By Nathan Bawaan
It was the worst day of Carlo De Lorenzi鈥檚 life.
An emergency CT scan had found a cancerous mass in the 68-year-old鈥檚 brain, the same type of aggressive and hard-to-treat cancer that killed Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie.
But as he learned the news alongside his wife in a private room at a Toronto hospital, De Lorenzi was thinking about running.
鈥淚t鈥檚 funny,鈥 De Lorenzi said. 鈥淲hen I had the diagnosis, the first thing I thought about was, 鈥榃ill I ever be able to get back to it?鈥欌
De Lorenzi wasn鈥檛 hoping to get back to just any run, though.
Three years ago, Lorenzi set out to run all 10,390 streets in Toronto. By May of this year, the Toronto man had run over 9,800 of the city鈥檚 streets, with hopes of completing his goal by the three-year anniversary in August.
But he had to pause his mission this spring when he and his wife visited the emergency room after De Lorenzi started having trouble reading with his left eye. It was this visit to hospital where De Lorenzi learned he had glioblastoma, a brain cancer with a prognosis of one to two years.
鈥淚鈥檓 under no illusions,鈥 he said, 鈥淚鈥檓 on a time clock, so to speak.鈥
For nearly three years before, De Lorenzi would take the TTC to a different part of the city from his home in midtown about five to six mornings a week, clocking in an average of 14 kilometres each run. He鈥檇 always go on his own, and rain and snow would almost never keep him home.
鈥淚 was running basically the same route every day, so I thought I needed a new challenge,鈥 De Lorenzi said, adding that he has enjoyed exploring different parts of the city that he grew up in through his morning runs.
Beyond the personal gratification 鈥 De Lorenzi says he鈥檇 be the fourth person to complete this mammoth goal 鈥 the Toronto man is using his runs as a way to raise money for Community Music Schools of Toronto (CMST), a charity that provides music education to kids ages four to 18 through its schools in Regent Park and Jane and Finch.
鈥淲hen I got to about 60 or 70 per cent (of my goal), I thought, 鈥業 need to do something with this,鈥 鈥 De Lorenzi explained.
He said he chose CMST because of his lifelong passion for music, which started when he took piano lessons as a child. (Despite this love of music, De Lorenzi said he doesn鈥檛 listen to anything on his runs, for safety reasons.)
Through his 鈥淭akin鈥 it to the Streets鈥 campaign, De Lorenzi is hoping to raise $10,390, or $1 for every street he runs. As of July, he鈥檚 only about $2,000 shy of his goal.
According to Richard Marsella, the executive director of CMST, De Lorenzi鈥檚 fundraising will go to fund a year鈥檚 worth of music lessons for three to four students.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not even about the money, although that $10,000 is vital to us,鈥 Marsella said. 鈥淭his is about human relationships and community.鈥
Still, Marsella said the school was grateful for De Lorenzi鈥檚 support, adding that the campaign was one of the more innovative fundraisers he鈥檚 seen in his 15 years with the organization.
鈥淭his is Carlo鈥檚 journey and only Carlo鈥檚 journey,鈥 Marsella said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 doing it his way and I admire the hell out of that.鈥
The executive director also admires that not even a brain cancer diagnosis will get in the way of De Lorenzi finishing what he sets out to do.
After learning of his diagnosis, De Lorenzi took a break from his regular runs as he went in for surgery to get his tumour removed and started chemotherapy. But once his oncologist gave him the green light to start exercising again after two weeks of treatment, De Lorenzi was back out on the streets.
鈥淚 feel good and I feel like I can run,鈥 he said, adding that he鈥檚 shortened his runs to between seven and 12 kilometres to avoid overdoing it. He鈥檚 also been more open to friends joining him since his surgery.
While he doesn鈥檛 think he鈥檒l finish his goal by the three-year anniversary in August, De Lorenzi hopes to finish in September, with a finish line celebration outside the Regent Park CMST.
That May day when De Lorenzi learned of his cancer diagnosis might have been his worst.
鈥淏ut I鈥檝e had some of the best days in my life in the last few weeks,鈥 he said, 鈥渂ecause now it鈥檚 all about quality, not quantity.鈥