A couple hundred members of Saskatoon’s crossfit community came out to Avalon Park in waves on Saturday morning. It was all in support of Bruce Gordon, a Saskatoon cop-turned-lawyer who was recently diagnosed with terminal, stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
“Just the show of support, it really does give me strength,” said Gordon. “I started chemo on Wednesday, and there were some pretty ugly moments Wednesday and Thursday, and this gets me through it.”
The community completed a flash-mob workout for Gordon as a reflection of his attitude to never give up.
“That’s what it means for me too. It’s a reminder that I need to help build communities and that’s why we’re here today,” said Reagan Wildemen, organizer of the ‘Be like Bruce’ workout.
“You never have any control over the quantity of your life,” said Jason Cain, Gordon’s friend. “Freak things happen all the time, but you do have control over the quality of your life, so emphasize high quality of life at all times.”
The workouts were completed in teams, with each group sweating it out through a specific number of physical activities. Each activity signified an important moment in Gordon’s life: eleven burpees to represent the number of hours it took Gordon to finish an ironman triathlon; 28 push-ups to represent the number of years Gordon served for the Saskatoon Police Service; and 82 lunges to symbolize the year 1982, when Gordon was named captain of the Saskatoon Blades hockey team.
Gordon’s friends said the workout was a reminder to live life to the fullest.
“(Do) the things that you say you’re going to do,” said Courtney Berg, Gordon’s friend. “Bruce is probably the most disciplined person I know, and when he says he’s going to do something, he follows through 100 per cent.”
Based on a report by CTV Saskatoon’s Mark Villani.
