The CrossFit community in Cape Breton came together Saturday for an event to honour a local woman credited with helping popularize the activity on the island.
Terri Jackson was only 51 when she passed away after a short battle with cancer.
The day began with a few words from friends at Crossfit D10 in Glace Bay, N.S. Everyone came to remember and honour a mother, sister and friend gone too soon.
“I really just couldn't believe it. I'm still in shock and sad. I wish I could give her one last hug,” said Trenton Gove, a friend of Jackson’s.
The unexpected loss has hit this community hard.
“Unfortunately we have to figure out now how life looks without her,” said Keely Wadden, also a friend of Jackson.
Now it's all about honouring Jackson's legacy, in a place she helped build it from the ground up.
The CrossFit gym in Glace Bay was like a second home for her, and Saturday, the workout was done in memory of what she's been called around here: a legend.
“It's exactly everything that she would want. There are gyms all over Canada and the United States that are participating in this workout today,” said Wadden.
Through the tears and heartache, the push was on to complete a workout built for those tough and determined like Jackson.
“The workout is just like her. It's tough and she would want you to push through it, so I’ll just be thinking no matter how much it hurts, I’ll keep pushing because that's what she'd want me to do,” said Gove.
A campaign called "Legacy for a Legend" is underway. It's a way to raise money and keep the doors open for a gym that had a special place in Jackson's heart.
“Terri was larger than life. She truly was. You can talk to anyone in this building, or anyone that's ever met her, and she made everyone feel the same. She had a way of touching people that's very rare and we're just so lucky to have had her for the time we did,” said Wadden.
Jackson leaves behind a husband and a 23-year-old son, along with several friends whose goal is to keep her memory alive.
