Back to school is a transitional week for parents. Some more than others.
Dave Proctor is back in the swing of things after two and a half months on the road across the country raising funds and awareness with the Outrun Rare Campaign.
“It’s a bit odd getting back to regular life,” said Proctor. “We’ve been away for two and a half months and it’s kind of weird coming back to town.
“I take a look at people on the pathways and they’re all wearing the orange shirts and even at the school, a lot of these moms and dads I didn’t know were all stopping me in the hallway. It’s a bit surreal. We didn’t think we would be making this much of a dent.”
Running 100 kilometres every day across the country has a way of attracting attention.
Proctor was in the national spotlight for his Outrun Rare Campaign, a journey to create awareness for rare disease. Dave’s nine-year-old son Sam has RECA, a rare disease that affects his balance and mobility.
“The reason for this campaign was we wanted to create more awareness and raise a lot of funds for rare disease research,” Proctor said. “As a father with a son with rare disease you kind of fall into a void and medicine doesn’t know how to support you and friends and family just say ‘what do we do?’
“When you don’t fall into a box, within our country and our medical system you just get pushed aside and you kind of feel like you’re really unsupported.”
The Okotokian set off on a planned coast-to-coast trek from Victoria, B.C. on June 27 and made it over 2,400 km to just east of Winnipeg by July 28.
Debilitating back pain forced the endurance athlete to cut the run short, but the campaign to bring a spotlight to rare diseases continued.
He continued to attend events throughout the country, ending the drive in Halifax.
Along the way a conversation about rare disease touched every community across the country. The campaign has raised close to $300,000 for rare disease research.
“Having this conversation starting up about rare and the need for more rare disease research and support and even a strategy at our federal government because we’re the only developed country in the world that doesn’t have a rare disease strategy and having that groundswell of support within the community of Okotoks and it extends out from there, all across Alberta and all across the country it’s heartwarming,” he said. “It makes you feel like your thoughts, your feelings, my purpose for doing this was valid, but it also gives us an incredible voice.
“When we go into meetings in Ottawa we can say ‘Hey, it’s not just me, look at this massive community that’s starting to have this conversation.’”
Though Dave was unable to add to his miles on the road, a campaign to have supporters donate their miles to the cause exploded.
The initial goal was to have the donated miles account for Proctor and his team’s remaining distance in the coast-to-coast trek.
“Right when I stopped this my goal was that Canadians would donate a 3km walk or 5 or 10km run, here and there, in order for us to achieve our goal of reaching from where I stopped east of Winnipeg all the way to St. John’s,” Proctor said. “I was thinking about that mileage and 5 km at a time, that’s a lot... I was even having these thoughts that come project’s end, on the final day we would get enough to get us over the top.”
Those expectations were swiftly blown out of the water.
“Our goal was to get to St. John’s and that happened within days,” he said. “Now we’ve accumulated over 50,000 kilometres. And the messaging behind that is clear and simple, Canadians now care. They’re putting themselves out, they’re going for that long walk, long run and they care.
“It’s incredible.”
The journey across the country is over, for now.
But the movement is just getting started.
This weekend the Foothills Outrun Rare Fun Run, Sept. 8 at 175 Cimarron Drive in Okotoks, will allow local supporters to get behind Proctor.
The event is a 5km fun run/walk, featuring a meet-and-greet with Proctor. It’s a fundraiser for rare disease.
“Having a community that’s got your back, me as a person and my family with my son Sam, words can’t describe how that feels,” he said. “Number two, that people are willing to donate all those kilometres and get behind this cause more so than other ones, it validates.”
For more information on the Foothills Outrun Rare Fun Run go to aceroster.com/events/2018/19547/outrun-rare-foothills
