Curtis Hargrove (born March 27, 1989) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

-born

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

long-distance charity runner and fundraiser. He ran from

Port Alberni, British Columbia Port Alberni () is a city located on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The city lies within the Alberni Valley at the head of the Alberni Inlet, Vancouver Island's longest inlet. Port Alberni currently has a total popul ...

, to

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

to raise awareness for the work of Angel Magnussen in 2015. He walked from

Cold Lake, Alberta Cold Lake is a city in east-northern Alberta, Canada and is named after the lake nearby. Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake (CFB Cold Lake) is situated within the city's outer limits. History Cold Lake was first recorded on a 1790 map, by the nam ...

to the provincial capital of

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

in 2013 for

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

Edmonton's Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event. He ran across Canada to raise money for the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation in 2012-2013. In 2007, he ran across the provinces of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

to raise funds for the Terry Fox Foundation. He has been raising money through endurance since he was 15 years old. With his family (in his home community of Cold Lake), he coordinated a 24-hour floor hockey tournament raise money for Sandra Shipclark (who suffers from cerebral palsy) to get a new, up-to-date communication device in 2005.

Personal life

Hargrove, born in Germany, moved to

with his family when he was less than a year old. He was 24 years old at the time of his cross-Canada run. He has been involved in

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

running for several years, winning the 2004 Centennial Marathon in

, Alberta. The course was 42 kilometers which he completed in three hours, fifty-seven minutes, and forty-two seconds.

2007 run

In 2007, when he was 18 years old, Hargrove raised $50,000 when he ran across British Columbia and Alberta for the

Terry Fox Foundation The Terry Fox Run is an annual non-competitive charity event held around the world to raise money for cancer research in commemoration of Canadian cancer activist Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope. The event was founded in 1981 by Isadore Shar ...

2013 Walk a Mile

Curtis walked 185 miles from Cold Lake to Edmonton in women's high heels as part of the YWCA Edmonton's Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event.

2012 cross-Canada run

The "Curtis Hargrove's Run Across Canada for Cancer" began May 4, 2012, on the east coast of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

at St. John's, with Hargrove expecting to arrive in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

sometime between October 24 and November 4, 2012. He was able to cover approximately 50 kilometres each day. Hargrove was attempting to raise a million dollars for the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation for cancer research. The foundation was part of the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton. As of July 4, 2012, he has raised approximately $14,000.

Incidents during the run

Arrest

Hargrove was arrested by the

Sûreté du Québec The (SQ; , ) is the State police, provincial police service for the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. There is no official English name, though the agency's name is sometimes translated as Quebec Provincial Police ...

for " willfully obstructing an officer" near

Saint-Nicolas, Quebec Saint-Nicolas () is a district within Les Chutes-de-la-Chaudière-Ouest borough of the city of Lévis, Quebec, Canada on the St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North Am ...

for running on the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

. His accompanying

recreational vehicle A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and ca ...

driver, Morgan Seward, was fined 52 dollars. The charge of obstruction of justice resulted from Hargrove's refusal to get off the highway. After his arrest, a number of teenagers vandalized the recreational vehicle and stole a Canadian flag. The incident did not appear to be related to the arrest. Morgan Seward added the following update to Hargrove's "RunCurtisRun" Facebook page: Hargrove was scheduled to appear in court on September 21, and hoped to have that date delayed until his run was completed. At the homecoming in Cold Lake on that same date, it was announced that the charges had been dropped. He then used

Quebec Route 132 Route 132 is the longest highway in Quebec. It follows the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River from the border with the state of New York (state), New York in the hamlet of Dundee, Quebec, Dundee (connecting with New York State Route 3 ...

, which runs parallel to the Trans-Canada Highway. When he entered

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

he continued to run on the Trans-Canada.

Growth of a beard

Hargrove started growing a beard when he began his run in Newfoundland because the kids at the Stollery suggested he should grow a beard like the Tom Hanks character, Forrest Gump. His full beard and overgrown mop of hair became an identifying characteristic. Some children donned a large fake beard for Curtis Hargrove costumes for Halloween. His enthusiasm for the beard was not shared by all of his followers, who often sent messages telling him to shave it. He always reminded them why he was growing it: for the kids.

Theme days

Hargrove has dressed in costume on particular days per the request of the children he is running for. He has run in a sumo suit, a Winnie the Poo costume, and a tutu. In the Fall, he ran as Austin Powers, Master Chief (of the HALO Xbox game), and as a cow.

Illness

Hargrove has been hospitalized twice as a result of the physical toll of running daily marathons for his Run Across Canada. First after passing Brandon, Manitoba, in September. Then again after reaching Red Deer, Alberta, in November.

Scotiabank Gamechangers

Hargrove was one of 8 champions of regional charities across Canada to be selected, after a process of online voting and deliberation by a panel of judges, to be presented on the field at the 2012 Grey Cup. The $100,000 National Gamechanger prize went to Angel Magnussen for Variety The Children's Charity of BC. Angel was the Gamechanger for the BC Lions.

Honours

On August 5, 2012, he was presented with a City of Thunder Bay medal by Councillor Mark Bentz. On January 16, 2013, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal at a ceremony in Lac La Biche, Alberta.

November 27, 2012: The Run Across Canada is put on hold

While recovering from his second bout of illness (vomiting blood), and after having broken off to attend the 100th Grey Cup as one of the Scotiabank Game Changers, Hargrove announced he would be putting the run on hold until the Spring of 2013. He was not stopping the run, but could not continue due to the drastic winter weather conditions. His RV was not adaptable to the extreme cold. He said in his announcement to his Facebook followers that his decision was not due to his health problems, but the number of accidents he was seeing on the road. He also reminded them that more fundraising and events would be coming up over this winter break, to help reach the goal of raising 1 million dollars for the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation.

July, 2013: Finishing the Run Across Canada

Hargrove plans to finish the run from where he left off, after running in the "Color Me Rad" 5K being held July 6 through 7th. Morgan Seward is expected to rejoin him as his support team driver.

August 9, 2013

Curtis Hargrove finished his run across Canada at Mile 0, in Victoria, British Columbia.

Run to deliver a blanket to Ellen DeGeneres

On August 30, 2015, Hargrove embarked on a 2,440-km run from Port Alberni, BC to The

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American former comedian, actress, television host, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy in the early 1980s, gaining national attention with a 1986 appearance on '' ...

Studio in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

, California with the intention of delivering a Hugginz by Angel blanket to DeGeneres. The company Hugginz by Angel is a non-profit belonging to Hargrove's friend Angel Magnussen, a 19-year-old with down syndrome and autism. Magnussen creates the blankets for children with terminal illness. Her wish was for DeGeneres to visit her Port Alberni studio in so she could help her sew blankets for sick children. On October 18, 2015, after 50 days of running , Hargrove reached the Burbank studio but Ellen was not there. Although he was able to contact Ellen's production team, he was told that all they (he and his support driver) could do was leave gifts in a pile by the back gate. Although he was disappointed, he was not discouraged. Hargrove decided to keep the blanket, and bring it home with him "where he could continue to share it with people and spread the Magnussen's story until it eventually catches DeGeneres' attention."

Multi-media

Facebook video blogs

Hargrove has maintained a connection with his supporters through regular text updates and video uploads These are normally recorded just as he ends his running for the day. He may often be shown running up to the camera, tired out and talking about how the run went. His usual videographer has been Morgan Seward, his driver.

The "Run With It" comic strips

Curtis Hargrove has been featured in a series of comic strips created by one of the followers of his story.

References

External links

Official Facebook page

Run With It comic strips
;Video

from the ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunn ...

''
Video story
from

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the nationa ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hargrove, Curtis Track and field athletes from Alberta Living people Canadian male long-distance runners 1989 births 21st-century Canadian sportsmen