When you play football, experiencing a bit of discomfort now and then is to be expected. The severe stomach issues and chronic back pain Dal Tigers quarterback Grayson Domingues began suffering in the fall of 2022 felt different, though.
And it was. Medical tests revealed Grayson's body was riddled with tumours. Doctors discovered five in total in his esophagus, liver, and back, the result of two rare types of cancer: adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine.
Shown right: Grayson on the field in his Tigers uniform.
Grayson's life changed overnight. Then in third year, he put his arts degree and other activities on hold and decamped to his hometown of Toronto to be treated at the Princess Margaret Hospital there.
Louis Fiset, an offensive lineman with the men’s football team, and fellow teammates hatched an idea last summer to host a virtual athletic fundraising event to show their support for their friend and fellow Tiger.
The goal: for participants to collectively log 1,800 kilometres on the Strava fitness app by walking, running, and biking — the distance from Dal's Wickwire Field (home base for the Tigers) all the way to the Princess Margaret in Toronto where Grayson was receiving treatment. They raised $8,000 to support the hospital's cancer patients.
"Grayson is a really good friend of mine,” says Louis, a Dal kinesiology student from Ottawa planning a career in parasport. “It's a cause that's really close to heart.”
Building local support
This year, Louis and his teammates reimagined the event as an in-person 5-kilometre run in support of the QEII Hospital in Halifax where Grayson had tumours removed this past winter.
The event, which they are calling One Run, happens Saturday, August 24 at 1 p.m. in Dartmouth's Shubie Park. Support has already been pouring in from sponsors and the community in the push to raise $10,000, but organizers are hoping to draw even more people to register for the run.
Louis says he and his fellow Tigers missed Grayson immensely when he had to stop playing.
"It was really tough to lose him from the team, especially in the quarterback room where he had a large leadership presence," says Louis. "He had a really calming presence. He's a really level-headed guy, but is also really skilled and was a great mentor to a lot of the young quarterbacks."
While Grayson wasn't able to hit the field last season, he was invited back in a supporting role, explains Louis.
"Luckily, last year he came into more of a quarterback's mentor coach role. He really helped the young guys just by his presence."
Grayson, who is back in Halifax now after spending the summer back home, plans to be on site next weekend to cheer runners on and will be starting classes at Dal again this fall.
Louis says his friend's condition has improved somewhat in recent months and that he's excited to see him returning to Dal again this fall.
"It's been really good having him back," he says. "We'll have him back as a coach in the fall as well."
Visit the One Run event page for more details and to register.