Man plans 100 K run to help KidSport

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2011-05-12/article-2501130/Man-plans-100-K-run-to-help-KidSport/1

Man plans 100 K run to help KidSport

Lieut. (Navy) Joel MacDonald, a native of Belfast,
hopes to run 100 kilometres Friday on
Prince Edward Island to raise money for
KidSport and to complete a personal challenge.

Published on May 12, 2011
Jim Day

Lieut. (Navy) Joel MacDonald isn’t one to just inch forward in his passion for running.

The native of Belfast has been aiming for an increasingly more distant finish line since he ran three half marathons in 2006.

MacDonald, 26, who lives in Halifax with his wife Kelsey, went on to run his first full marathon in May 2009. He completed two more after that.

Traditional marathons like the three MacDonald have under his belt measure a little over 42 kilometres each.

He since pounded out 55 kilometres in February in his longest run to date.

Now he is planning a punishing 100-kilometre attempt on Prince Edward Island Friday in a run from the East Point lighthouse to Confederation Landing Park in Charlottetown.

“It is quite a leap,’’ MacDonald said of his ambitious goal of what equates to running roughly two-and-a-half marathons. “If I did it in 15-16 hours, I would be happy. Then again it could take 18 hours.’’

The challenging run is meant to fill the void of an ultra marathon MacDonald had hoped to run but due to logistics (he will soon be posted in Yellowknife) left him unable to commit to a race.

So instead MacDonald is setting up his own ultra marathon. He will be the lone competitor in the run but he is expecting some friends to join him for portions of his pavement pounding. Some will bring him supplies along the route but MacDonald will also carry water in a light backpack.

MacDonald, who participated in two of the HMCS Charlottetown Run for Wishes charity events, is also using his personal challenge as a fundraiser.

All proceeds raised from his run will go towards KidSport - a Sport P.E.I.-administered charity that allows children from families with financial barriers to engage in healthy activity and to participate in organizing sporting activities.

“The fact that anybody is going to run 100 kilometres is pretty impressive,’’ said Gemma Koughan, executive director of Sport P.E.I.

“We couldn’t be happier that he contacted us and said that he wanted to raise money for KidSport. We are pretty pleased with Joel and his efforts.’’

Donations in support of MacDonald’s quest can be made at Sport P.E.I. by calling 368-4110 or by going online to www.sportpei.pe.ca and clicking on the KidSport link.

Our earlier post on Joel's Ultramarathon