Mikey Dubz’s quest to run 40 consecutive hours for charity last weekend in Lloydminster has become the feel-good running story of the year – so far – in Saskatchewan.
Everything seemed normal when the 40-year-old ultra-runner started his journey last Friday at 10 a.m. from his home – but the next 40 hours brought more twists and turns than a Hallmark movie.
Mikey ran the first 11 hours through the streets and paved trails of the border city, but during the 12th hour (at 10 p.m.), running turned into power walking as fatigue and an uncomfortable chilly wind set-in.
At 4 a.m. in the 18th consecutive hour, Mikey had decided to stop and go to bed. What Mikey didn’t know is that everything would change a few seconds later…
Carlo Monette – one of Mikey’s close friends and running partners during the quest – pulled a hand-written card out of his pocket and gave it to Mikey.
“It’s Hour 18 and I’m done. I didn’t see the point in going on and then Carlo gave me this card. It was hand-written from the hospital,” remember Mikey, who used his 40-hour-challenge to raise thousands of dollars for the hospital through the Lloydminster Region Health Foundation.
“The card was impactful. It almost melted me. The note said I was doing the work of God. I said: ‘I have to get at least 24 hours.'” So, Mikey laced-up his shoes and powered through another six hours until 10 a.m. when the Kids Mini-Mile started during the Synergy Credit Union Sunrise Run.
In a touching moment, Mikey then sat on a bench in Bud Miller Park and cheered for hundreds of runners in the Sunrise Run when it left the start line at 10:30 a.m.
“We high-fived every person (in the run). My heart was full, the legs were heavy and it was the bow-tie on it all,” remembered Mikey.
As Mikey returned home from the Sunrise Run, he completed his 26th straight hour and surpassed 187,000 steps. He had decided – for a second time – to stop the quest. Muscle fatigue had set-in and the smart decision was to stop before inflicting major damage on his legs. But, once again, everything was about to change…
Mikey’s friends picked-up the torch and decided to run the next 13 straight hours for him. “That caught me off-guard,” explained Mikey. “People started showing up. It was hard to process at first. There aren’t many words to say the joy it brought me.”
And at 1 a.m. Sunday morning, Mikey put his shoes on and finished the 40th hour with nearly 30 friends on the streets of Lloydminster. Simply amazing.
FINISH LINES: Thanks to donations that poured in during the days leading-up to Mikey’s 40-for-40 challenge (40 consecutive hours of running to mark his 40th birthday), more than $40,000 has been raised for the Lloydminster Region Health Foundation. An official total will be announced soon… While many friends ran and walked beside Mikey during his quest, the unofficial mayor of Lloydminster wants to put the spotlight on one of those friends. “Brian Michasiw came from Saskatoon to run a few hours with me – and he punched-out 17 hours,” Mikey remarked. “He has been an idol for me and to see him step-up beside me, it was pretty motivating for me.”… It will be a long time before Michasiw forgets what he experienced in Lloydminster. “What I saw was a community coming together,” said Michasiw. “First, there was Mikey’s ambitious 40-for-40 goal. That, in itself, is incredible and awe inspiring. But when he had to stop after 26 hours… the community of runners that came together to finish the 40 hours… it was beautiful.”
