Ron Dick Sr. recently logged his best-ever time at the Vancouver Sun Run, but that’s just another highlight in a six-year quest to improve his personal health and fitness.
Now 62, the retired forest worker is not only leaner and fitter since he set out to change his entire lifestyle, he has also fended off the symptoms of Type 2 diabetes to the point where he is now entirely free of the debilitating disease.
“I was first diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about 20 years ago,” Dick said.
Six years ago, he found himself suffering from numbness in his hands and feet, and his eyesight was deteriorating.
“I was really heavy. I weighed 286 pounds,” he said. When his family physician told him his diabetes had reached a life-threatening stage, Dick said he became very afraid.
“I didn't know what it meant. They said they were going to put me in a hospital. They sent me to dieticians. But at that point, my granddaughter jumped on the ship.”
His granddaughter, Leisa (Fred) Hassall, was convinced that a change of diet and lifestyle, along with regular exercise, could reverse much of the damage that Dick had incurred by ignoring the symptoms of his diabetes as they increased.
Leisa also realized that her grandfather would not be able to do it alone, he added.
“She started our whole family on a Health Challenge.”
Dick said while he was advised to avoid certain foods, the biggest dietary change he was required to make was in portion control.
“I went to see the dieticians at the hospital and they showed me the recommended portions. I said, 'You've got to be kidding!'”
Dick said as well as overeating, he was also drinking a lot of beer.
“I gave it up for that first year, and then re-introduced it in moderation,” he said, adding, “I also stay away from white bread.”
That first year, Dick said he was hungry all the time. Following the recommendations of health columnist, Dr. Art Hister, he also drank a lot of coffee. By the end of that first year, his appetite had diminished and, as he later discovered, his ability to overeat had disappeared.
“Within a year—exactly—I lost 134 pounds,” Dick said. “And with the weight loss, my diabetes was under control. That's when my granddaughter said, 'Let's try running a marathon.'”
While it is not a full distance marathon, the 10-kilometre Vancouver Sun Run seemed like a realistic challenge for the slimmed-down grandfather. That first year—2009—Dick ran with a full family delegation of 12, and he has run it each year since.
“Each year after that, more family members joined, then friends. This year it was family and friends.”
This year's Sun Run took place on April 19, and Dick ran his best time yet.
“My first year, I was just under two hours. Each year, my time just kept getting better.”
Sun Run organizers keep track of individual runners by clipping an electronic tag on one shoe. The tag triggers the timer when the runner crosses the starting line and records the runner's time at the finish line.
“This was the first time I could hear my name being called at the finish line: 'Here comes Ronald Francis Dick Senior of Port Alberni, with a time of one hour and 24 minutes.'”
Dick's son-in-law, Boyd Fred (Leisa's father), was the fastest in the family group, crossing the finish line with a time of 1:10.
After a great team effort in Sun Run 2015, Dick and his family have now decided to take it to the next level.
“We're planning to do the [Victoria] Times-Colonist Marathon next year. It takes place the week after the Sun Run. I'm going to run the whole marathon and they'll probably do the full marathon, walking.”
Perhaps surprisingly, Dick said he does not run regularly to train for race events.
“I have a regular exercise routine—mostly walking. I have a regular route that I walk in the morning: Hector Road, then Bell Road and all the way around McCoy Lake Road. It takes about an hour and 20 minutes and it's all uphill.”
Dick said he often walks with his wife of 45 years, Marlene, when she is not working.
For many years, Dick played fastball, until the sport more or less disappeared in the Alberni Valley, and he never took up slo-pitch. But now he needed a sport to get the adrenaline flowing and build back his reflexes.
“I never realized slo-pitch was so much fun,” he said. “That is also thanks to my granddaughter.”
Dick's recovery has been amazing.
“I used to take insulin. No more. I beat it: I am not diabetic any more. I have no numbness in my fingers or in my feet. I have all the feeling back in my hands and feet and my eyesight is back to 20/20. After I got it all back, I upgraded my diver's license from Class 4 to Class 1, so I can drive the big rigs.”
Dick worked for 40 years in the forest industry, in a succession of roles. He had acquired the Class 4 chauffeur's license to drive the crew trucks known as crummies.
Since upgrading his driver's license, Dick has worked numerous driving jobs on a contract basis. Last year, he drove for Hub City in Nanaimo. Currently, he's on call to drive a 24-passenger bus for Tseshaht elders. The next scheduled trip is to Cedar, outside of Nanaimo. In July, it's an Elder's Conference in East Saanich.
But he still has a desire to drive the big logging trucks, now that he's licensed and physically fit.
“I just missed a logging truck job by a few weeks last year,” he said.
Last year, he had the opportunity to meet Dr. Art Hister at Athletic Hall, and the two sat down for a long discussion.
“He was amazed that I am symptom-free,” Dick said. “I told him I had been reading his column for years and was following his advice.”
