A Montreal couple is preparing to take on the Montreal Marathon together this weekend, years after an ALS diagnosis dramatically changed their lives.
Spencer Levine will run the 42.2-kilometre course while pushing his wife, Amanda Tam, in a specially adapted wheelchair.
The idea came last spring, when Tam went to cheer on Levine at an Ironman competition and the couple saw another person with a disability participating with assistance.
“We actually saw a (person with a disability) being pushed and they were attached to the bike, they were on a kayak for the swimming portion and Spencer thought it would be a cool idea to do the same,” Tam told Global News on Thursday.
The high school sweethearts, who married in 2024, bought a specialized running wheelchair in June and have since trained more than 600 kilometres for the Montreal Marathon.
“We have trained all throughout the summer from June until now,” Levine said. “We’ve run 623 kilometres as of today.”
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Tam, a McGill University graduate, was 20 years old when she was diagnosed with ALS.
Dr. Angela Genge, clinical research program director at the McGill Neurological Institute, described Tam as remarkably upbeat.
“She is one of these kids that in another circumstance would have flown,” Genge said.
The neurodegenerative disease has taken away much of Tam’s autonomy, leaving her reliant on Levine, who is also her primary caregiver.
Claudine Cook, executive director of the Quebec ALS Society, said the couple have become “incredible ambassadors.”
“Having a care partner like Spencer along her side is just … they’ve been really incredible ambassadors,” Cook said.
The couple has been determined to share their experiences, and their marathon effort is also raising money for ALS Quebec.
“Just because I was dealt an unlucky hand or the fact that I have a death sentence, I mean, it doesn’t mean that you have to stop living,” Tam said.
Training for the marathon has also given the couple more time together.
“As someone who trains 10 to 15 hours a week, having those extra six to 10 hours a week with her is just so meaningful and has made us grow so much closer as a couple,” Levine said.
But even getting to the starting line at Parc Jean-Drapeau could pose a challenge, with Berri-UQAM Metro station not fully accessible.
“I love the fact that we have this huge marathon, but if you have a wheelchair category … make it at least accessible to get to,” Tam said.
With 20,000 people expected at the starting line, the couple also wants to avoid traffic.
Tam said she uses social media in part to draw attention to accessibility issues in Montreal while encouraging others to continue living their lives despite difficult circumstances.
“That is also why I have social media, to bring awareness to, I guess, accessibility around the city and to also to keep living life no matter what,” she said.