Harbouring no emotional expectations, he had travelled to Wales in 2011 to visit the gravesite of the teenager whose heart was beating in his chest. But that day, looking at the headstone in the cemetery and standing beside the father of the organ donor, Keith was moved beyond words.

He felt his own life shift.

“I definitely had an epiphany.”

A quarter-century earlier, the transplant had saved Keith. But back then, bringing together the families of organ recipients and donors was not commonplace. “The thinking was, ‘If you dare to reach out, that will open the wounds and they’ll have to relive the trauma,’” he says. “The philosophy was that you had to keep everyone separated.”

But the former soccer star—in the process of writing a book about being the first person to play professional sports after heart-transplant surgery—realized he needed to know more about the gift’s origins, even decades later.

So, Keith arranged that overseas trip to pay his respects to donor Jonathan Groves and their heart’s history. “I hadn’t thought much about the family and the young man who’d passed away,” he says. “Up till that time, my competitiveness was focused inward — I need to do this, I need to do this, I need to …”

People wired like me are so competitive and so driven, nothing that happened yesterday is relevant. It’s always, ‘What’s on the horizon?’

But, jolted by the graveyard experience, Keith’s me-first approach vanished. He was inspired. “It was, ‘I’m going to change — I’m going to do for others.’”

Energized by the possibilities, he established the Simon Keith Foundation with his wife, Kelly, to help young organ recipients return to active lifestyles and to raise awareness about donor registration.

Committed to advocacy, he openly shares his powerful story with dozens of audiences every year. “It’s really mission driven and it’s really for those kids.”

He recently hosted the Simon Keith Foundation Heart of Gold Gala and Concert, a red-carpet event in Victoria, B.C. that generated $3 million in donations. “We’re definitely going to do more galas. Maybe in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Vegas, New York, who knows?”

Trust him to figure it out. Because Keith—born in England, raised in Victoria, settled in Las Vegas—isn’t one to sit still. “People wired like me are so competitive and so driven, nothing that happened yesterday is relevant. It’s always, ‘What’s on the horizon?’”

That full-steam-ahead mentality has served him well.
As a blossoming soccer player, he had been determined to crack Team Canada’s lineup and participate in the 1986 World Cup. Ever gung-ho, he was on pace, until, as a 19-year-old striker of the University of Victoria, he got a diagnosis of viral myocarditis. Without a new heart, he was dead.

The wait was excruciating. “Soul-sucking, dark, lonely, a terrible place to be,” Keith says. “Groundhog Day every day. You can’t think about anything else. You can’t eat. You can’t sleep. It’s where character is born, that’s for sure.”

Eventually welcoming a donation—Groves, only 17, had perished while playing soccer—Keith was immediately obsessed with the goal of returning to the pitch. His surgeon, Sir Terence English, encouraged him, saying go ahead and “resume the life you led prior to being sick.”
Music to his ears. “That became my North Star.”

Three years later, while starring for the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, he was selected No. 1 in the Major Indoor Soccer League’s draft by the Cleveland Crunch. Soon after, he became the first post-heart-transplant professional player—in any sport. “Ability, perseverance, stupidity, whatever you want to call it, I’m really proud,” says Keith, who, later, suited up for the Victoria Vistas, Winnipeg Fury and Montreal Supra of the Canadian Soccer League. “It happened.

I was there, man. I know how hard it was.”

He has barely slowed. Earlier this year, against all odds, Keith celebrated his 60th birthday. “Every day is uncharted territory. What’s up? What’s next?” It’s no surprise to hear that he runs and cycles, lifts weights and plays tennis, golfs and cheers for his beloved Vegas Golden Knights. He carries on like someone half his age.

“I’m in a world where just being me is really fun.”

His remarkable journey is ongoing, but Keith acknowledges that he’s taken time to reflect, to consider the mark he’s making.

He’s been immortalized numerous times—Order of Canada, David Foster Foundation Visionary Award, inductions into assorted halls of fame—so one would blame him for puffing out his chest, which, by the way, contains his third heart after a 2019 procedure that also included
a kidney transplant.

But his outlook is decidedly selfless.

“The reality? I’ll be viewed as someone who did something that no one else had done before, which is great, but it’s not the legacy I want,” says Keith. “I’m hoping there’s people in the world who have been helped, who have changed their perspective, through an interaction with me or my family or my team. That’s what I ultimately hope.” 

Photography: JerryMetellus

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Read This Story in Our 2025 Fall Fitness Issue

IMPACT Magazine’s Fall Fitness Issue 2025 featuring the The Fitness Guy, Pete Estabrooks, telling all with his shockingly candid new memoir revealing a story you never expected, as well as former pro soccer player Simon Keith and Paralympian Erica Scarff. Find your ultimate guide to cross-training for runners, no jump cardio and superset workouts along with the best trail running shoes in our 2025 Trail Running Shoe Review, and so much more!

At 12, Scarff was a competitive gymnast but one day everything changed. She was sprinting towards the vault at practice and heard something pop, followed by a tremendous amount of pain. Her coach came running and called her parents to take her to the hospital.

“He actually had to carry me out of the gym. I was in so much pain,” Scarff recalls.

But because the pain was coming from her thigh, the doctor at the hospital didn’t think she’d broken anything and was going to send her away without an X-ray. Her mom knew her pain tolerance and pushed for that X-ray. It not only showed a broken femur but also a shadow.

That led to the diagnosis no family wants to hear—cancer—specifically osteosarcoma, the rare bone cancer Terry Fox was also diagnosed with three decades before.

The treatment was aggressive and she underwent 60 rounds of chemotherapy during the course of a year and, like Fox, had to have her right leg amputated. “Chemo is really tough, it makes you feel completely awful,” she says. “My mom would always bring a blanket from home to comfort me.”

When the time came to amputate her leg, Scarff remembers being resigned to the decision. “When I was going through my cancer treatment, I accepted it, I wasn’t happy about it but I took it in stride.”

Her battle prompted family friend, Sue Strong, to start Erica’s Wish as a way to support her and her family. The initiative’s blanket program continues to bring warmth, comfort and hope to children facing the biggest battles of their lives. Initially, Strong delivered blankets in Toronto to the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), where Scarff was treated, but now sends them across Ontario.

Scarff has gone on some of those deliveries. “It can be hard to go back to SickKids but there’s also a lot of positive things that happened there.”

“I instantly fell in love with the sport. I really enjoyed being in the boat and leaving my prosthetic on the dock.”

Without her treatment, Scarff wouldn’t be on the course she is now, and for that, she’s thankful.

Once in remission, it was a chance encounter that led her to compete on the world stage. “The thing I was really missing was that sport and competitive aspect,” Scarff says. While her parents tried to help her find something to fill the void left by gymnastics—swimming, biking, downhill skiing—she didn’t love anything.

One day she was at the prosthesis clinic when she ran into a friend who happened to be there with coach Mari Ellery. Ellery suggested she try Para canoe. “I instantly fell in love with the sport. I really enjoyed being in the boat and leaving my prosthetic on the dock.”

Now in her late teens, she used that first summer to ease into the sport, competing in a few races. But that fire was reignited and, with Ellery as her coach, she quickly started pushing herself harder.

It was around that time it was announced Para canoe would debut at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. “Once I saw I had the potential, I put a lot of pressure on myself,” Scarff recalls. “I started training even harder to see what could happen.”

She made her Paralympic debut alongside the sport she’d fallen in love with. “It was really cool to see so many other disabled athletes from around the world. It was a really positive experience.” A seventh place finish spurred her passion and she set her sights on Tokyo 2020.

But Scarff was dealt another devastating blow. She was crossing the street in 2018 when she was struck by a car. “It was pretty terrible but when I look at it in the grand scheme, I’m quite lucky it wasn’t worse,” Scarff says.

The recovery derailed her training and her life. In her early twenties at that time, she had recently moved out on her own and was attending school. Instead, she was forced to move back home and couldn’t wear her prosthesis. “It took me a really long time to recover.”

When she was finally able to get back in a boat, Scarff says it felt like she was starting over.

Despite clawing her way back, she narrowly missed qualifying for Tokyo. Still, she continued on and then it was announced Para canoe events would be expanding for Paris 2024.

There are two main boats in Para canoe: kayaks (propelled by a double-blade paddle) and va’a boats (an outrigger canoe propelled by a single-blade paddle). Up until this point, Scarff had been competing in kayaks. “I decided to switch events and see if I could qualify.” That came with another set of hurdles as she learned the ins and outs of a different event.

The move provided some of her biggest career highlights, seeing a gold medal finish at the 2022 World Cup, a silver medal at the 2023 World Championships and a fifth place finish in Paris.

The 2024 Paralympics were a redeeming moment for her, she says. Not only did she get to compete in Paris, but it felt like her hard work had paid off after missing Tokyo.

Another notable moment came for her this summer at the 2025 World Championships in Milan—the same city she competed at her first worlds in 10 years ago. This time her parents were able to accompany her and watch her eighth place finish live.

“I’ve been in the sport so long, it’s really cool to see things come full circle like that.” 

Photography: CKC/Vera Bucsu

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IMPACT Magazine’s Fall Fitness Issue 2025 featuring the The Fitness Guy, Pete Estabrooks, telling all with his shockingly candid new memoir revealing a story you never expected, as well as former pro soccer player Simon Keith and Paralympian Erica Scarff. Find your ultimate guide to cross-training for runners, no jump cardio and superset workouts along with the best trail running shoes in our 2025 Trail Running Shoe Review, and so much more!

Six days in, his appendages and eyelashes are frozen, his clothes are wet and won’t dry, his back aches. His level of exhaustion is nearing the danger zone. Even his Garmin has stopped working due to the extreme subarctic conditions.

There are moments of beauty that permeate the desolation and discomfort, like the aurora borealis glimmering overhead in their ghostly beauty. But after 366 kilometres on the course, Crowe can’t deny the reality: the relentless cold is putting his safety at serious risk.

The 54-year-old Calgarian and tech-company executive was one of 46 racers in the 2025 Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra, held February 2 to 14. Participants of this race, billed as the world’s coldest ultramarathon, battle across 640 kilometres of undulating landscape through snow, ice and cold. They follow an old sled-dog route that joins the communities of Teslin and Faro. The wilderness is remote—the conditions brutal.

“I could feel that things were starting to come undone,” Crowe remembers. “I could barely stand upright… I had to think about my safety. How far am I going to push this? When is enough, enough?”

He concluded it was time to exit the race and return to his family.

Leaving a race early is tough for an endurance athlete like Crowe because they devote their lives to setting and reaching goals and challenging themselves physically and mentally.

“There is something really powerful about doing things that you think you can’t do and building that muscle around self-belief—of overcoming doubt, of overcoming obstacles, of calling on your tenacity and your courage,”

he explains. “They’re all muscles; you need to build them… When you [do], your life will be so much more fulfilled.”

There is something really powerful about doing things that you think you can’t do and building that muscle around self-belief.

After leaving the race, Crowe learned that more than 30 people exited before he did. A few had been rescued by helicopters;
some were recovering in hospital from frostbite. Only three runners finished the Yukon Ultra this year.

Crowe was disappointed in not finishing, but not just because he fell short of his goal. He wanted to fulfill a promise to the friend who’d inspired him to run in the first place.

In 2010, Crowe’s good friend, Ryan Westerman, was just 37 years old when he succumbed to brain cancer. It was in his memory that Crowe founded Give a Mile, a non-profit that helps people fly to visit loved ones who are terminally ill so they can say goodbye. With charity status and operations in both Canada and the United States, Give a Mile has, since its founding in 2013, flown more than 1,300 family members to or from 151 countries using 61,275,771 miles.

Crowe hoped to raise another 37 flights—Westerman’s age at his passing—by becoming the first person to complete two monumental challenges in the Yukon in one year: stand-up paddleboarding 715 kilometres on the Yukon River Quest and finishing the Yukon Ultra.

In June 2024, he completed the Yukon River Quest challenge, voyaging from Whitehorse to Dawson City in the world’s longest annual paddling race. He not only completed the race; he earned a bronze medal and his first podium finish as an endurance athlete.

The Yukon Ultra, however, is the one that got away.

It was to cope with the grief of Westerman’s illness that Crowe started running to begin with. Watching his friend at the end of life, Crowe was motivated to do things he’d dreamed of but hadn’t done—like running a marathon.

Watching Westerman, Crowe concluded, “You want to be deliberate about the time you use. There’s only so much of it, so be very awake to how you’re using that time… Decide, ‘These are the things I want to do. I’m doing them because they are important to me.’”

A month after Westerman passed in 2010, Crowe completed his first marathon and has piled on the mileage ever since. He is committed to not putting off goals, even when facing his own challenges, like a serious health issue that resulted in hospitalization in 2022.

Six weeks after Crowe left the frigid Yukon Ultra, he travelled to another extreme temperature zone and completed the Arizona Monster 300, a 304-mile journey through southern Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, a rugged and challenging route through backcountry terrain and high elevation mountains.

He felt he owed it to his supporters who helped him raise the 37 flights in Westerman’s name to complete an ultra.

“It was incredible to get to the finish line, to overcome that self-doubt [after the Yukon Ultra]. It felt like I was on top of the world,” he says.

“If you’re right now sitting on a couch reading this, and you think you can’t even run a 5K, you can. Believe in yourself. Put the work in, and you will do it. You’re going to feel amazing at the end.” 

Photography: Graham McKerrell
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IMPACT Magazine Summer Outdoor Travel Issue 2025 featuring Shanda Hill, a Canadian Ultra Triathlete who is redefining the sport. Run on some epic trails in our own backyard or join a run club. Eat your way for Mental Clarity, fueling while travelling, seasonal eating and some kitchen must haves. Become strong and fit in only 20 minutes a day, and enjoy some tasty drinks guilt free and so much more.

It was a punishing race for the mother, but despite the sleepless and nausea-ridden race, Case knew there was only one thing that mattered.

“I didn’t want to show up on the finish line destroyed,” she says. “Pepper comes first.”

A few months before Hardrock 100, in May of 2025, Case made headlines when photos of her breastfeeding a then-six-month-old Pepper during the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia race in Wales went viral.

Case had to get special permission from race organizers to add an extra stop to the course so she could feed Pepper for a third time during the 100-mile race. Despite the extra stop, she still managed to place first among the women.

The Ultra-Trail Snowdonia was Case’s first ultramarathon postpartum and her first in nearly three years. After suffering a miscarriage in 2022 and taking a hiatus from running due to fertility struggles, Case said it was just as important for Pepper as it was for her to get back into running.

“Mentally, it was the best thing to do,” she says. “Every time I went out, I connected with my old self that hadn’t changed.”

While running felt physically trying after giving birth, Case says that realizing she was still a runner helped her process all of the changes that come with becoming a mother.

Snowdonia was an extension of that, and making sure Pepper was fed during the race was just a piece of the logistical puzzle she had to work out. While some applauded the new mother for her dedication and determination, others felt it was selfish and performative.

“It speaks to the patriarchal, outdated ideas of what a new mom should look like,” she notes. “I’ve really worked to respond to those comments … A happy mom is really important for baby.”

While Snowdonia was a confidence boost, Hardrock was a reality check. Back at work as a UN human rights lawyer, Case was balancing long hours with the demands of training, all while caring for Pepper.

“It was a reminder for me of how much moms go through,” she says, “but what is possible to do with support.”

The Hardrock 100 is an unforgiving physical test, pushing participants through 100 miles (160 kilometres) and a total elevation change of 20,237 metres. For Case, it carried an emotional weight too—it was the same course where, shortly after racing it in 2022, she first learned that she was pregnant. She was there to close a loop.

Yet, 30 miles in, she was throwing up.

It was a reminder for me of how much moms go through, but what is possible to do with support.

“It was really tough to push through that,” she says.

This race was supposed to be a marker of all that the 43-year-old had achieved since 2022. Instead, she was in survival mode, running on four hours of sleep, caring for Pepper and battling the urge to quit.

“I had to remind myself why I was there,” she says.

“I just wanted to show Pepper I could do hard things.” Pulling back, she was able to get to a place where she could enjoy the last half of the race. Finishing fifth—and taking Pepper into her arms to cross the finish line with a bounce in her step—Case had stayed on pace with the top runners for the final leg and even beat her 2022 time by an hour.

While Case is determined to set an example for Pepper, she’s also helping girls and young women around the world. At the beginning of her ultramarathon career in 2014, while working in Afghanistan, Case was told she’d probably have to give up running while living and working in conflict zones.

“That was like waving a red flag in front of a bull,” she says.

Determined to use running to make a difference, she raised approximately $10,000 for a women’s shelter. But through that work, she learned the Afghan women really just wanted to be able to get outside themselves—something they couldn’t do because of the war and the type of abuse they had experienced. In the process of making that happen, Case founded Free to Run.

Operating in some of the world’s most challenging regions—including Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine—Free to Run has helped create positive change in the lives of thousands of young women and girls by using running and rights-based programs to support leadership, agency and health.

Making women seen has been a pillar in those programs.

As Case puts it, “That can absolutely change this idea of what women should be doing.”

Case’s story has also been captured on film. Her first documentary highlighted the work of Free to Run, while her upcoming second film will follow her running journey, pregnancy challenges and her early days of motherhood. Three years of filming wrapped up at Hardrock, closing another loop for her.

The film will premiere at the August UTMB event, and Case hopes to see it on a streaming platform this fall after a film festival circuit.
For Case, challenging cultural norms and stigmas isn’t just part of her work and charity, it’s integral to her approach as an ultrarunner and mother. She’s proving what is possible when women are seen, supported and empowered.  

Photography: Carrie Highman

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IMPACT Magazine Summer Outdoor Travel Issue 2025 featuring Shanda Hill, a Canadian Ultra Triathlete who is redefining the sport. Run on some epic trails in our own backyard or join a run club. Eat your way for Mental Clarity, fueling while travelling, seasonal eating and some kitchen must haves. Become strong and fit in only 20 minutes a day, and enjoy some tasty drinks guilt free and so much more.

The 43-year-old from Kelowna, B.C., had started running two years before. The streak, announced to her 300 followers on Instagram, was a way to prove to herself that she could set an ambitious objective and achieve it.

“I was somebody who didn’t finish anything like projects or my university education. I quit,” she reflects.

“I needed my own School of Hard Knocks, so I created it for myself.”

Today, more than 2,200 runs later, Mikulic’s streak continues, and with countless kilometres under her belt, her capacity has expanded exponentially. In 2024, she ran two 100-kilometre ultramarathons; this year, she is training for one at 100 miles.

Commitment to the streak changed Mikulic’s life. Though she continues to work full-time as a financial advisor at a bank, her 300 Instagram followers ballooned to more than 100,000. She publishes a magazine, Run Your Life, for runners of all shapes, sizes and abilities. She hosts empowering travel retreats for women, designed for people who, according to the website, love to “hike a 5K and then indulge in a donut.”
“When you ask me why I do this, it’s because I keep proving to myself that I can,” says Mikulic. “I can create a magazine.

I can create life-changing retreats for women that women will love. I can complete a 100-kilometre race.”

When you ask me why I do this, it’s because I keep provingto myself that I can.

What running hasn’t done is change Mikulic’s size—and that’s okay with her. At 5’11’’, the 50-year-old runner weighs in at 250 pounds. Unlike many people so strongly committed to fitness, Mikulic is not motivated by weight loss.

She knows what she needs to do to lose the weight, but doing so isn’t her objective.

“Before, I thought I couldn’t do any of these things, and I would walk around with these self-debilitating thoughts in my head that were so damaging,” she explains, noting she’s faced mental health challenges throughout her life—childhood trauma, postpartum depression and anxiety.

“Despite being 250 pounds, I’ve proven over and over again that you do not need to be small to complete things; you do not need to be smaller to finish an ultramarathon. You don’t. It’s just about consistency and building up muscle memory in your body so that your body knows, ‘we do this.’”

Often photographed in bright pink running gear with her long brown hair in a floppy bun atop her head, Mikulic says her perception of what a runner should look like has changed since she started logging kilometres every day. She celebrates what a body can do without aiming for thinness.

“Running is about enjoying the movement of your body,” she says.

Her focus on the body’s potential appeals to her followers, who are of diverse sizes—from 0 to 10 to 18 and beyond.

She is motivated by “the Sandras sitting in their living room, wondering ‘will I ever be able to do that? Will I ever be able to be on that start line and do I deserve to be? Do I deserve to cross the finish line?’

“Yes, you do!” she states definitively.

This year, Mikulic will host three Run Your Life retreats, including two in Croatia, where she lived before immigrating to Canada as a child with her family. Her four adult children will join her along with a sold-out group in Dubrovnik in April.

The North American retreat will take place in Arizona in October, the week before she runs the Javelina Jundred (pronounced “Havelina Hundred”), a 100-mile race through McDowell Mountain Regional Park, north of Phoenix. She’s scheduled a few recovery days between the retreat and the ultramarathon to prepare herself to face her longest distance yet.

The habits she formed and maintains through her streak have helped her complete lengthy and challenging training runs, some lasting 30 hours with rests in between.

“You are the only person who’s going to get you through 100 miles while you’re in the dark in the desert,” she explains.

What makes long-distance running particularly amazing to Mikulic is that she—a middle-aged, plus-size financial analyst—will run the same course as elite athletes.

“There’s no other sport where you could actually cross paths by running a loop and see that person who’s pacing for first place,” she says. “You cannot be on the same start line as an Olympic gymnast; you don’t even get to the gymnasium.

You can’t be on the same start line as an Olympic 100-metre runner.”

“That’s the beauty of this sport,” she continues. “I share the same dirt as the winners. Our sweat falls in the same dirt. There are still gatekeepers, but the gates are slowly falling down. Don’t wait to start tomorrow. Start with what you have today.” 

Photography: Stephanie Lucile Photography

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Read This Story in Our 2025 Running Issue
IMPACT Magazine Running Issue 2025 featuring some incredible Canadian women ultrarunners who are on the rise on the world trail stage. Run your way around the world to earn your six star Abbott World Marathon Majors commemorative medal. Train for 10 km right up to a marathon – plus a 50 km trail run and 70.3 program. Strength workouts for runners, carb load with these pasta recipes and so much more.

The Calgary runners have announced plans to complete 10 marathons in 10 days in 10 provinces in May and, in the process, raise $1 million for Autism Aspergers Friendship Society, KidSport, and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Despite the whopper of an undertaking, they are optimistic—yet modest.

“You don’t have to be an elite athlete,” says Hanson. “You just have to work hard and plan. We’re just two regular guys.”

Regular, in the case of these gents, is a relative term.

Hanson, 44, tugs on his sneakers nearly every day, hammering out 170 kilometres per week. With family and work commitments, he rises at 3:00 a.m. to fit trots into his busy routine. (The excursions are so early that Strava logs them as night runs.)

In September, for the heck of it, he whipped through marathon-length outings – 42.2 kilometres – on five consecutive days. Hanson says he could have made it through six, but he “didn’t feel the need to push any harder.”

And Morin? Well, in the wee hours one day last summer, he decided to head to the neighbourhood track. There, he knocked out 250 laps—yes, 100 kilometres. And rather than rant about the monotony of the ordeal – in which he paced the same direction for all 16 hours – he smiles and talks about the “cool” experience of running while the sun was rising and still making strides when the sun started to set. “These different challenges appeal to me.”

We fully expect to be in pain for a good portion of this…

No kidding. During a recent six-month stay in New York City, Morin dashed down every street in Manhattan, an accomplishment that earned him a letter of recognition from Mayor Eric Adams.

“Running for me has always been a mix of adventure as well as the athletic side,” says Morin, 33, a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. “I’ve enjoyed being able to dive into that.”

So, it was no surprise when Hanson cooked up this 10-in-10-in-10 escapade four years ago, that Morin instantly pledged his participation. “I joke that I don’t think I actually finished the last sentence (of the pitch), and he was already in,” says Hanson, laughing. “He’s not scared to challenge himself.”

Despite the concerns of others – especially when it’s made clear that the mission is 10 marathons in 10 straight days – they remain wholeheartedly committed.

“Runners look at it like, ‘That’s really, really, really, really hard, but I could see it being done,'” says Hanson. But non-runners? “My dad is worried that I could die. People are like, ‘You can’t physically do that. That’s not humanly possible. That is insane.'”

Adds Morin: “It’s ambitious and a little audacious and a little bit crazy, but within the realm of consideration. Both Mike and I get excited about big goals, about pushing ourselves, about seeing what’s possible. And having the chance to pair that up with a big impact? It was an easy yes.”

Applauding the charities for empowering youth through mentorship, inclusion and community, the buddies point out that the connections are personal.

When Hanson’s twin sons, Tyler and Cole, now 14, were diagnosed with autism, he said they received a lot of support. Aware that others get left behind, he wants to pitch in. “Autism Aspergers Friendship Society is such an amazing organization,” says Hanson, director of field operations for Cenovus Energy. “I’ve seen the impact.”

Having grown up immersed in a wide range of athletic pursuits, they have soft spots for KidSport, which helps to reduce financial barriers for kids who are eager to play sports.

Morin, who volunteered for Big Brothers Big Sisters for nearly a decade, emphasizes the increasing reliance on these charities. He adds that the 10in10in10.ca website provides details for individual donations and corporate sponsorships.

“If we can help, that’s more gratifying than finishing the 10 marathons, knowing that kids out there are getting access to these services,” says Hanson.

Meanwhile, the pavement awaits.

Logistics settled, charities notified, campaign established, training miles banked, the challenge kicks off May 16 in St. John’s, N.L.

Then, via highway and air travel, they will drop into Halifax, Charlottetown, Fredericton, Montréal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Vancouver for do-it-yourself jaunts, before concluding May 25 at the Servus Calgary Marathon, the only sanctioned event of the tour.

They are aiming to run 4 hours 30 minutes for all the marathons, planning to start every day at 7:00 a.m. and, of course, finish together. Closely monitored will be nutrition, hydration, and rest. Medical practitioners are lined up in each city, so, if necessary, the sore-footed heroes can arrange same-day treatment.

“We fully expect to be in pain for a good portion of this,” says Hanson. “I’m sure every step is going to hurt during the last several marathons, but it’s not the first time we’ve run like that.”

However, it’s anticipation, not dread, that the friends are feeling in the lead-up to the venture. Energized by the difference-making potential, they are stoked.

“We’re winging it,” says Hanson, “so we’re interested to see how this goes. This could get really big—we’re hopeful it does.” 

Photography: Jana Miko

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Over the next three decades, Hamilton continued living his best life with family and friends, work, travel, and as much time on the golf course as Canadian seasons allowed. Then, in August 2015, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an uncommon type of blood cancer, requiring a bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy. As his body was in a vulnerable stage rebuilding immunity from the transplant coupled with having no spleen, Hamilton suffered sepsis and by October 2016, he was fighting for his life in the ICU, given less than a 30 per cent chance of survival. His family was called to gather and say their goodbyes, but Hamilton beat those odds and survived the infection.

However, the battle wasn’t over. As Hamilton’s body fought to survive, blood flow prioritized vital organs, leaving his extremities with reduced flow. Without sufficient blood getting to his feet and legs, it meant the doctors would have to amputate. In December 2016, they first took his feet, then his lower legs, and finally both legs above the knee, leaving Hamilton to face a terrifying new reality, a life without legs.

When I see the world I live in I see many people who are a lot worse off than me.

At his age, with no legs, doctors advised him to move into assisted living where he could live out his remaining days. But in true Hamilton style, he rejected the notion and vowed he would be on the first tee by June 2017. “On January 1, 2017 I asked the doctor if I could be on the tee box by June 1. He said I think you can do it. Also, I was determined not to go into a home as some doctors hinted at,” he said. Motivated to be back on the course in six months, Hamilton set his sights on learning how to navigate the world with his new physical limitations as well as the hurdles surrounding accessibility faced daily by people with disabilities.

Wasting no time, Hamilton began a rigorous strength-training regime and learned how to swim, something that not only required that he overcome his fear of drowning but also demanded intense physical and mental resolve. Optimism and openness to trial and error when approaching modifications in his fitness program were critical to the process. Not knowing exactly how his body would work without the lever system of his legs required ingenuity and a lot of faith. Hamilton faced his challenges with relentless effort, eagerness, a positive attitude, and an infectious sense of humour. Sweat and laughter replaced the grief and tears as Hamilton fought to get back all the things he loved to do most. He didn’t do it alone. He appreciated the support of his wife, Donna, family and friends.

“I had one good friend who would sit with me for hours. A couple friends who started a GoFund for me which allowed me to buy my golf cart. Plus, once I became independent again the company I work for allowed me to go back to work. So you feel whole again.”

As promised, in June 2017, with the help of an accessible golf cart and his commitment to training, Hamilton was taking his first swing at the first tee. It was then he knew that the hard work, adaptation, and emotional ups and downs were well worth it. He has not looked back since. “I have learned to be patient which I wasn’t before. I have learned to ask for assistance as there are a number of things I cannot do. Also, when I see the world I live in I see many people who are a lot worse off than me.”

Today, Hugh Hamilton does everything he used to do, just a little differently. He drives a modified van, hand cycles, and has learned to walk with prosthetics. Maintaining a regular fitness program for mobility and strength critically supports his active lifestyle and travel. Since the amputation, he and Donna have travelled to Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand, USA, England, Germany, and Mexico. Whether it’s his daily routine or world travel, Hamilton faces it head-on with the love and support of Donna, whose strength and character exemplify commitment. One spleen and two legs short, the Hamiltons show no signs of slowing down. “You must never give up, stay positive and do not admit defeat.” 

Photography by: Jana Miko

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The 59-year-old mother of five and grandmother of 12 from Welling, Alta. has always loved fitness. A runner at heart, Wilde would often put in her kilometres before the rest of her family woke up. However, that all changed when she broke her wrist while cleaning up after teaching music class.

“I was heartbroken. I thought, what am I going to do for six weeks,” says Wilde, who found herself with a cast that almost reached her elbow. 

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Wilde to find her muse. Right around the time of her accident, a viral challenge was taking over the internet and inspiring millions of people worldwide to get on the floor and plank. While her grown children were visiting one day, they decided to take part in the challenge.

Despite having never planked a day in her life, Wilde joined her family on their forearms—one of the few positions she could hold with her bulky cast. And later in the day when the family had gone home, she decided to do it again. She was hooked.

“I couldn’t run. I could hardly walk down the road with a sling, but I could plank,” she says. “It was such a pivotal moment for me that day. It just changed my life.”

Six weeks later when the cast came off, rather than give up planking, Wilde’s love of it snowballed. She planked at the school; she planked while grading papers. She made it to 10 minutes in a plank and then longer.

When the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging the world, Wilde was taking on her own challenge—her children wanted to see just how long she could hold the “perfect” plank (hands, elbows and feet on the floor, hips level, body unmoving). As it turned out, she could hold the position for nearly two hours.

Over the next few years, Wilde took a more disciplined approach to planking, putting more emphasis on form and time, and in January 2023, she officially began training for the Guinness World Record. Push-ups, weight lifting, running and of course planking all played heavily into her regime.

On March 21, 2024, Wilde’s friends and family gathered in the gymnasium at Magrath High School where Wilde had spent her career as a teacher. She climbed onto a platform in the middle of the gym, an official Guinness adjudicator standing next to her watching her every move.

The clock began. Students, many of whom Wilde taught, family and friends gathered in the gymnasium for support.

The first two hours passed with relative ease, but as Wilde entered her third hour, pain began to set in. As anyone who has tried to plank would know, when pain creeps in, it’s hard to push it away. But Wilde is no stranger to pain.

When finishing her undergraduate degree in December 2006, she was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, a neurological disease that causes inflammation in the spinal cord and leads to nerve damage in different parts of the body. For Wilde, that meant permanent pain in her hands.

The former school teacher was able to use her experience dealing with constant pain to stay focused and strong.

And when the pain and discomfort became too much, Wilde just had to glance up to see all the love and support filling the gymnasium to remind her why she was doing this.

“Looking up and seeing my grandkids there, and they made posters and were cheering me on, that’s what kept me going.” 

At four hours, 30 minutes and 11 seconds, when Wilde’s knees touched the platform and the clock stopped, she had done more than enough to take the Guinness World Record for longest time in an abdominal plank position (female).

But this grandma had more to show because six months after her first record-setting feat, Wilde was at it again. This time, to set the record for the most push-ups in one hour.

On September 28, 2024, at the Diamond Willow Lodge senior home, again surrounded by friends, family, and residents of the lodge, including her 91-year-old mother-in-law, Wilde would again put her body to the test. She had 60 minutes on the clock to beat the current record of 1,207 push-ups.

When the clock hit zero, she had more than smashed that record with 1,575 push-ups. Miraculously, she would have padded the number further if, with only two minutes to go, she hadn’t dislocated her shoulder.

It may not have been how Wilde wanted to run out the clock, but she was now a two-time Guinness World Record holder. 

Her positivity, determination and strength are an inspiration. Racking up millions of views online, Wilde’s record-breaking feats are empowering others to lean into fitness. 

For Wilde, planking helped give her purpose when her regular activities were out of reach, and it’s continued to make her feel strong throughout the years. Planking and push-ups may not be for everyone, but the former teacher has one lesson she’d like to share of her experience: “Have your own toolbox of things that will help you stay happy and healthy and walk tall and stand tall and be confident through your days.”

Photography by: Trudie Lee Photography

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Tears running down her face, Cardinal wants to quit.

Until she meets “this really cool lady.” The kind stranger joins her on the trail and the two walk quietly for a spell. Then her new friend tells Cardinal an uplifting story about how once, when she was struggling on the course, people stayed with her and provided encouragement. Choking up, she relays to Cardinal their sound advice: “Don’t stop unless you’re proud.”

The words resonated. Now, a decade later, they continue to inspire Cardinal.

“When I’m in that place, I remember,” she says. “That could mean many things, right? I’ve been in situations when I’ve done everything I can and said: ‘This is as far as I can go. I wish I could finish.’ But being proud is different for everybody. It’s very personal. It’s subjective. The important thing is that self-love.”

That day in Canmore, Alberta, Cardinal missed the time cut-off in what had been her first ultramarathon attempt. The following year? You know she crossed the finish line.

The moving message has spirited her through many off-road experiences, including last year’s Javalina Jundred 100-kilometre race in Fountain Hills, Arizona, which she calls her biggest accomplishment in the sport.

Away from the trails, too, the attitude serves her well.

For instance, when Cardinal decided to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a lawyer, she was relentless. In 2022, at the age of 46, she graduated from the University of Alberta’s law school.

“I just keep going, keep going, keep going, and I don’t look up to see what I’m doing till later,” she says. “Don’t stop unless you’re proud, right?”

Running has never felt like a super-inclusive sport. That’s why it’s super important to represent.

Running and law make up only part of the remarkable story. Heroically, she’s meshed those elements to further her true passion—indigenous advocacy and justice.

“It’s been braided together,” says Cardinal, who is Nêhiyaw (Cree) and a member of Woodland Cree First Nation, which is situated on Treaty 8 Territory in northern Alberta.

Determined and generous, she’s been revealed as a leader, a force. There’s no better way to describe Cardinal.

Back when she was chipping away at a bachelor’s degree with night courses, she watched a video in sociology class about the forced sterilization of Indigenous women in Alberta. “I remember feeling so numb, so shocked,” she says. “That was a profound moment in my life.”

The next morning, she brought the issue to the attention of the law firm where she worked full-time as a paralegal. A class-action lawsuit was opened on behalf of those affected, including her mother, May, who became the representative plaintiff.

“That’s what really got me saying, ‘Okay, I am for sure going to apply to law school.'”

Four years ago, Cardinal laid the groundwork for the Orange Shirt Day Run/Walk, which is held September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, in Edmonton. Registration continues to increase, and the event has expanded to Saskatoon and Peace River, Alberta.

“Our hope is that more people feel comfortable to participate in events because of the Orange Shirt Day Run/Walk,” she says. “Running brings people together, forwarding that dialogue about residential schools and the harm—and the continued harm. It’s a way to heal because movement is medicine and running is ceremony.”

As founder of the Indigenous Runner club, Cardinal issued a social media “beacon” to welcome runners, to let them know they weren’t alone, to foster a sense of community. “Running has always been a source of joy, communication, sport—all kinds of things—for our ancestors,” she says. “We’re continuing to honour them.”

Through Cardinal’s initiatives, money has been collected for grassroots organizations, such as the Orange Shirt Society. Thanks to fundraisers, two Indigenous teams had their costs covered at this year’s Canadian Death Race.

“Running has never felt like a super-inclusive sport,” she says. “That’s why it’s sup r-important to represent.”

Which is what happened at the Servus Calgary Marathon in May—females wore ribbon running skirts, while males tied ribbons to their hydration packs.

She recently coined the term, “Run Concili-Action,” to make obvious the desire to do more than talk. It’s a notion she exemplifies. On top of advocacy projects, race and club commitments, lawyer duties and volunteer shifts, Cardinal finds time to hit the trails.

Preparing for two races in Arizona, the Black Canyon Ultra in February and the Antelope Canyon Ultra in March, she enjoys exploring Edmonton’s river valley.

She refers to the network of paths as her “place of refuge” and the demanding pastime as her therapy.

“That’s one of the things I love about ultra running,” says Cardinal. “You really, truly come to this raw place. You face yourself—your good, bad and ugly—and you come through it a better person. Because you’re strong and you realize your strength.

“In that weakness, you discover your own strength. That’s the beautiful part about it and why I love it so much.” 

Photographed with permission on the kihcihkaw askî-Sacred Land, Whitemud Park, Edmonton, AB.

Photography by Jonathan Deschenes

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“Whether you’re able-bodied or disabled, I think we’re always trying to figure out who we are,” Stewart says. “I think I’m on this earth to create support, to create a sense of belonging. To help people recognize that no matter who they are or what their outcomes are, they are good enough.”

The 38-year-old from Kamloops has stood out from the crowd his whole life. He was born without the lower part of his left arm, making him eligible to compete in the F46 classification in para sports. But it’s not his arm that Stewart considers his disability.

“To me, a disability is something that impacts you on a daily basis and impacts the environment around you,” he says, adding there’s very little he can’t do with one arm. “My disability is my height. I can’t go anywhere without ducking under a doorway, without people staring at me. There are so many things about my height that impact me daily.”

At age 14, Stewart was six feet, eight inches tall, making him a shoo-in for the sports at which tall people frequently excel—basketball and volleyball. While completing a degree in human resources, he joined the WolfPack at Thompson Rivers University and played five years of U Sports basketball. He was twice selected Canada West Defensive Player of the Year, in 2010 and 2011. Stewart also played on Canada’s national para volleyball teams, both standing and seated, for nearly 12 years. On the latter team, he won three world titles.

Despite his success in team sports, Stewart says he struggled to feel fulfilled, which, upon reflection years later, he attributes to not truly knowing who he was. He needed to reckon with himself. In his mid-20s, he embarked on a personal journey of discovery and acceptance, working with a counsellor to assist his growth and healing. It was during this time that he came to see himself as disabled, something he had never fully accepted. The acknowledgement of his disability was a positive step.

“I am disabled,” he says, “and that’s perfect. [Being disabled] is a portion of me, a part of me.”

It was after this newfound acceptance that the opportunity to throw shotput presented itself, when Stewart was 30 years old. A conversation at a Christmas party prompted him to begin training with Dylan Armstrong, Canadian Olympic bronze medallist, who coaches athletics in Kamloops.

My disability is my height. I can’t go anywhere without
ducking under a doorway, without people staring at me.

Success came quickly. In Stewart’s rookie season in 2018, he was ranked number one in the world in F46 shotput. The following year, he set a Canadian record and won silver at the IPC World Championships. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, he clinched the gold and a world record with a massive 16.75-metre throw.

Then Stewart announced his retirement. He was physically sore and hurt, and after more than a decade of competitive sport, he wanted a change. But sport is in his blood, and retiring didn’t stick. He returned to the field, and in the 2024 season won silver at the World Para Athletics Championship in Kobe, Japan, and Paralympic gold in Paris, becoming the only Canadian shot putter to win back-to-back golds in the Olympic or Paralympic games.

In this new era of competition, his goals have shifted, Stewart says. Certainly, he wants to continue to excel and push the boundary of his abilities, but he also wants to use “the platform [of competitive sport] to support other people.”

He left his business in the automotive recycling field and now works as a motivational speaker and workshop facilitator, inspiring people with his vulnerability.

“I’m a 7-foot-2, 360-pound disabled man,” he says. “I can walk into a room and own it without even opening my mouth. I think because of that, and because I’m willing to talk about vulnerability, I can create an incredible platform to support people.”

In May 2024, he released an autobiographical children’s book co-written with author Sean Campbell. The book—Stand Out: The True Story of Paralympic Gold Medallist Greg Stewart—chronicles his story and delivers an inspirational message about the strength that comes from believing in yourself.

“I think we’re so caught up on what a winner looks like, that we don’t actually see the whole picture,” he says. “The reality is we’re all winners, as cliché as that sounds. Your best is your best.” 

Photography by Allan McVicar

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IMPACT Magazine Fall Fitness Issue 2024 featuring Canadian figure skating icon Elladj Baldé, Paralympic shot putter Greg Stewart, Indigenous rights trail running Anita Cardinal. Adventure travel with some amazing winter getaways, strengthen your back and hips, find the art of joyful movement, Inclusivity in the fitness industry and so much more!