifying venue for the Ironman world Championships. The race, then known as the Ultra Triathlon, consisted of a grueling 3.86 km open water swim, 180 km of hilly cycling, topped off by a regulation length marathon, 42.2 km. The race was typically held in August where temperatures have reached as high as 37 degrees Celsius, 104 Fahrenheit making it one of the most challenging and physically demanding single-day sporting events in the world.

On a late August day in 1996, after 16 hours, 34 minutes and 17 seconds Wally Hild crossed the finish line and was declared an official finisher of the 1996 Ironman Canada. There is no such thing as a “regular” participant in this iconic event, as each individual carries within them a story of enormous perseverance, even to arrive at the the start: 7:00 am, when the cannon booms and the hoard of thousands pour off the beach and into the frigid water to swim the first long mile.

For Wally, one of the last athletes to enter the water, the hardest part of his race had already been run, the next 225 kilometers were only a matter of staying within the official time parameters and not getting injured, otherwise through the previous two years leading up to now, Wally had already paid his price. He was now simply out for his Victory run, albeit a lengthy one. What makes this story so amazing is that only two and a half years earlier Wally Hild was dying. Diagnosed with advanced Hodgkin’s disease, a lymphatic cancer, through a battery of tests it was determined that Wally was at stage 3b, which was just shy of the final, critical stage 4. His prognosis was dismal, but through an eight month sentence of aggressive, body altering chemotherapy and a relentless dream to one day become an Ironman finisher, he miraculously made it through his treatments, planned and trained for eleven months and now here he was, a receiver of the one of the most sought after Athletic medals in the world.

A great and wonderful story of determination, perseverance and personal victory which inspired him to write a book about it. The book, entitled “From Hodgkin’s to Ironman“, is short with only 117 pages, straight to the point but documents Wally’s journey as he trains through the cold and snowy Okanagan winter, breaking through barriers, learning to swim and attempting to balance family and work, with a full time training schedule that would challenge even the most experienced athletes,

Today, I got out of bed after another late night and decided I had a choice to make. I could either get swept up in the global narrative that has frozen our world in a state of fear, or I could begin my own journey. The alarm went off this morning at 5:30 and I was at the Gym by 6:10. Empty, because of social distancing, there were three of us there. I spent 30 minutes on the dry land rower, then I cautiously began my core exercises with a few sets of each: Romanian Deadlift with a single 25 lb weight, Half kneeling overhead. Towel lift, Side to side with a red band, Squat with knee band, Ladder pushups.

What am I training for? I’m not even sure yet, but I do know this: If I continue to let the world tell me where and when I can go outside, how I need to behave and how I need to address my fellow human beings, then, despite what the masses state, I am not part of the solution, I am a cog in the wheel of an agenda that has prewritten my future, and that of my children.

So, I have decided to just start moving. And perhaps not in the same direction as everyone else, but don’t get me wrong; I have spent the greater part of my life in consideration of other people; I teach my kids to always be mindful of others, to hold doors open, to say their please and thank you’s, to address fellow men and women with a firm handshake and engage with the eyes, and although, these are important habits to learn and to practice, where has it gotten us? The world has now told us the opposite is true, and although I see the reasoning, it is in my opinion that to entrench the current protocols as normal or, New Normal, is a very slippery slope for the collective human race. Therefore, I practice them, but reluctantly, and so should we all. The indoctrination that is quietly taking place, specifically in the minds of our children may well be irreversible.

The virus is real. There is no doubt. The enormity of this foe, although formidable in it’s ability to cause severe illness in some, is sizeable. But it is not so big that our only defense against it is to run and hide and, since when are we a race that has fled from it’s enemy? Unless, of course, you were a Neanderthal fleeing from a mammoths wrath!

On D day, June 6 1941, we as a collective human race fought a deadly enemy head on, and we ridded the world of an infection that was determined to encapsulate all of mankind within it’s deadly grasp and ensnare us as prisoners of a ruthless and biased regime, forever. Did we run and hide? There were some that wanted to negotiate with it, but there were others who knew the enemy’s terms were non negotiable. The enemy would come at us relentlessly until it had accomplished what it had set out to do. To destroy our freedom, our constitutions and our livelihoods.

With brave and unconventional leadership, we attacked our enemy head on. We sacrificed millions of lives, not so that we could protect the conveniences that we had grown to enjoy, but so we could secure the freedoms of a generation that only existed in the potential of our children. We thought selflessly and fought with the power of a future generation that we did not even know yet. We did not send the elderly, the vulnerable and our children to war. We protected them. We kept them safe while the young, the robust and those that were strong were sent to prepare, to condition and then to fight with a collective determination that could not, and would not be stopped.

I am no spring chicken. I am 57 years old and I have developed a few kinks along my road, but I am strong, determined, constitute and somewhat stubborn. Although I hold a British passport, I consider my self a citizen of the free world which has given me so much to be grateful for. My obligation is not to face an enemy by protecting myself from harm, but by putting myself in harms way and fighting it head on. It’s an instinctive trait that should be ingrained in the DNA of anyone who lives among the free world.

But do I deny the protocols that have been put in place to keep us “safe”? No, but protocols such as masks, social distancing and chronic hand sanitizing should be regarded, as Governments are, they are necessary evils that should be tolerated and not embraced. I think masks should be worn in certain places and in limited doses, but then removed and thrown to waste as soon as it is not required. They should not be worn daintily home from school as if it were a fashion piece or in your car, or anywhere outside where the air is fresh and the wind vents away the microbes and the germs.

On this remembrance day, I look back at all of my hero’s; those who sacrificed their own livelihoods, some for lesser and more personal causes; others who’s powerful sacrifices have echoed through the generations and I wonder; if they awoke today, what would they see? Would they smile at the sight of a world that has taken the torch and made it a healthier and freer place to live, or would they frown; confused by a society who appears to be cowering under cover?

I crossed paths with Wally Hild once; only a quick email exchange as I reached out to him for advice on how to help someone who was going through a similar illness, and there is no doubt, he is a selfless man. He seemed legitimately concerned for this person who he had no personal connection with, and he gave advice as if it were for someone close to him. On page 3 of his book, reads a dedication to his family:

Together, we journeyed down into the darkness and uncertainty of the valley of the shadow of death… then hand-in-hand, we climbed into the brilliant sunshine to the top of the mountain on the other side. Our love was, and will always be the rock which will take us through the rest of the days of our lives.

Here’s a man who faced his enemy head on, and although his prognosis was bleak, he lit the torch of a fledgling dream and let it’s fire burn its way to a very bright and triumphant future, and along the way he made the lives of others better.

At 57, although I am relatively fit, my body aches after a week of exercising muscles that I haven’t used in a while. I am focusing on routines that will help build a stronger core so I can cycle further, and row harder without fear of injury. I am filling myself with life giving food and supplements, and I don’t know why or what is in store for us, but I do know this; as Herb Brooks said, coach of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team who miraculously rose from the ashes of constant defeat to claim the Gold medal in the Lake Placid Olympics: The way to beat the Soviets, is not by exploiting the talents of individual stars, but by building a team that can beat the Russians at their own game.

The Allies pushed the enemy back by battling them on their own turf. Team USA prevailed over the formidable Russians by beating them at their own game and with cautious resolve, I step forward into the future, pulling with me the memory of great sacrifices and carrying the torch of countless hero’s, as I light the way for a generation of children, my children, who have been bound by the prevailing winds of an unseen foe.

Wally Hild eventually lost his battle to cancer, two decades after his initial diagnosis. He was and always will be an inspiring hero of mine. He did not succumb to his initial death sentence, but bravely fought through to the brilliant sunshine, on top of the mountain on the other side. As I will also..

And this is my Oath to you, Wally Hild. And to the many brave men and women, who fought long before our generation; a generation who will only know you by the dashes between dates, on the worn and crumbling gravestones that overlook our free and cherished land.

I will always choose to remember…