Man in Motion 25th Anniversary Tour comes to an end

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – After visiting 600 communities across the country, Rich Hansen’s 25th anniversary Man in Motion Tour has come to an end.

Since last August, Hansen has been revisiting Canadian portions of his world-wide tour that saw him raise awareness and millions of dollars for spinal chord research.

Seven thousand Canadians were selected to wheel, run, or walk alongside Hansen as he passed through their communities.

“What an incredible moment,” says Hansen, minutes after wheeling into Terry Fox Plaza outside BC Place. That’s the same spot where his original journey ended back in 1987.

“The dream and reality is what I always imagined it would be,” he adds. “Celebrating 25 years of progress surrounded by incredible supporters through all those years. It gives me incredible hope that we’re making a difference and that we have a long way to go but our best work is in front.”

Hansen says during the original tour, there was only one man in motion – him. “Now, it’s a nation in motion.”

He also took time to credit Terry Fox for inspiring him. Years before the Man in Motion tour began, Fox attempted to run across the country to raise money and awareness for cancer research.

“When I left on my journey, Terry’s mom and dad, Betty and Rolly, gave me a little version of that statue at Thunder Bay and I took it with me around the world,” Hansen explains. “Terry was my friend. He inspired me deeply.”

Hansen notes there were times he wanted to quit during the original tour. “And I looked up at that little statue, in my motorhome with ice packs on my shoulder, and I went ‘You know what? I’m not stopping.'”

Between 1985 and 1987, Hansen rode around the world in his wheelchair visiting 34 countries, travelling nearly 41,000 kilometres. That tour raised about $26 million. Over the past quarter century, $250 million has been raised.

Earlier today, Hansen spoke with Breakfast Television on CityTV, talking about one of the highlights of the original event — taking his wheelchair on the Great Wall of China.

“It’s a symbol that there’s no walls too big to be climbed, and when you’re actually there, living in the moment, it was just unbelievable,” he acknowledges. “Now it’s become a right of passage for many people with disabilities.”

Hundreds of people were on hand as Hansen completed this latest tour outside BC Place.

“It’s just taking what life gives you,” says Deanna, at the event with her students from Chief Maquinna Elementary in Vancouver, when asked if there is a lesson here for the hundreds of children on hand.

“Making the best out of it, making a legacy for yourself,” she adds. “Everyone’s going to have a different legacy, that’s the most important part.”