CREDIT: TROYSRUN.COM
Troy Adams in front of a statue of Terry Fox in Beacon Hill Park, Victoria, British Columbia.

Brain injuries are widely renowned to be pretty serious issues. In fact, brain injuries are more prevalent that breast cancer, spinal cord injury and HIV/AIDS combined. According to the Brain Injury Association on London and Region, 500,000 Ontarians are living with a brain injury and thousands more suffer these injuries every year.

One Ontarian person living with a brain injury is Watford native Troy Adams. On August 11, 2003, at the age of 16, Adams was in a car crash that forever changed his life.

“I had to be ejected from the front passenger window of a car,” he said. “I never really understood what a brain injury was at the time.”

And so, about three years ago, Adams took to running. He began running just to the corner and back. “Within a week of running, no more than 10 minutes a day I realized the biggest benefit to me was mental satisfaction. Now, if you take away my running shoes, I'm a completely different person.”

On April 1, 2012, atop Signal Hill in St. John's, Newfoundland, Adams set out on the beginning of a journey across Canada. He travelled around 40km a day for close to nine months, ignoring the pain of pulled muscles and sore joints. “Physically, it was one of the easiest things I've ever done in my life,” he said. “I'm not saying anyone can do it, but there was nothing that was going to stop me - it was excruciating pain, but truthfully it doesn't even compare to the emotional and physical pain that you put upon yourself pre-running.”

In November 2012, Adams wrapped up his final leg of his cross-Canada run, raising more than $60,000. Along the way, he stopped to speak at schools, service clubs, hospitals and homes.

But in his own words, that's just the tip of the iceberg.

“I'm not going to put my hands up ever and say, ‘We did it,' we're too far behind.”

Now working as a fitness instructor, Adams recalled how he wouldn't quit while running across Canada, even when doctors insisted he pull out of the run. “They wanted me to take this pill and that antibiotic, but I said no. Even today, doctors tell me to take a certain tablet, but I don't want to. Running makes me better. And the results surprise them.”

Adams said he wants to help other victims of brain injuries. Through his Troy's Run Foundation's, he hopes to raise money and awareness about brain injury, reminding people that they are not alone.

Adams will be honoured with a Hope for Tomorrow Gala on February 1 at the Ivey Spencer Leadership Centre at Western University in London. It's billed as a night to welcome him back from his cross-country run and to raise awareness about the seriousness of brain injuries, allowing people to meet him and his team as well as unveil the plans for the next steps for the foundation.

“When I started this thing, I believed I was a brain injury victim. Now I know that I'm a survivor.”

Troy's run is far from over.

For more information about Troy's Run, check out troysrun.com.