Nor'West News: June 25, 2019

NOR’WEST NEWS Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Tuesday June 25 2019 3
News
JAKE BAILEY has been bitten
by the Kathmandu Coast to
Coast bug and will line up in the
race for a second time next year.
He will compete as an
individual in 2020 after being
part of a three-person relay this
year.
It’s a remarkable turnaround
for the former Christchurch
Boys’ High School head boy,
who fought off Burkitt’s non-
Hodgkin’s lymphoma, only to
struggle to walk unassisted after
chemotherapy damaged the
nerves in his legs.
But true to form, and his
incredible resilience, in February
– three years after his initial
diagnosis – the 21-year-old took
on the three-part 140km bike
ride to cross the finish line in
New Brighton alongside two
of his ex-school mates, James
Dunbar and Dalton Ewing.
“The feeling of
accomplishment was incredible.
I was so humbled to have been
able to be a part of an event with
so much history and meaning
to the Canterbury community
– and also fairly grateful that I
made it,” Bailey said.
Almost as quickly as he
crossed the finish line, like many
who start their Coast to Coast
journey as part of a team, Bailey
has already set his sights on the
challenge of completing the
243km course in the two-day
individual event.
“Even the day before at the
registration you start to feel
how special the event is and
how much it will mean to you to
achieve the Kathmandu Coast
to Coast, and then when you do
cross that finish line, you just
want to do it again,” he said.
“It’s a tough race, there’s no
doubt about it, but having grown
up in Christchurch and seen
family members and friends do
it for years, I just want to be able
to say I did that too, the whole
thing on my own. I went from
one side of the South Island to
the other and it was all me.”
Having recently completed the
Tour de Cure, a 1400km bike
race in Australia, Bailey says
he is comfortable with the bike
and run legs of the event, but
mastering the kayak, including
earning his grade two certificate,
will be a challenge.
“It’s probably my biggest
challenge to learn the kayak,
but I’ve got more than 200 days
to get myself sorted, so I’m
confident I’ve got enough time
to get myself organised. And
there are some fantastic people
around that I’m sure will help
me out along the way.”
Now in remission for the
third year, Bailey is also looking
forward to continuing to
demonstrate there is life after an
illness like cancer.
“I’d like to show survivors that
they can go on to better things.
That cancer doesn’t define them.
I often meet parents whose
kids are going through cancer
and they’re incredibly worried
about how their kids might
come out the other side from a
physical standpoint, and I guess
I’m walking proof that life can
be good, it can be great, and it
shouldn’t hold you back.”
Local
News
Now
Another challenge for former head boy
In Brief
RESILIENT: Former CBHS head boy Jake Bailey, who fought
off cancer only to find the nerves in his legs were damaged by
the chemotherapy, will take on the Kathmandu Coast to Coast
again next year.
Fire rages, homes at risk
CHANEYS TRAFFIC LIGHTS
Two-way traffic on Main North
Rd, near the closed Chaneys
on-ramp, will be managed with
temporary traffic lights until early
October. The lights are on a timer
and are vehicle-activated. The
work being done is part of the
Christchurch Northern Corridor
upgrades, and will include a
stormwater culvert, IT cables and
the reconstruction of Main North
Rd.
PHOTO COMPETITION
Think Papanui is running its
Papanui in Pictures photo
competition. A $50 gift voucher
provided by Mitre 10 Mega
Papanui is up for grabs. To enter
visit thinkpapanui.nz before the
competition closes on July 21.
YOUTH GRANTS
The Fendalton-Waimairi-
Harewood Community Board
has granted $500 to Fendalton’s
Cassandra Hetherington to
compete at the International Junior
Canoe world champs in Romania
in August. A $500 grant has gone to
Bishopdale’s Talesha Ellen Cooper
Brook’s for the International
Korfball Federation World Cup
in South Africa in August, while
Strowan’s Madeline Morrow
received $250 to attend the under-17
national basketball tournament in
Auckland next month.
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