If you saw a man in a cowboy hat running along the side of the road in Langley on Wednesday, you caught a glimpse of a world-record breaking run coming to its conclusion.
Dave Proctor of Okotoks, Alberta, passed through Langley (as well as much of the Fraser Valley and Surrey) on July 20 on the second to last leg of his 67 day, 10 hour cross-country run.
Proctor paused briefly in Langley to touch base with his girlfriend, Lana Ledene, who has been part of his support crew for the last leg of the cross-country run. The run began in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and ended in Victoria.
He was running about 107 km per day to beat the previous record for running across Canada, which was 72 days.
“I just give him new bottles, and off he goes,” said Ledene.
Proctor had no days off on the run, and had a rotating crew of supporters keeping him hydrated and supplied as he trekked across Canada.
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He chronicled his trip on Facebook, including noting his favourite odd items found along the roadsides.
For his very last day of the race, it was a ceramic cow-shaped cookie jar.
After his last day of running, he looked back on his trip across the country.
“During today’s run I have thought about what I’ve experienced firsthand on foot,” Proctor wrote. “I’ve run 7,159 kms through rugged Newfoundland, breathtaking Nova Scotia, rolling New Brunswick, beautiful Quebec, gigantic and desolate Ontario, flat Manitoba, the colourful fields of Saskatchewan, the ranch lands of Alberta, and the epic mountains of British Columbia. I’ve climbed over five times the elevation of Mount Everest. Relying on friends and family’s support, made new friends, ate boatloads of bakery items, burned through 12 pairs of shoes.
“All together, this experience has been priceless.”
Have a story tip? Email: matthew.claxton@langleyadvancetimes.com
