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Cyclist raises funds for pediatric brain tumour research

Corey Thompson hopes his cross-Canada bike trip can help make much needed strides in pediatric brain tumour research.
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Corey Thompson is cycling across Canada to raise funds for pediatric brain tumour research. Here he poses outside of Vernon, British Columbia, early during his trip. Supplied photo.
Corey Thompson hopes his cross-Canada bike trip can help make much needed strides in pediatric brain tumour research.

Thompson, who originally hails from Vienna, Ontario, just south of London, cruised through Sudbury Monday after a 30-day trek through western Canada.

In 2014, his 11-year-old cousin Maddie Costantini died of a brain tumour called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.

Maddie's death was devastating to her entire family, who have steadfastly fundraised to find a cure for the deadly cancer since her diagnosis.

But Thompson works as a deckhand on a luxury yacht, and is only able to spend around three weeks in Canada each year.

“I'm not there to help or be supportive as much as I want to be,” he said.

In early 2015, he decided he would take a couple months off work to bike 7,500 kilometres from Vancouver to St. John's, and raise funds through Meagan's Walk for Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and the Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre.

To prepare for his trip Thompson trained for six months on a stationary bike while at sea.

He planned to travel around 125 kilometres each day, so he could make it to St. John's by mid-September. But his pace has been closer to 150 kilometres a day, he said.

Thompson updates his Facebook group, Corey’s Cross Canada Bicycle Trip, on a daily basis, and has set up a website through SickKids to collect donations online.

So far he has raised more than $4,200, and he hopes to collect $10,000 by the time he reaches his destination.

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Jonathan Migneault

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