IDNUMBER 200809220024
PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2008.09.22
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A8
ILLUSTRATION: Colour Photo: Jana Chytilova, The Ottawa Citizen / MasterCpl. Paul Franklin, who lost both legs in a suicide bombing in Kandahar in 2006, rolls to the finish of the 5k race during the inaugural Canada Army Run yesterday in Ottawa. About 7,000 people took part, and roughly one-third were military personnel. ; Colour Photo: Jana Chytilova, The Ottawa Citizen / Cpl. Shaun Favens, 25, who said other people were convinced he would not walk after being injured by a roadside bomb, celebrates after finishing the 5K race. 'My goal was 40 minutes, so I beat it. That felt good.' ;
BYLINE: Laura Drake
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
WORD COUNT: 549
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On the road to recovery; Soldiers injured in Afghanistan, Iraq front and centre in first Canada Army Run
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With sweat streaming down his face, Cpl. Shaun Fevens clicked off the timer on his wristwatch as he passed the finish line of yesterday's Canada Army Run five-kilometre race.
"It was 33 minutes, according to my watch," the 25-year-old grinned, his black running shorts revealing thick scarring on his right calf.
"My goal was 40 minutes, so I beat it. That felt good."
Beating his goal time by seven minutes is all the more impressive, considering that at the beginning of this year, Cpl. Fevens couldn't walk unassisted. He was still recovering from a roadside bomb blast in Kandahar that killed six soldiers and left him severely injured.
Nearly 7,000 runners and thousands more spectators turned out yesterday morning for the inaugural Canada Army Run. The event featured two distances: a five-kilometre race and a half-marathon. Each had a special start for injured soldiers participating in the races, including Cpl. Fevens.
On April 8, 2007, the light-armoured vehicle that Cpl. Fevens was riding in hit an improvised explosive device in Kandahar's Panjwaii district.
"When we got hit, I don't want to say I was unconscious, but it put me out. It's like getting punched in the back of the head," he said. "When I opened my eyes, I knew what had happened."
The sole survivor of the seven soldiers who were in the rear compartment of the LAV-3, Cpl. Fevens was left with bones protruding from his right leg, shrapnel in his wrists, severe burns and a broken left ankle.
Other people were convinced he would never walk again, but not Cpl. Fevens.
"It's kind of funny that no one ever said that to me, they kind of said it to everybody else," he said. "I knew when I left Afghanistan I was walking (again)."
It took about a year for Cpl. Fevens to be able to walk unassisted. He started running again last month.
Before his injury, he said, he could run 20 kilometres in about an hour and a half. Yesterday, his first race since he was injured, he finished the 5K by alternating between running and walking every 100 metres.
Cpl. Fevens said his next goal would be to run the entire distance.
Outside of running, his goal is to complete his recovery and become a commissioned officer in the Air Force, though if he had his way, he'd be back in Afghanistan.
"If this didn't happen, I'd go back and do it again. Even now, if they would allow me to go back, I would go do it again," he said.
Race organizers said about two dozen injured soldiers, including several Americans injured in Iraq, participated yesterday.
"An athlete is an athlete, no matter what," said Sgt. Andrew McLean, who co-founded Soldier On, a program that helps disabled Canadian Forces personnel and their families become involved in sport. Part of the proceeds from yesterday's run went to Soldier On.
Sgt. McLean wheeled the 5K alongside Master Cpl. Paul Franklin, who lost both of his legs in a 2006 suicide bombing in Afghanistan. Rubbing his sore shoulders, Sgt. McLean said he'd never raced in a wheelchair before, but that Master Cpl. Franklin gave him pointers along the way.
About two-thirds of the participants were civilians, said Lynne Bermel, one of the organizers. Some of the more notable among them included former defence minister and current Ottawa West-Nepean Liberal candidate David Pratt, who finished the 5K in 21:41. Knoxdale-Merivale Councillor Gord Hunter crossed the finish line in 25:31, while Mayor Larry O'Brien and staffer Ryan Kelahear came in about 15 minutes later.
"Hunter beat me. He beat me," grinned the mayor, decked out in a full-length black track suit. Mr. O'Brien's 5K time did, however, include BlackBerry breaks and stops to cheer on the other runners.
Later in the day, the mayor proclaimed Canada Army Run Day.
Maj. Chris Horeczy, the run director, said next year organizers hope to have 15,000 participants and possibly put on a full marathon.
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