BJ McHugh: Mother’s Day Marathoner
April 15, 2012
By Rev. Ed Hird
While working out at a local weight room, I had the privilege of getting to know Betty Jean McHugh, the world’s fastest 83-year old long-distance runner. Interviewed on TV and newspaper, she has been called the flying granny. Jack Taunton, Chief Medical Officer for the Vancouver Winter Olympics, called her one of the most remarkable senior runners we have seen. Betty Jean is so positive and energetic that she inspires the rest of us to not give up on our health goals. Recently I met her at the Parkgate Village right next to the Bean Around the World coffee shop. She told me of her tri-generational plans to run in the December 2012 Hawaiian Marathon, along with her son Brent and her grandchild.
After reading her new book My Road to Rome, I knew that I needed to celebrate BJ’s achievements as a Mother’s Day marathoner. One of her great lifetime highlights which she talked about extensively throughout her book was an all-expense-paid trip to run in the Rome 2009 Marathon. There are now five million North American women running, compared to less than one million in the 1980s. Women, many of whom are mothers, now outnumber men at running events. BJ has run in 14 marathons and over 300 road races. Running four times a week at 5:45am, BJ has broken a dozen Canadian and world records. She started running at age 55, a time when many others were hanging up their running shoes. While BJ has been injured many times over the years, she never gave up, saying that she ‘was not going to accept the ravages of time without a fight.’ Running has become for her as much part of her life as ‘brushing her teeth’.
BJ’s determination is an inspiration to watch. She not only runs and works out at the gym, but also has been an avid North Shore skier since the early 1950s. BJ even climbs the Grouse Grind with her grandchild. Such athletic involvement helped condition her to become a leading octogenarian runner. She acknowledges that there are thousands of times when she felt like not bothering. “Excuses are easy; commitment is hard”, says BJ. But she just keeps putting one foot in front of the other and goes for it regardless. Every marathon, says BJ, is a journey into the unknown. You train and train and train again, and think that you are ready. But you never really know how your body is going to fare over 42 kilometres of running.
One thing that keeps her going are her running partners to whom she is committed. “How can I sleep through an early-morning downpour”, says BJ, “when I know that my friends will be waiting for me at our meeting place in ten minutes?” Running, says BJ, has given her friendships that are powerful and lasting. Through her running with her partners, they experience ‘the elation of reaching the top of a hill, the pain when (they) increase the distance on a training run, the slogging through rain and dancing through a sunlit forest.’
In BJ’s book, she talks about being raised in the poverty of the Great Depression in Stanwood Ontario. The local church was the centre of the community. BJ comments that ‘as a child she liked everything about church but the Sunday service…The minister droned on about subjects I never understood, and I had to sit in the pew with my hands folded politely.’
Once while running in a Vancouver marathon, she became more and more concerned about finishing well: ‘I feared hitting the dreaded ‘wall’, that point at which the body has used up all its reserves.’ Finishing well is a challenge for all of us, whether in a marathon, in our business, or in our family. It is about ultimately facing the question: will my life have made a difference? BJ is an example of someone who is finishing well, whose life is making a difference. She has chosen to give her best into what she believes in and is passionate about. BJ is leaving a legacy that other younger people will be able to tap into.
One of my mentors, Paul, said that he fought the good fight, he finished the race, he kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). Even though Paul was tragically killed, he finished well. Paul also recognized that physical exercise was of real value, but he pointed us to the even greater significance of spiritual exercise (1 Timothy 4:8). Part of finishing well is a commitment to being healthy in body, mind and spirit. If we neglect any of those three, we are the poorer for it. Life is a marathon. Life is about discipline. Life is about finishing well. My Mother’s Day prayer for those reading this article is that BJ McHugh’s example will inspire all of us to discipline ourselves in body, mind and spirit so that we may truly finish well.
Rev. Ed Hird, Rector
St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver
Anglican Mission in the Americas (Canada)
http://stsimonschurch.ca
-an article for the May 2012 Deep Cove Crier
-award-winning author of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’
http://www.battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com
p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’, please send a $18.50 cheque to ‘Ed Hird’, #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD. This can also be done by PAYPAL using the e-mailed_hird@telus.net . Be sure to list your mailing address. The Battle for the Soul of Canada e-book can be obtained for $9.99 CDN/USD.
-Click to download a complimentary PDF copy of the Battle for the Soul study guide : Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada
You can also download the complimentary Leader’s Guide PDF: Battle for the Soul Leaders Guide
Join us in Bishop Silas Ng’s Prayer Campaign
March 19, 2012
Dear friends in Christ,
Please sign up for an hour of Bishop Silas Ng ‘s Prayer campaign. Prayer is the engine room of God’s family. Just click on http://bit.ly/zKqYcT
Thanks for your support.
Blessings,
Ed Hird+
http://edhird.wordpress.com
Bishop Silas Ng leading a devotional prayer workshop at the 25th Annual Renewal Mission.
Breaking the 300,000 visitor barrier
December 16, 2011
Thanks for all your support in 2011 through visiting my blog. As of today, 300,000 of you have dropped in to read some of the 385 online articles. Five days ago, almost 1200 people paid the blog a visit, the most in the past two+ years that the blog has existed.
I encourage you to tell your friends about this blog.
Blessings, Ed Hird+
http://edhird.wordpress.com
Check out our Advent/Christmas Newsletter
November 26, 2011
Dear friends in Christ,
With Advent beginning tomorrow, you are invited to enjoy our Advent/Christmas newsletter. Just click on:
StS News Christmas 2011
Blessings in the expectant hope,
Ed Hird+
http://stsimonschurch.ca
Over 1,100 visitors yesterday
November 16, 2011
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Views |
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Motherhood and Apple Pie |
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351 |
Home page |
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345 |
Florence Nightingale: Mother of Nursing |
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145 |
Alexander Graham Bell: Inventing the future |
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36 |
Sir Alexander Fleming: Countless Millions Saved |
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28 |
Dr. James Naismith: Father of Basketball |
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25 |
My Fair Lady |
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16 |
Thomas Edison: Let There Be Light…. |
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15 |
Simon Fraser: Canada’s most successful failure |
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13 |
The Passion of Louis Riel |
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9 |
Other posts |
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134 |
Total views of posts on your blog |
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1,117 |
Yesterday was the most traffic on my blog since I started in just over two years. For the
first time, over 1,100 people dialed in to read the 383 postings. Most of these postings are newspaper articles that I have written over the past twenty-five years for the Deep Cove Crier and the North Shore News. During this past month of October, my blog had for the first time over 25,000 visitors. The first month of the blog in August 2009, I had just over 1,000 visitors. So there has been a 25-fold increase in internet traffic to the site. Thank you so much for your continued interest and support.
Also, as of yesterday, the blog has now had 275,000+ visitors. Here are the favorite articles viewed for the past 30 days. You can read any of them right now by just clicking on the name of a particular article. Your feedback is most welcome. Without readers, writing is not quite the same:
St Simon’s NV 25th Annual Stewardship Newsletter
November 1, 2011
Feel free to check out our St. Simon’s NV 25th Annual Stewardship Newsletter. It has a lot of great updates from our missionaries around the world. Just click on: StS News November 2011
250,000 visitors later
October 16, 2011
As of today, the http://edhird.wordpress.com blog has had 250,000 visitors in just over two years. These are the more widely read of the blog articles:
The Reverend Ed Hird, Rector
St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver
Anglican Mission in the Americas (Canada)
http://stsimonschurch.ca
-previously published in the North Shore News & the Deep Cove Crier
-award-winning author of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’
http://www.battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com
p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’, please send a $18.50 cheque to ‘Ed Hird’, #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD. This can also be done by PAYPAL using the e-mail ed_hird@telus.net . Be sure to list your mailing address. The Battle for the Soul of Canada e-book can be obtained for $9.99 CDN/USD.
-Click to download a complimentary PDF copy of the Battle for the Soul study guide : Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada
You can also download the complimentary Leader’s Guide PDF: Battle for the Soul Leaders Guide
‘I stand’ song by Mark Hird
October 10, 2011
By Mark Hird
I stand
Mark Hird
G
I stand before you Lord and here I stand
D
To be all I am to praise you
G
I stand before you Lord before you I stand
D (G) (last time x2)
To be all I am to praise you
Am
Though trouble come
Bm Em
Your kingdom come
Am G
Because you came for me
Am
The king of days
Bm Em
Know all my ways
Em G D
Yet you still love me
Comment from Mark Hird: A song I wrote. Feel free to pass it on
Naome Uwamahoro’s visit to St. Simon’s NV from Rwanda
October 10, 2011
Thanks to the generosity of the Rev Ken Bell and St Timothy’s North Vancouver, we had a visit from Naome Uwamahoro the Rural Development Officer for the Anglican Diocese of Kigeme.
Naome was able to initially join us for our inaugural Saturday morning 9am Prayer Meeting on Oct 8th with our Bishop Silas Ng
Naome with our People’s Warden Candace Gillespie
Hilary King our Rector’s Warden with Naome. Translation services were provided by Naome to the Embrace Rwanda team that Hilary led this summer.
For more information about the remarkable Embrace Rwanda team, just click on this link .
Glen Houghton, a member of St. Simon’s NV, attended our inaugural St. Simon’s NV Prayer Meeting. He loves to pray and leads the Prayer Canada meeting at the District of North Vancouver City Hall.
Fifteen people were present for our inaugural St. Simon’s NV Prayer Meeting at our Modular Building at Kenneth Gordon Maplewood School. You are welcome to join us every Saturday at 9am to 10am for our St. Simon’s Prayer Meeting.
Our hi-tech Bishop Silas Ng led us in a devotional from his Daily Discipler 123 Blog . This blog can be accessed daily in written form, or as an English podcast or Cantonese podcast.
Our Bishop Silas Ng is passionate that people become disciples of Jesus Christ who disciple others in daily intimacy with Jesus Christ, and pass this on to others. He has almost finished his Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary on this subject of Leadershp Development and Discipleship.
Why not dial in right now and join our Bishop Silas Ng? He is passionate that we bring a breakthrough in daily discipleship and intimacy with Jesus. Only 10% of Christians have a regular daily time of intimacy with Jesus.
Naome gave a wonderful testimony at St Simon’s NV about her recovery from the trauma of her pastor father’s death during the 1994 Rwanda Genocide. Click to view this story.
Naome also shared a Rwandan song with us which you can watch by clicking.
The St. Simon’s NV family listening attentively to Naome sharing about Rwanda.
Janice Hird our St. Simon’s NV Music Director led our joint Choir in a Harvest Thanksgiving anthem.
Naome having lunch afterwards with other St. Simon’s NV leadership, including Jill Cardwell our Youth & Young Adult Pastor. Jill is leading our 30th Alpha Course for young adults. Click to learn more.
By clicking on the following link, you can watch the film ‘Mothers of Kigeme’
In Christ,
Ed Hird+
The AM–Canada/Anglican Province of Rwanda
http://stsimonschurch.ca
-award-winning author of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’
http://battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com
-In order to obtain a copy of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’, please send a $18.50 cheque to ‘Ed Hird’, #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD. This can also be done by PAYPAL using the e-mail ed_hird@telus.net . Be sure to list your mailing address. The Battle for the Soul of Canada e-book can be obtained for $9.99CDN/USD.
-Click to download a complimentary PDF copy of the Battle for the Soul study guide : Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada
-You can also download the complimentary Leader’s Guide PDF: Battle for the Soul Leaders Guide
More photos from the 2nd Cup of Hot Apple Cider booksigning
October 2, 2011
(photos, courtesy of Bill Bonikowsky)
It really was an enjoyable evening at House of James in Abbotsford on Friday night. If you haven’t been there lately, you will want to check it out.
House of James now even offers Gelato Italian Ice Cream, good food and good fellowship.
The HAC2 authors with the Owner: Ed Hird, Lando Klassen, Bill Bonikowsky, and Paul Beckingham
Booksigning in a coffeehouse environment with a warm cup of Hot Apple Cider…
Have you ordered your copy yet of a 2nd Cup of Hot Apple Cider?
The music by the Bonikowsky sons really set the tone for the evening.
Lando Klassen has been faithful in season and out of season.
It was Lando Klassen’s generosity in putting up the money up front that got my book Battle for the Soul of Canada off the ground. I was able to pay him back in just a few short months because the book sales went so well.
An irenic look by Dr Paul Beckingham and Ed Hird, co-authors for the book 2nd Cup of Hot Apple Cider.
Lando really believes in the power of books, and has given HAC2 a strong endorsement. I would recommend that you contact House of James online to purchase ‘A 2nd Cup of Hot Apple Cider’ by clicking on ’2nd Cup’. Lando and House of James deserve our customer support.
edhird
