Local firefighters train hard and have to pass an annual physical, but completing a five-kilometre run in full bunker gear goes way beyond those requirements.
However, when it comes to raising awareness and funds for the Canadian Cancer Society, Tuker Payment and his team are more than willing to take on the extra challenge.
On Oct. 6 Team Clearview Fire will for a ninth year don their gear and join the 10th annual CIBC Run for the Cure in The Blue Mountains and Collingwood. The local run at Blue Mountain Village is the largest in Canada, geographically speaking. Its catchment area extends to Owen Sound, Wasaga Beach, Flesherton, Creemore, Stayner, Kimberly, Meaford, Thornbury, Markdale and in between.
Each year, a team of eight to 10 Clearview firefighters do the five kilometre run in full bunker gear – the protective gear that they’d wear to fight a fire, including airpacks, heavy pants, jacket, helmets and masks. Payment says the only thing they don’t wear is the rubber boots.
The gear makes the run way more challenging – the runners sweat more and their air is restricted.
“The reason it’s so challenging is because the gear is designed to keep out heat when fighting a fire but it’s also designed to not let heat out so your body temperature actually increases drastically and your blood viscosity can change by up to 66 per cent, so it makes your blood way thicker and it makes it harder for your heart to pump it,” said Payment.
He does wear the gear to prepare for the event but it’s not something firefighters would do in their regular training.
“Typically when you’re fighting a fire you’re going to work really hard for 10 or 15 minutes and then you’re finished,” said Payment. “When you’re doing a thing like this it’s a longevity thing so it’s different from what we are used to.”
Payment was motivated to raise awareness and support cancer research after a close friend had a double mastectomy as a young mom after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
“Almost anybody you know has been touched by cancer, or breast cancer, in one form or another,” said Payment.
CIBC Run for the Cure is Canada’s largest single-day, volunteer-led event supporting the breast cancer cause. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Canadian women. The CIBC Run for the Cure gives families, friends and supporters the opportunity to come together to honour and celebrate their loved ones. And to make a real difference for all Canadians impacted by breast cancer. The CIBC Run for the Cure has three mandates: fund groundbreaking breast cancer research, shape health policies, and provide a national support system for breast cancer fighters and survivors.
Payment is happy to say that friend Laura Rice is doing well and is often a speaker at the event.
Team members pitch in and solicit donations from other firefighter associations. Payment said the team is more focussed on raising awareness than being top fundraisers but the have set a goal of $500.
To donate, search CIBC Run for the Cure, click on donate to a team, and search for Clearview Fire. So far, Payment’s teammates include Kent McDonald, Chris Maybee, Femke Randeraad, Cale Meesters and his niece Addison Payment.
Other participants are encouraged to join. They have the option to run or walk either one or five kilometres. Participants can choose to raise funds individually or as part of a team.
Contributed photo: Team Clearview Fire at last year’s CIBC Run for the Cure for The Blue Mountains/Collingwood region. From left firefighters Femke Randeraad and Brad Roylance with lieutenant Tuker Payment, the team organizer.