Kamloops man pushing hard in last leg of run across Canada

KAMLOOPS – It’s been a long haul for Edward ‘Fast Eddy’ Dostaler, a Kamloops man running across Canada for the last seven months, but the last stretch will be his toughest; its a race against time.

On Sept. 19, Dostaler calculated the distance left to get to Sydney, N.S., about 420 kilometres, and then learned he only had five days to do it. The ferry from Sydney to Argentia, Nfld., will be closed for the season on Sept. 25, he says.

In a video to his Facebook followers, Dostaler explains what would happen if he didn’t run the required 85 kilometres a day to get there on time. He would have to take a separate ferry to Port aux-Basques and run an extra 900-kilometre detour across the province — a distance he didn’t expect to tack on to the initial 21,585 kilometres.

As of this morning, Sept. 22, Dostaler was outside Antigonish, N.S., with roughly 200 kilometres to Sydney after plugging through difficult, hilly terrain. Once he reaches Argentia, it will only be 127 kilometres until St. John's, his final destination.

Dostaler began the solo trek March 1 in Victoria in hopes to raise awareness and funds for both Alzheimers and breast cancer research. The 27 year old plans to make a return run back across the country.

Dostaler was not immediately available for comment. 

To contact a reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.