Seven Pictures That Only Marathon Runners Understand with CanadianRunning
John Gay, 24, is one of the country’s top runners, having represented Canada at the World Cross Country Championships in Denmark and World Athletics Championships in Doha in 2019. While running is the former UBC athlete’s main passion, it’s hardly his only focus in life, and for several years he has been involved with Child of Mine, a nonprofit that supports children’s homes in India. Gay is currently in the final week of a fundraiser for Child of Mine and these homes, and it is open for donations until December 1
Gay explains that these homes (of which there are two that the foundation works with) really do become just that for the kids: a home. “The kids are supported, encouraged and loved, just as any child would be,” Gay says. “That support doesn’t end when they age out.” Instead, when the kids turn 18, many go on to pursue post-secondary education. An education is, of course, not free, and as Gay points out, “as more and more of these children grow up and their ambitions continue to grow, so do the financial demands to see them through their education.” He adds that “a Canadian dollar goes a lot further in India than it does here,” which is why he started his fundraiser, which he titled Mile by Mile.
Gay says it has been “really gratifying” to see so many of his family and friends take on the challenge, even if they weren’t runners. “Some of my family members who don’t run at all began training in preparation for this,” he says. “Both my parents started running for the fundraiser after more than a decade away from the sport, and they’re still keeping with it now.” About 10,000 kilometres away, the children’s homes in India also staged their own runs on the same day, Gay says, once again proving how universal sport really is.
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Have you seen MoJoManuals? FOOTBALLMoJo, LACROSSEMoJo, ROWMoJo, NETBALLMoJo – www.WSNet.co.uk/MoJoManuals
MoJoManuals addressing the wide range of issues which teenage girls face as they engage in competitive sport. Predicated on 'Physical Literacy' but also cover a range of other emotive issues such as: body image, diet, fit or thin, social media, training with menstruation, coaching style etc. – which impact how girls engage/drop out of sport – and potentially go on to be elite athletes and confident, mature young women outside of sport.
