Ryan Keeping, a 26-year-old from Halifax, Nova Scotia, completed a 99-day cross-country run on Sunday, July 7, reaching the finish line in Victoria, B.C. His journey, which began on April 1 in St. John’s, N.L. on Canada’s East Coast, spanned 7,386 kilometers (4,589 miles), raising nearly $250,000 CAD (about $183,554 USD) for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Inspired by Terry Fox, Keeping did not set out to break records but to meet people across the country, hear their stories, and raise awareness for heart disease—a condition that has deeply affected his family. Running over 75 kilometers (46.6 miles) daily, Keeping easily surpassed his initial fundraising goal of $100,000 and set a new goal of $250,000 (CAD). He’s currently raised $237,000 at the time of publication.
Who Was Terry Fox?
Terry Fox was a young Canadian hero in the fight against cancer. While in university, Fox was diagnosed with bone cancer, which led to the amputation of one of his legs above the knee. After learning to run with his prosthetic leg, Fox decided to run across Canada with the goal of raising money for cancer research. His run, dubbed the Marathon of Hope, began in St. John’s, Newfoundland, on April 12, 1980, and was supposed to end in British Columbia.
However, on September 1, 1980, Fox was forced to stop his run just outside Thunder Bay, Ontario, due to chest pains. Doctors soon discovered that the cancer had spread to his lungs, and he was unable to continue his journey across Canada. By the time Fox had to stop his run, he had covered 5,374 km and had raised some $1.7 million. In early 1981 the Marathon of Hope surpassed Fox’s goal of $24 million in donations.
Although he underwent many treatments, Fox succumbed to his cancer on June 28, 1981. He was named the youngest Companion of the Order of Canada and has been named Canadian of the Year twice.
Throughout his journey, Keeping documented his experiences on Instagram, garnering an audience of over 100,000 followers. His journey was marked by community support as people shared personal stories of how heart disease had impacted their lives, “The interactions through the 99 days changed my life forever and I thank everyone for that. I am forever grateful for this journey and I hope we can all take a lesson from this, that anything is possible, whether you’re a couch potato or an athlete.”
In major cities like Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Vancouver, he organized meet-and-greet events and runs, “Thank you for all the run meet ups in the beautiful city’s we ran through,” he said in an Instagram post, “THANK YOU CANADA for running across this beautiful country with me.”
Reaching the end of his run, Keeping poured water he collected in a jug from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific, a tribute to Terry Fox. “This wasn’t about a record or bragging rights. This was about Canada, the children, and the amazing people along the way. The interactions throughout the 99 days changed my life forever,” he wrote, “We filled the jug with water from the Atlantic Ocean and emptied it in the Pacific, it’s what Terry wanted and I’m happy to say I could honour my run for him.”
Keeping’s motivation with the Heart and Stroke Foundation stems from personal experience—his father and grandfather suffered from heart disease, and his siblings recently tested positive for the gene causing heart issues.
You can still donate to Keeping’s cause by heading to his website, which is linked here.
