It was a cold and rainy Tuesday morning, but spirits certainly weren’t dampened as 12-year-old Brysen Howe kicked off the 184 kilometre Dash To Grande Cache for Cancer just south of Grande Prairie.
Howe, who was surrounded by friends, family and volunteers, says they have had a pretty light training regiment, but he is confident everyone will be up for the trek.
“We didn’t do much, but we did quite a few walks to train. Not that long ago we did one that was 20 kilometres. We did quite a few smaller walks, we’ve walked from the house to Petsmart a which is probably about 7 kilometres.”
Since the age of four, Brysen has raised over $8,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society by singing at the mall, hosting bottle drives, selling teddy bears, and asking for donations instead of birthday presents. However, with this event alone has he has surpassed the $10,000 mark.
He couldn’t hide his shock when it comes to just how well the latest efforts have gone.
“To be honest, I am surprised, but I can see why people donated because it’s for a good cause, but, I’m surprised how far it went.”
Howe knows it can be unsafe on the side of Highway 40, and so for the next few days, members of the Grovedale Fire Department will be alongside them on the highway keeping an eye on their safety. They will then be tagged out by members of the Grande Cache Fire Department closer to the end destination.
Howe says he hopes to be more than halfway to the finish line by end of day Friday.
“We have it planned for five days, it’s probably going to be 40 kilometres today, 40 kilometres Wednesday and 30 kilometres the other days because we want to get through this side, Grande Prairie to Kakwa, because it’s a little bit busier.”
People looking to donate can do so by visiting the Canadian Cancer Society’s website.