“When I grow up I want to be ______”  was an annual question in my “Elementary School Daze” scrapbook.  Every year after Grade 1, I filled in the blank space with “lawyer.”  Barely seven years old, I knew only that my Dad was a lawyer where we lived in Estevan, Saskatchewan so I wanted to be one too someday.  Twenty years later, I joined the Department of Justice after graduating from UBC Law School. I am presently counsel with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. 

As Crown Counsel, I work with police and other enforcement agencies to carry out prosecutions under federal laws.  I have been involved in many different types of cases but invariably the work has been interesting and immensely rewarding. It has also been demanding. For years in a prolonged arduous trial, I toted boxes and briefcases between the office, courthouse, truck, and home. I was exhausted yet not sleeping.  

I lived in Vancouver with so much to do yet I was struck by how little I did but work. In the fall of 2003, determined to regain my fitness I walked into LadySport, a local running store, and ran out with my first of many pairs of Mizunos.  Summer 2004, I was struck again – alas this time by a taxi.  Although crushed to bench my running shoes, I was given the medical nod to cycle and swim.  So I tuned up my old high school Bianchi and peddled away.  I bought a new Speedo and dove into a public pool.  In 2005 I started to run again with an Ironcop in training.  The new road I was on turned into a highway … to Penticton …. where I witnessed an incredible event about which I previously knew nothing.  

Ironman Canada (IMC) is unbelievably motivating and inspiring.  The community and athletes support each other in accomplishing a goal that seems by description impossible:  SWIM 3.8 km, BIKE 180 km, RUN 42.6 km.  At IMC in Penticton, I saw proof that anything is possible. 

I also discovered that Ironcops for Cancer is a group of police and friends dedicated to help find a cure for Cancer while training to compete in Ironman Canada.  When I signed up to compete in Ironman with the Ironcops, I combined two lofty goals with little clue about the details needed to obtain them.  At that time, I had yet to run more than a 10 KM race or compete in a triathlon. I still had to buy a wetsuit, get a real bike, sign up for swimming lessons, learn about endurance nutrition, figure out how to train for three sports, manage a busy and stressful career, fundraise for cancer and find time for family and friends.  This was a lot to learn to balance.

What kept me focused?  Cancer has taken the lives of several family members including all four grandparents.  Given genetics and statistics, I believe it's simply a fact that my chances of getting cancer are high. Perhaps there will be a cure by then but maybe not.  And if not me, there will be members of my family or close friends, colleagues, friends of friends....   So, while I am healthy, I figure I should do my bit.

It’s a thrill to report that with the help of hundreds of people and their generous donations, the 2006 Ironcops for Cancer team raised over $1.3 Million dollars for the Canadian Cancer Society.

I’m also delighted to report that I have a 2006 finisher’s medal after successfully completing the Subaru Ironman Canada course in Penticton.   The best thing about the race was that loved ones were there to enjoy it with me. Amidst the crowd, I managed to see and hear both my parents during each transition. My Mom was cheering for me like she has done countless times in my life. A few meters further I saw my Dad who was smiling so hard that he had tears in his eyes.  I beamed back to thank them for being there, then and always. I could not have done what I have been able to do but for their love and support and that of so many other people in my life. I had so much fun that I smiled for the entire 11 hours and 6 minutes of what could have taken up to 17 hours. 

As a bonus I got one of the coveted slots for the Ironman World Championship in Kona in October. I knew that it was the original Ironman but not much more. I learned that upwards of 50,000 competitors attempt to qualify from the US and countries around the world for the 1,700 age group spots. I was told that many people are years on the triathlon road solely to get to Kona and that qualifying is the chance of a lifetime.  Who am I to pass up such an opportunity? So I also have a 2006 Hawaii Ironman World Championship finisher’s medal.  Totally unexpected from when I started this journey; and further proof that anything is possible.

In 2007, the triathlon road took me further than Kona. I was excited to be added to the 2007 Canadian National Long Distance Triathlon Age Group Team. Although continuing to train and fundraise with the Ironcops 2008 team, in July 2007 I flew to France to complete in the ITU Long Distance World Championships in a Triathlon Canada Team uniform. In 2008, I again raised funds for Ironcops but competed in Canadian team reds for both the Olympic and Long Distance World Championships in Vancouver and the Netherlands respectively. In 2009, I went to Australia to compete for Canada in both World Championships, the Olympic distance on the Gold Coast and LD was in Perth. What an incredible way I have started to see the world!

I'll be staying closer to home in 2010, trading in ITU events to focus on Ironcops. If I'm fortunate, I'll meet my fundraising targets and have as much fun on the Ironman Canada course in August in Penticton as I did the first time.

Training and fundraising are spare time efforts when not engaged in my regular prosecution duties.  If you met my colleagues, you might think that all of us are training for Ironman. Like police officers, prosecutors are independent yet accountable, dedicated and principled. All put in long hours, working under enormous stress and strain with barely time to recover beginning the next trial. Why?  It certainly is not for money, fame, and glory.  In a rarely credited but invaluable role, we work to promote the high standards and principles in the administration of criminal justice; to support the rule of law, to maintain the balance of the scales of justice.

For more information, comments or to make a contribution in support, please contact me at MichelleSBall@yahoo.ca or locate me on Facebook. TO DONATE to my fundraising for the Canadian Cancer Society, click here.