Sask. man training for half Ironman triathlon while battling Stage 4 cancer
Robert Kirschman hopes to raise money, awareness for rare gastrointestinal stromal tumour cancer
As triathlete Robert Kirschman logs hour after hour on his stationary bike, he's often visited by his training partner — his seven-year-old daughter Aubrey.
"She joins me for my workout. I set up her bike beside mine and she sits there for the whole hour and spins her legs a bit and we have fun," Kirschman said.
Completing those bike rides, as well as regular runs and swim workouts, is hard enough for a person in perfect health. The 35-year-old from Meadow Lake, Sask., is battling gastrointestinal stromal tumour cancer, a rare affliction known as GIST.
The tumour was removed from his intestines, but not before the cancer spread to other organs. His cancer is categorized as Stage 4, the most advanced form. He's on medication that has allowed him to maintain his quality of life, but he knows the drugs won't be effective for the long term.
"Unfortunately, every line of treatment has a shelf life, so they won't continue to work. But, you know, I'm holding out hope that some miracle comes along," he said. "You never know, right? The longer I can last with each line of therapy, the better chance I have."
Whatever the future holds, he wants to take advantage of every day. He also wants to raise money and awareness for his little-known disease. He posts regular updates on his training to social media and is gaining a large following.
Kirschman is training to compete in a half Ironman triathlon in Florida in December. He'll have to swim 1.9 kilometres, then cycle 90 kilometres, followed by a 21.1 kilometre run.
Working with Saskatoon coach Brad Spokes, he's already up to more than 10 hours of training per week. He expects that to rise to 15 or more as the races day approaches.
Kirschman also wants to serve as an inspiration to his daughters, Aubrey and Ella.
"When I first got the news back in November, I was pretty down. The weight of reality, knowing that most likely, your goals and dreams for the far future are probably not going to come to fruition," he said.
"But like anything else in life, once you have a little bit of time to deal with it, you just learn to accept it. I can't let this situation destroy the time I have left. So I just keep moving forward."
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