Edward “Fast Eddy” Dostaler takes a run down Main Street in Osoyoos on Saturday. He says he’ll have run more than 27,000 km back and forth across Canada, raising money and awareness for Alzheimer’s and breast cancer, when he finishes his journey in Victoria at the end of October. (Richard McGuire photo)
When “Fast Eddy” came running into Osoyoos on Saturday, he was nearing the end of a run that has taken him across Canada, back again and then some.
“I’ve been on the road now for 594 days,” said Edward Dostaler, whose run of some 27,000 kilometres started on March 1, 2015 in Victoria. “I’m the first person to run continuously across Canada and back, and one of seven people to ever go solo and unsupported across Canada one way.”
Dostaler, 28, has been running to raise awareness and funds for two causes that have touched people close to him – Alzheimer’s and breast cancer.
“Fast Eddy,” as he calls himself, wears a pink shirt as he runs. He often stops at schools to engage students about his causes and other lessons of life – such as anti-bullying and the value of time.
“We talk about time and perseverance,” he said. “Those kinds of things. Never anything about money. You can never buy time. I’d rather spend my time trying to help out people who need it than sitting there just focusing on myself.”
Dostaler aims to complete his run on Oct. 29 – at 3 p.m. to be precise – back in Victoria. So he’s entering the home stretch.
If you think someone willing to run some 27,000 kilometres back and forth across Canada must love running, you would be wrong.
“I hate running with a passion,” he confesses. “I picked running because it’s something that everyone has the capability of doing. Too many people bike and I thought it would make a bigger impact.”
Osoyoos, with its location at an important intersection on the Crowsnest Highway, sees a number of cross-country adventurers every year, many raising money for worthy causes. Some walk. Some run. Two years ago, a young man stopped on Osoyoos on a cross-country journey by unicycle aiming to draw attention to climate change.
Dostaler says he’s a quick runner because he’s adapted.
“I’m not a long-distance runner,” he said. “I do not enjoy running whatsoever. There are better things to do besides running. I picked running because it could make that impact. You see thousands upon thousands of people who bike every year. You don’t see people that run, because it’s a time commitment.”
Running without a support team has mean a lot of extra distance. For a significant portion of the journey, Dostaler brought a vehicle. He would run 10 km ahead, then run 10 km back, get into his car and drive those same 10 km, and then get out to run and repeat the process.
He’s also added to the route to take in more locations and visit more schools. He’s lost count, but says it’s well over 100.
He typically runs between 60 and 80 km a day, though he’s done a few 24-hour running stints and his longest run was 191 km in a single day. Some days he doesn’t run at all. He made it all the way to Cape Spear, the easternmost point in Canada near St. John’s Newfoundland.
What he takes the most pride in is replying to more than 2,500 letters personally from students he’s talked to at his school presentations.
Dostaler decided to campaign for Alzheimer’s because his grandmother was afflicted by this disease. And a professor who influenced him was a strong advocate for the fight against breast cancer, though it was actually lung cancer that killed him.
He raises money for the Breast Cancer Foundation and Alzheimer Society through his website, though people give directly to the organizations. He doesn’t handle the funds himself. For that reason, he has no idea how much money his run has raised.
“I’m not like Rick Hansen,” he said. “It’s not like an organization. I simply put on my website where they can donate.”
Dostaler said he’s grateful to the people who have helped, but he’s also disappointed that more people haven’t embraced his causes.
“I thought people would have been more receptive,” he says as he sips a coffee and checks messages on his computer. “You can ask anyone here in Tim Hortons whether or not they’ve heard of this and they are going to flat out say ‘no.’”
For more information about “Fast Eddy” and his run, visit: fasteddycanada.com.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
