17-year-old student concludes 100-kilometre marathon for charity
High school student Gavin Pratt of Essex County finished a 108 kilometre-long marathon for charity in the early morning hours of Nov. 12, 2023. (Bob Bellacicco/CTV News Windsor)
St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic High School student Gavin Pratt is happy to be home after running an ultra marathon to raise money for the Royal Canadian Legion.
The 17-year-old student started running at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning at the Whispering Grace 100 in Ohio.
He finished what turned out to be a 108-kilometre course at 3 a.m. on Sunday.
Prior to the race, his longest run was an 80-kilometre trail race.
Pratt said it was a tough run but he persevered while thinking of the veterans at the Royal Canadian Legion.
“I'm really glad that I was able to do that. I'm really thankful the race organizers put the race on and I'm really glad I was able to raise money with it. It definitely made it worth it and I was thinking about the veterans the Royal Canadian Legion supports as I was running and thinking about what I was doing wasn't even close to what so many had to go through,” he said.
The grade 12 student has raised over $5,500 to support Essex County’s 594 branch, and is hoping more will give through his GoFundMe campaign.
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