No doubt about it: Ayden Byle (BA '97) is a man in motion.

    Byle, 23, is running across Canada this year to raise money for diabetes research. A diabetic himself, Byle left Victoria, B.C., June 1. He hopes to make it to Halifax by December. The York grad says he draws inspiration for the run from Rick Hansen and Terry Fox.

    He began drumming up financial support for his "Canada Challenge" project last September. "I think Canada is ripe for something like this, for some person to come along and bring attention to the problem of diabetes," says Byle.

    Initially, he was nervous about the run. "You get scared. Canada's a big country. But I'm optimistic. It's mind over matter." His main concern was his own disease. Dependent on five insulin injections a day, Byle was unsure how his body would react to covering 45 kilometres every day. But so far so good.

    His aspirations for his crusade are almost as big as Canada itself. "I don't think there's anything more exciting than planning a trip across one of the largest countries in the world. And then there's the added excitement of trying to pull together 1.6 million people ­ that's how many diabetics there are in Canada."

Photo: Nik Sarros