Darius Sam, the young man from Merritt who pledged to run 100 miles in 24 hours to raise money for his local grocery bank, will put on his running shoes and take to the streets again.
Sam raised over $ 110,000 for the Nicola Valley Food Bank in June after his mission received widespread media and public attention.
“My original goal last time was only $ 1,000, so jumping to $ 110,000 was pretty surreal,” he said. “It’s made a huge impact on the food bank. I couldn’t be happier with what it’s done for the people.”
This time, however, the 20-year-old Merritt will run for a different cause.
READ MORE: 100 Miles In 24 Hours: A BC Man’s Mission To Help The Less Fortunate
Sam will not collect money this time, but awareness. The 20-year-old calls this run “the run against addiction” – something that for him is close to home.
“I grew up in an adoptive home because of addiction, I lost a few family members to addiction, I lost friendships … and I’m sure many people can relate to them,” he said. “Every person I know knows at least one person who is dependent and who influences them in some way.”
Sam hopes to shed light on the many different forms of addiction that can take over a life rather than just focusing on drug and alcohol addiction.
“Whether it’s food, alcohol, pornography, social media, or a handful of other things that escape reality, addiction is everywhere and has claimed so many lives,” he said.
“One big thing I want to address is overtime on social media. A lot of young people don’t realize that this is an addiction and can be very destructive. “
Sam hopes his run will help change the narrative and stigma of addiction.
“Many very beautiful souls and very beautiful people have been lost in the addiction and I want people to realize that people like you and me can get caught in the wrong place.”
READ MORE: Pandemic Exacerbates Opioid Crisis As Overdoses Rise And Services Fall Out Of Reach
Sam is determined to hit the 100 mile mark in 24 hours after his previous run was abandoned at the 89 mile mark in June.
“I had some complications last time where I don’t think I was training as hard as I could. I ended up not reaching the full 100,” said Sam. “I knew I had to come back and face it.”
Sam admitted that running 100 miles in 24 hours was more of a challenge than he expected. The mental and physical agony was ultimately more than he was prepared for.
“It gets to a point where it’s so easy to wrap it up, it’s such a mental battle with yourself because you’re hurt, it hurts. Your whole body is really just shocked.
“I think the hardest part is just holding one foot at a time.”
Sam ran for 29 hours on his last attempt. After a trip to the hospital, his mother convinced him to close it.
This time, however, Sam feels better prepared – physically and mentally.
“I went into it (last try), pretty ignorant of everything … I didn’t know much about nutrition and how to fuel my body when I approach something like this,” Sam said. “I’ve learned a lot in the last few months and there were a lot of mistakes in my schedule for the last one.”
Sam has been training for this run for over two months and has completed “serious weeks” in which he runs at least 40 to 160 kilometers per week.
Sam believes that his new exercise regimen, along with a greater commitment to nutrition and allowing his body time to recover, will ultimately make all the difference on his second attempt at 100 miles in 24 hours.
Sam had little running experience before his first attempt. Despite intensive training leading up to the run, his goal still seemed ambitious for a relatively new runner.
Aside from the mental struggle that occurs when attempting to run 100 miles in a 24 hour period, Sam assumes that the weather might be his biggest challenge this time around.
He plans to start the run on December 5th, snow and cold temperatures can be inevitable. “I don’t know what Mother Nature has in store for me, but it will happen on December 5th, regardless of what is happening.”
jesse.day@pentictonwesternnews.com
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Addictive run
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