Cason King and Matt Reddy will never know how much of an impression they made on Jonathan Valdes when they attended St. Christopher Secondary together. Hopefully, the event Jonathan pitched in their honour, will reach them somehow.
On Saturday, July 27, the Cyclone Community Walk/Run will take place at the Terry Fox Loop at Canatara Park. Everyone is welcome and the event is free—no need to be a former Cyclone team member.
The three young men ran together in high school for the Cyclones, the running team at St. Christopher Secondary (now St. Patrick’s).
“These two kids were leaders for us,” Valdes said of King and Reddy, who recently passed away. “I would always see them and to me it seemed so natural for them to be good at sports. I know for a fact if it was me or anyone else on the team… if the situations were reversed, without hesitation they would do exactly the same thing.”
Years after high school in 2022, Cason King, a scientist, suddenly passed away after catching a virus that affected his heart muscle and caused a heart attack.
“It’s important to tell people, you don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring, so value today,” said his mom Sherry King. “I read a quote that said, ‘you can’t add days to your life but you can add life to your days.’
“Our boys don’t have any more days — they should — so value the life you have.”
Matt Reddy passed away suddenly in 2023 of complications from a mountain bike accident in British Columbia where he was living at the time.
“Matt was a lover of life….he tackled mountains, he tackled rivers, he lived on adventure. He lived large and he lived life,” said Matt’s mom Angie.
“It’s about what Jonathan is doing to honour his teammates,” said Sherry King. “So we thought we would call it the Cyclone Community Run/Walk since they were all on the Cyclone running team, and we are trying to encourage other graduates from St. Chris to come out too. “The goal in my mind is if we were to go forward another year, maybe include more moms who have lost children…and this could be something where we could gather more moms to honour their kids…it’s important to support each other and this is one way to do it.”
The event takes place on Saturday, July 27, for a 5km run or 2 km walk at Canatara Park (Terry Fox Loop). No registration is required. All donations will be gladly accepted and be put towards Matt and Cason’s charities of choice.