Here’s an up-to-date press release we’ve sent to the media in the UK, a version of which is also being promoted within Canada. Please feel free to share it.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 2013
Real-life Superhero half way through 5,000 mile Canada east coast-to-west coast run
British adventurer Jamie McDonald today reaches the half way mark in his historic 5,000 mile journey across Canada without a support team to raise money for children’s hospitals. The feat also marks Jamie’s one hundredth marathon and is, coincidentally, also his 27th birthday.
As British fundraising adventurer Jamie McDonald runs into the Canadian city of Sault Ste. Marie today, he reaches the half way point of an historic journey he has been documenting with regular video and social media updates, the most recent of which can be seen in videos on Jamie’s YouTube page. With 100 marathons remaining and just 120 days to do it, Jamie must keep up the pace.
The Canadian media and public have taken to Jamie McDonald, who has completed dozens of marathons dressed as superhero The Flash, after a public vote on his social media channels chose the costume for him.
World-record breaking adventurer McDonald is averaging more than a marathon every single day in his quest to become the first person to run across Canada without a support team. As a child, Jamie suffered from a debilitating immune deficiency and a rare spinal condition called syringomyelia that had him in and out of hospital until the age of nine.
Jamie’s coast-to-coast run, throughout which he is sleeping by the side of the road or relying on the generosity of strangers, is the equivalent of more than 200 marathons in 275 days. It has to be completed by mid-December, when his travel visa runs out. Jamie is running in aid of the SickKids Foundation in Toronto, as well as British charities Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and the Pied Piper Appeal, capturing hearts and imaginations as he continues the agonising trek across the country, having delivered a number of motivational speeches about past challenges and his current one.
Jamie is inspired by Canadian fundraiser and amputee Terry Fox, who unfortunately succumbed to cancer in 1981 before completing the cross-country run after 3,339 miles, aged just 22. His foundation has since raised more than C$500m for cancer research.
“As I continue my journey, I’m being repeatedly reminded of the goodwill and generosity Canadians are renowned for. The donations in Canada and in the UK in aid of hospitals that treated me have really started to roll in now and it’s making the tough times and every single step worthwhile. To reach the half way mark when so many said I wouldn’t make it is incredible, but the hard work is about to begin – I haven’t hit the Rockies yet! I’m very much taking a Forrest Gump approach to the run and basically just waking up and putting one foot in front of the other, there is no real planning here!
“I’m feeling fitter and stronger than ever and as I’ll soon enter a stage of my run where I won’t have access to social media or the ability to edit and upload video diaries, I just hope the support and donations continue. Terry Fox is a constant reminder to me that we can push ourselves to the limit and good can come of it and as the journey becomes more lonely, I’ll have his effort in my thoughts.”
Jamie can be tracked in near-real time by visiting this page: http://jamie.track24solo.com:10701/openstreet/map.aspx
Last year, Jamie cycled 14,000 miles from Bangkok to his hometown Gloucester, England, passing through dozens of countries. Along his journey, he was shot at, arrested and slept rough. Just two days after he finished the journey back from Bangkok; Jamie decided to attempt to break the world static cycling record, which stood at 224 hours and 24 minutes. Jamie pedalled for 265 hours (more than 11 days) in order to break the record. Jamie raised tens of thousands of pounds in the process of both challenges for the Pied Piper appeal.
Jamie’s run began in St John’s, Labrador in March and he hopes to reach Vancouver by mid-December 2013. Jamie will pass through mountain ranges, national parks and dangerous terrain as well as running alongside highways.
Jamie is updating his Twitter (www.twitter.com/MrJamieMcDonald) and Facebook profiles and recording videos throughout the challenge, which are all being shared on his YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/thejamiemc86) as well as his website.
For more information about Jamie, including ways to donate to his effort, please visit www.jamiemcdonald.org
ENDS
Please contact Rich Leigh on for images or to arrange an interview with Jamie.
Notes for editors:
Skype interviews can be set up with Jamie
Here is Jamie’s YouTube channel, featuring all of his videos from the Canada run as well as those from his cycle ride from Bangkok to Gloucester: http://www.youtube.com/user/thejamiemc86. This short video of Jamie’s experience cycling from Bangkok to Gloucester shows a number of key points in the journey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-zIzWyksFk
Jamie, 26, is from Gloucester, England. As a child, Jamie suffered from a debilitating immune deficiency and syringomyelia.