Most of us would probably put more planning into staging a stag-do in Skegness than Jamie McDonald did for his 5,000-mile trip.
“I didn’t think about the logistics,” says the 27-year-old from Gloucester, who became the first person in history to run across Canada from east to west without a support crew. “I knew if I did that, I’d frighten myself off. Jumping in at the deep end was the only way to actually do it.”
And what a deep end it proved to be. Jamie wasn’t even a runner when he started on his 10-month odyssey. “My training started on the first day of the 300-day challenge,” he says. “I ran 20 miles and then built up to doing an average of 26 miles – a marathon – every day.”
So what motivated a non-runner to tackle such an epic running challenge? “As a child, I had a rare spinal condition so I was in and out of hospital until the age of nine,” he says. “I was told my illness was likely to affect my mobility. Hence, having made a full recovery, I decided I wanted to give something back to the hospitals that cared for me by raising funds for sick kids.”
Sardines and strength-training
Having had his fancy dress outfit chosen for him via a Facebook vote, Jamie donned the crimson garb of the comicbook superhero The Flash. Dipping his hand into the cold Atlantic water in St John’s, Canada’s most easterly point, he let out a loud holler and set off.
Jamie made steady progress through Newfoundland, Quebec and Ontario, sometimes running in temperatures as high as 40C (“fortunately the Flash suit was breathable”), fuelled by adrenaline and encouraged by the way more and more Canadians came out onto the roads to run with him. Many offered him a hot meal or a place to sleep for the night: “It made a nice change from camping in ditches and toilets,” he laughs. He remained injury free by religiously doing yoga and strength-training using logs as weights. “I also ate lots of sardines!’”
Do it or ditch it
Everything was fine until, 3,000 miles in, the wheels started to come off. “I’d developed chronic tendonitis and my foot was incredibly inflamed,” says Jamie, who was forced to hole up in Winnipeg. “I was really down in the dumps at this point but the generosity of the Canadians pulled me through. One couple, Bridget and Kent Robinson, took me into their home and I spent seven days there recuperating (and drinking real coffee). During that time Bridget taught me everything I needed to know about running in temperatures that can plunge to minus 40C and beyond. And before I left, Kent laid out all his Merino wool sub-zero running kit and told me to take whatever I wanted.”
Jamie had thought a week’s rest would fix his foot but during his first day back on the tarmac he realised he’d been wrong: “It flared up again and I knew I had two choices: quit, or run through the pain knowing each step would be agony. I chose to run – and I’m delighted I did.”
By now what was once a jolly jape for a superhero without a cape turned into a battle for survival as Jamie slogged across the Canadian prairies in eye-wateringly cold conditions. “One day I took off my ski mask to defog it and got frostbite on my nose,” he says. “The tip turned a weird brown colour and I kept asking every Canadian I met: ‘Am I going to lose my nose?’ They all shrugged and said: ‘Yeah, probably’. Thankfully they were only joking, but for an entire week I really believed it would happen.”
The warmth of the Canadians he met on the way kept spurring Jamie on. But there were dark days too. “When I realised I wouldn’t make it home for Christmas the loneliness got to me and I spent an entire day crying,” he says. Another low point was being robbed in Banff. “Three guys beat me up and took my bag, which contained my wallet and all my video footage. After my tweets and Facebook message went viral, the bag was handed in, minus $300 of my own money – luckily I’d recently banked the cash donations.” But this unhappy incident had an unexpected plus side. “The story hit the headlines and loads of money flooded in for my charities as a result.”
Euphoria and hypothermia
And then, on 4 February 2014, Jamie finally made it to Vancouver, having run Canada from coast to coast. “When I reached the ocean, I didn’t just dip my hand into it, I dove right in – which was a bit stupid as it almost resulted in hypothermia.”
On his return to Britain, over 1,000 people turned up at Gloucester Cathedral to celebrate his achievement. “I was awarded the Medallion of the City,” he says. “I believe this means I have the right to herd sheep through the city centre. I actually feel a bit obliged to do so now!”
Sheep-herding aside, what’s next for the intrepid fundraising adventurer? “I’m hoping to write a book and do a documentary about my trip, and then I’ll think of something else,” he says. “I now know I can do whatever I want – perhaps pogo-stick around the world?’
To sponsor Jamie, visit www.jamiemcdonald.org
