Anna Marie Kaiser considered marking successful cancer treatment and her 70th birthday by hiking the Santiago El Camino in Europe, but then the Nova Scotia woman discovered an option closer to home.
The Island Walk on P.E.I.
“Hey, it’s across the bridge,” said Kaiser.
“I can do essentially a Camino pilgrimage, personal journey, personal adventure — whatever you want to call it — here.”
The Island Walk is a 700-kilometre trek circumnavigating the province. Walking 20 to 25 kilometres a day, resting every seventh, it will be a 32-day project for her.
This is not the first time Kaiser has marked a major milestone with a physical challenge. The year she turned 50 she ran the New York marathon.
Kaiser is nearing the end of the Island Walk. She was in Murray River Thursday, and is on target to complete the walk Sunday.
“It has been a really wonderful experience,” she said.
“A journey like this allows for lots of thinking, and I’ve been really lucky because a lot of my family and friends have come to walk a day or two days or three days with me.
“It’s been really special because you get that one on one time.”
Amazing resilience
Julie Mireault-Wiseman is one of those friends. They have known one another for many years, and used to run together. She joined Kaiser on Thursday, and will stay with her through to the end of the trail.
“Anna Marie is there for a lot of people, so it’s nice to be able to give back to her,” said Mireault-Wiseman.
After almost a month of walking, Kaiser said she is amazed at what her body can do following two surgeries and four rounds of treatment in the last 18 months.
“It’s four, five, maybe six hours a day of walking and I’m really tired at the end of the day,” she said. “I have a meal, I put my feet up, and the next day, it’s like it never happened. I’m ready to go again. The human body is just incredible.”
While she is considered cancer-free now, there will be more treatments and examinations in the years to come. She said the Island Walk is a way to focus on the positive while planning ahead for the future.
