Edward Dostaler, also known as Fast Eddy, is a

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 ...

charity runner who ran solo across Canada and back to raise money for

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

and

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

.Theobald, Claire
"Fast Eddy makes Edmonton stop on marathon run"
''

Edmonton Sun The ''Edmonton Sun'' is a daily newspaper and news website published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is owned by Postmedia following its 2015 acquisition of Sun Media from Quebecor. It began publishing Sunday April 2, 1978 and shares many ch ...

'', April 9, 2015. Retrieved on April 22, 2015. He was born in

Hinton, Alberta Hinton is a town in the foothills of Alberta, Canada, with a population of 9,817. It is in Yellowhead County, northeast of Jasper and about west of Alberta's capital city, Edmonton, at the intersection of the Yellowhead and Bighorn Highway ...

and currently resides in

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...

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 ...

"Fast Eddy" solo cross Canada and back run

Dostaler embarked on his solo 21,585 kilometre "across Canada and back" run on March 1, 2015 in

Victoria BC 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 ...

. He ran alone, pushing his supplies in a jogging stroller which he named "Aurora." The money raised for the two causes — breast cancer and Alzheimer's disease — stays in the province that it was raised in. In August 2015, it was reported that Dostaler was running low on funds and resorted to flying back home. On September 19, 2015, Dostaler realized that the

Marine Atlantic Marine Atlantic Inc. () is an independent Canadian federal Crown corporation which is mandated to operate ferry services between the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. Marine Atlantic's corporate headquarters are in St. John ...

ferry from

Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...

Argentia, Newfoundland Argentia ( ) is a Canadian commercial seaport and industrial park located in the Town of Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on the southwest coast of the Avalon Peninsula and defined by a triangular shaped headland which re ...

, which was about 420 km away at the time, would be closing for the winter in five days. Missing this ferry would mean that he would have to extend the run by roughly 911 km. This would also cause him to run through Atlantic Canada during the harsh winter months. He managed to run an average of about 69 km per day for five days to make it to the ferry, arriving just two hours before the last departure. September 20, 2015, Dostaler ran across

Confederation Bridge The Confederation Bridge () is a box girder bridge carrying the Trans-Canada Highway across the Abegweit Passage of the Northumberland Strait, linking the province of Prince Edward Island with the mainland province of New Brunswick. Opened ...

which links the provinces of

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

and

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, becoming the first person to include this bridge as part of a cross Canada run. His run across the bridge was part of Canada's largest

Terry Fox Run 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 ...

, commemorating the 35th anniversary of the

Marathon of Hope Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for can ...

. The story of

Terry Fox Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for can ...

was one of Dostaler's main inspirations.

24 hour runs

During his cross Canada and back run, Dostaler stopped in each province to do a 24-hour running event to gain awareness and support. These events took place in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

on April 18, 2015; in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

on May 9, 2015;Kreutzwieser, Paig
"Fast Eddy running through Regina"
''

Leader-Post The ''Regina Leader-Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Regina, Saskatchewan, owned by Postmedia Network. Founding The newspaper was first published as ''The Leader'' in 1883 by Nicholas Flood Davin, soon after Edgar Dewdney, Lieuten ...

'', May 8, 2015. Retrieved on May 12, 2015. and in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

on May 23, 2015.

References

External links

FastEddyCanada.com

Fast Eddy Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dostaler, Edward 1988 births Living people Canadian male long-distance runners People from Yellowhead County Sportspeople from Kamloops 21st-century Canadian sportsmen