It started with snow in Newfoundland and ended in a heat wave in British Columbia.
Ryan Keeping has successfully completed his cross country marathon on Sunday.
The Halifax-native set out in April to raise money for heart disease research by following in Terry Fox’s footsteps.
Keeping and friends approach the finish line in Victoria, B.C.
Keeping ran 75 kilometres per day for 99 days and raised over $200,000 during his coast to coast journey.
You may have spotted him along the way, wearing his Terry Fox t-shirt, a Canada flag worn like a cape and his trusty Blue Jays hat.
Ryan Keeping during his run in Cape Breton. (Source: Facebook)
He would wake up every day around 5 a.m. and watch a motivational video of Terry Fox before hitting the road by 6 a.m. for the day.
“Terry Fox, to me, that’s the greatest Canadian of all time. What he did, at such a young age, it’s so admirable,” says Keeping.
“If there’s a day where I’m not feeling good, I think of him and there’s no way I’d ever quit.”
Police escort Ryan Keeping to Terry Fox memorial (Source: Thunder Bay Police)
Keeping chose to raise money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation because it is a cause that has impacted many in his family.
His catchphrase, “flip the switch,” means that people can trick themselves into believing they can do things. For him, it might be the run. Other people have messaged hm saying they flipped the switch and did their homework or cleaned their house.
Photo: Ryan Keeping Facebook
“When I noticed that I was motivating and inspiring people and could really change people’s lives, I realized like, that’s my purpose in life. Anything else I do is just temporary, like any job I worked was temporary,” he says.
To check out some highlights from his journey, take a look at his Instagram page.
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