Inspired by Terry Fox, Bellingham couple walking 3,000 miles for cancer research
A Bellingham couple is walking more than 3,000 miles over a year to raise money for cancer research.
Nala Henkel-Aislinn, 59, and her husband, Eric Aislinn, 62, are walking a combined 3,339 miles to raise money for the Terry Fox Foundation, which was inspired by the legacy of Terry Fox, an 18-year-old Canadian whose leg was amputated after a cancer diagnosis in 1977.
Fox decided more money was needed for cancer research and began a six-month marathon across Canada using a prosthetic leg to raise awareness for the issue before his cancer returned to his lungs. He died at age 22.
Henkel-Aislinn said she was inspired to walk the same 3,339 miles Fox did after being reminded of him after watching a video last year. Henkel-Aislinn grew up near Fox’s birthplace in Winnipeg, Canada. She was 14 when he started his famous run across the country. Henkel-Aislinn told The Herald she hopes to raise at least one dollar for each mile they walk.
She and her husband registered and set up a donation page through the Terry Fox Foundation. The couple has raised $1,133 since the walk began in May. The two of them had walked 2,167 miles as of March 4, and they plan to reach a combined 3,339 by Sept. 1, the same day Fox ended his run.
Instead of running across Canada, Henkel-Aislinn and her husband are walking the trails of Galbraith Mountain — or around Lake Padden when the weather is bad.
“But rain or shine, it doesn’t matter, I have to get out and get the miles in,” she said.
Neither Henkel-Aislinn nor Aislinn were long distance walkers before beginning the journey, and she spent much of February through May last year training. Since starting her walk, Henkel-Aislinn has worn through two pairs of walking shoes.
Henkel-Aislinn’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1989. She had the cancerous tissue removed, but it came back about five years later. However, she was able to live with the cancer for 27 years, a feat that was likely only possible because of research that resulted from Fox’s marathon.
“I’m glad that raising money for the Terry Fox Foundation is going to keep research going,” Henkel-Aislinn said. “I think we know a lot more about the different kinds of breast cancer. … It’s really interesting to see how they are breaking open the mystery of the genetics of the different types of cancers.”
Although she wanted to complete the journey in a year, that would have meant walking 10 miles a day, which takes her about 3.5 hours.
“It was a big chunk of the day to walk, and then come home and do household things,” she said. “It was hard to get it done consistently in a day.”
Now she is walking four days of 5 miles, two days of 7 miles and one day of 10 miles each week.
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