Ultramarathoning for a Cause

You’ve heard of Terry Fox, of course. Everybody has. He’s the archtypical example of the athlete turning activist to raise awareness for a cause and raise funds. He has his own foundation and annual run, his own statues and memorials, and enough artefacts to fill a museum. He could end up canonised for all we know.

That being said, how much do you know about other runners taking to the road to raise awareness of a cause or raise funding for charity? It turns out it’s actually a big thing. Welcome to the world of ultramarathoning for a cause.

One athlete that is just as notable yet comparatively obscure is Al Howie. Ask marathoners around and they will tell you he’s the most famous character you’ve never heard of. Al started off with making very unhealthy life choices which would eventually kill him, but he would still make one record after another, such as crossing Canada in just 72 days. While it is questionable whether he was actually an activist (some would say his only interest was running), he did raise lots of money for charity.

Kathrine Switzer, on the other hand, is definitely an activist. She is credited with entering the 1972 Boston Marathon while it was still a men’s world, and would since run to promote social causes, chiefly feminism. Notably, she also authored books and gave keynote speeches.

More recently, I’ve documented Jessica Michalofsky, who’s about to embark on a five-week run across BC to raise awareness of the drug overdose crisis and clamouring for a safe drug supply. The run is named after her son Aubrey, who died of a fentanyl overdose last fall.

Meanwhile, Rob Tétrault is about to run across Manitoba asking for universal screening for congenital cytomegalovirus, which nearly claimed his newborn son. If you’ve never heard that mouthful term before, well, that’s why there’s a run about that.

Not every activist run is about raising funds for medical issues or charity, however. The New York-based Running To Protest community promotes runs denouncing all kinds of social ills, from gun violence to police brutality. Others, like Clare Gallagher, run for the sake of the environment. Or, like Nedd Brockmann and Junel Malapad, to combat homelessness.

And then there are those who can’t run but try anyway. Like this centenarian who walks to raise money for children.

Running has proven an effective medium to protest all kinds of social issues, largely due to the resulting media exposure. But there’s also the fact that taking an issue to the roads also brings it to the masses instead of merely reaching out via the media. A runner going through one community after another on foot is performing some kind of canvassing, conducting advocacy in person and swaying people one handshake at a time like politicians and fellow advocates conduct campaigns, which in my experience is more effective at swaying people than reaching out in an impersonal manner.

In extreme cases, like that of Terry Fox, the resulting imagery can be overpowering. Running across the country on a prosthetic leg makes it difficult for potential detractors to make excuses; if he could do something this spectacular for a cause, so can anyone.