Vancouver BC – At the end of March, adventure athlete Rob Hill will be embarking on his final challenge in the No Guts Know Glory Seven Summits Campaign – tackling the highest peak in each of the seven continents. Everest is the last peak Rob needs to summit to complete his mission.

A feat only achieved by a handful of Canadians to date, Rob will be the first Canadian with Crohn's disease to complete all seven summits. Rob doesn't let Crohn's disease define him, and he's issuing a challenge to Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients in Canada and around the world: Go to www.IBDadventures.com and share your inspirational story, image or video about how “IBD Doesn't Stop Me.”

“Crohn's disease hit me at age 23 and I quickly went from being very active to very sick,” says Rob, who was diagnosed in 1994. “I went through depression and anger, and asked ‘why me?'”

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) – which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis – is a painful condition affecting the digestive system and causes the intestines to become inflamed, form sores, bleed easily, scar and lose the normal smoothness of their inner lining. IBD affects more than 200,000 Canadians.

Thanks to treatments and a strong family support system, Rob regained control of his body and became active again. “When I became strong enough, I decided to speak out about the illness and challenge the stigma associated with it. People need to know that living, and thriving, with Crohn's disease is possible.”

Rob encourages others with IBD to accompany him on his adventures, and in 2009, met young Clinton Shard of Squamish, BC. “I saw Clinton at his lowest moment – in the hospital after being diagnosed – and he shared that experience with me,” says Rob.

“I had to stop running, hiking, rock-climbing and mountain-biking.” recalls Clinton. “I even stopped hanging out with friends.” After a four-year battle with Crohn's disease, Clinton found a treatment regime that not only works for him, it allowed Clinton to move beyond Crohn's disease and join Rob on a successful climb up Mount Kilimanjaro last fall. Clinton will accompany Rob to Everest base camp this spring as part of the IBD Adventures 2010 Everest Base Camp trek to raise awareness of IBD and funds to support the society's important programs.

Before leaving for Everest in late-March 2010, Rob and Clinton will be visiting hospitals and schools in Montreal (February 22 nd ), Toronto (March 8 th ) and Calgary (March 16 th ) to spread the word about the campaign. For updated talk information visit www.IBDadventures.com, home of the “IBD Doesn't Stop Me” forum for IBD patients and supporters.