Trio laces up sneakers to help HIV-AIDS sufferers

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This article was published 30/08/2015 (3153 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A relay team running from Winnipeg to Regina for the Mylan Relay for Hope jogged through Brandon early Sunday morning.

The three runners — Christopher Salas, Janice Pattison and Curtis Boucher— are an eclectic group who all got involved with the cross-country relay to help raise awareness and money for people suffering from HIV-AIDS.

“My uncle has suffered from it, but he’s been doing really well thanks to medication … He’s super proud, I keep getting messages from him when I hook up to Wi-Fi,” said Salas, who found out about the relay on Reddit and travelled from his home in Honolulu, Hawaii to take part in the run.

This is Salas’ first time in Canada and so far, the climate seems to be agreeing with him.

“My teammates talk about it being a little warmer than usual here, but it’s been perfect for me because it’s slightly less warm than what I’m used to,” said Salas, who cycles regularly and participated in his first triathlon this year.

The relay started in St. John’s, NL in April and the baton is expected to arrive in Hope, B.C., by mid-October.

Thirty-five runners are participating in the marathon relay, which is a collaboration between pharmaceutical company Mylan and the Canadian AIDS Society.

To date, runners have raised $9,495 for HIV-AIDS awareness campaigns and support services for people living with the virus, which alters the immune system and makes sufferers more vulnerable to infections and diseases.

Pattison is from Calgary and she has been running for more than 30 years, although track and middle distance running is more her forte.

“A marathon is just one day, this is 13 days back-to-back,” said Pattison, who had just finished her 15-kilometre leg when the team arrived in Brandon.

Like Salas, Pattison has a close connection to HIV-AIDS.

“I have a good friend who committed suicide when he was diagnosed with HIV, so it’s always been a bit of a hard thing for me,” she said.

The team started their journey at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights five days ago and Pattison has been encouraged by the support they’ve seen on the road.

“There have been people stopping and running with us a little bit and lots of really friendly horn honking and that’s been really nice,” Pattison said.

When the team arrives in Regina, they will have accumulated almost 600 kilometers.

For Boucher, who is from Halifax, running on the straight highways in the flat prairies has been a bit difficult.

“It’s really good on my legs but mentally it kind of messes with you,” Boucher said. “There was this one field we went by and I thought it was like 10 kilometres long and it was probably only two.”

Boucher has participated in several other fundraising runs for HIV-AIDS and he is the leader of an LGBTQ* student group at Saint Mary’s University.

“Being from the LGBT community it’s a very personal issue, it affects the community a lot,” Boucher said.

The team lives in a large RV during their leg of the relay that is driven by Jean Lacouture, who got involved with the run in Fredericton, P.E.I., and has decided to see it all the way to the finish.

“I don’t know how it happened, but here I am … It’s a lot of fun,” Lacouture said.

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