One foot in front of the other, Myles Dininio is closing in on the halfway point of a run across Canada to raise money for mental health.
Dininio began in St. John’s on April 1 and has averaged 40 to 60 kilometres a day as he heads west to Vancouver. He passed through Sault Ste. Marie last week and arrived in Aurora on May 29.
The Zephyr father of two hopes to raise $50,000 for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, or CAMH, and spark discussion about mental health struggles affecting people across the country.
“If you don’t believe it’s affected you at some point, I think you have to look a little deeper,” Dininio told SooToday. “Just opening the conversation, that’s the biggest thing, getting people to not shy away from how they feel.”
Dininio said parts of the trip have been challenging, but he looks to Terry Fox for motivation.
“No one will ever do it like that gentleman’s done it, but to have an opportunity to run right behind him, it’s pretty incredible,” he said. “When I’m in those real bad ruts where I’m not in the mood, I just picture him in front of me. I picture stuff like that. That stuff carries me along.”
The 40-year-old carpenter has some history with long cross-country trips. At 18, he biked from Mount Albert to Nelson, British Columbia, after a bet with a friend.
“He bet me $100 I wouldn’t ride my bike to his house, so I did,” he said. “During that ride, I decided my next challenge would be to run across the country. I didn’t know it was going to take 22 years to get there, but here we are.”
Friends and family have taken turns supporting him on the road, driving his camper as he makes his way across Canada on foot.
Once he reaches Thunder Bay, his wife Jessica and their two children, 10-year-old Florence and 12-year-old Oliver, will join him for the western leg of the trip.
“They’re going to do the Prairies with me and the Rocky Mountains with me,” he said. “I’ve got their bicycles, so they’re going to ride their bicycles beside me.”
Dininio said he also takes pride in setting an example for his children while focusing on fundraising and starting conversations around mental health.
“I think the magnitude will hit them in a couple years,” he said. “That’s not what’s on my mind while I’m out there, but I do know that it’s going to set a good example for sure. A little bit of resilience and a little bit of determination can take you a long way.”
Read more from Aurora Today.
