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Barry's Story

00:00 / 05:14

One of the most defining moments happened when I was 53. Summer of 2004, a good friend of mine invited me to do the Canadian ski marathon. So, he said it's 100 kilometers and it's 2 days, and I we're both avid cross-country skiers. So, I said yes. At the time, I probably misunderstood because it's actually 100 miles, not 100 kilometers.

But it gave me roughly half a year to start training for it, and I did. The big day comes February 12, 2, 2004. It's a 2-day thing, and each year the race changes direction. The year we did it, it went from La Choute to Gatunau going from east to west. And we start at 6 in the morning.

It's pitch black on February 12th. And they took us in a school bus to the start of the race, and there were thousands of people that did it. It's a big event. And I remember so I did a lot of training. I had no idea whether I could last for 100 miles over 2 days.

I skied and skied as much as I've ever skied. They have 5 stages each day, and you have to get to the 40th mile marker by 3:15 each of the 2 days where they don't let you continue. So, I skied my brains out, and I got to the 4th checkpoint at 3:13 with 2 minutes to spare. And so, it was a minor success big success because 2 of the buddies that I went with, not AJ. AJ was way ahead of me.

2 other guys from town that went didn't make the cut, so they got turned back. Anyway, I finished probably one of the last people to finish that day. It was at least 6 o'clock, so I skied for 12 hours. It was pitch black. I was exhausted.

And then, of course, you have to do it the next day too. Same thing. But here's what made it the most powerful experience for me, a defining moment, really. Before I went, I started the thing, I realized in advance that I should use it as a fundraiser, and so it wasn't such a selfish experience. So, I sent letters to everybody that I knew and said, hey.

Would you consider pledging 25ยข a mile doing this Canadian ski marathon? I want to I'm trying to help build a school in a small village in El Porvenir in Nicaragua. 125 people said yes. They gave me money. They gave me, like, 41,100 and something dollars.

They pledged that amount of money. And so, what happened during the race, and this is really the powerful thing to me is that when my tank was empty it felt like my tank was empty and I'm skiing late in the day. I had written all 125 names on a piece of paper, and I had it in my breast pocket inside my jacket. And I didn't pull the list up, but I mentally went down the list of all of those people who I asked to pledge. So, what happened was I inspired them and then as I went down the list mentally and thought of them supporting me, they inspired me.

And so, I got energy from who knows where, you know, from them, from God, from the universe, from whatever. And so that was truly a powerful experience. Day 2 was more the same, but I was able I got to the checkpoint, the 4th and final checkpoint with 15 minutes to spare. So, when I finished, it was I mean, it was I could've cried. It was such an amazing feeling.

And it was a defining moment in many ways because I realized I think quite a bit after that one of the blessings in my life is that I have enduring energy. And so, I've yeah. I wrote a book about energy and my kids gave me a license plate that says energy guy. And so that became me and so it defined me. The race was far and away.

I've run a marathon. I've biked a couple 100 miles, but this Canadian ski marathon really defined me and made me realize what I really am endowed with. And it was I I've never had a more powerful experience in my life. And to this day, at 3:13 on February 12th every year, I even set an alarm. An alarm goes off, and I'm reminded that on at that moment in 2005, I had the most amazing experience.

And so, I'm able to relive it in many ways and remind myself of what a powerful experience it was and what a defining moment and experience it was too

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