Owen Ostler had no experience with endurance running when he set out to complete a solo marathon for charity. Now, he can safely say he’s went through the experience of a lifetime.
In June, Ostler, a Carson Graham Secondary student, announced he would undertake a solo marathon by running approximately 42 kilometres around Fen Burdett Stadium.
He set out to complete the endurance run in order to raise money for the critical care unit at Lions Gate Hospital.
“I’ve seen so much fundraising going towards COVID-19, I was wondering what areas had been overlooked or neglected,” Ostler told the North Shore News back in June. “I just thought, it’s a pretty small world – I could know someone who needs that care.”
On Saturday, Ostler, who had never done any type of endurance running and had spent the last several months training for the big day, completed his solo marathon.
A group of people, including friends, family, as well as special guests such as City of North Vancouver Coun. Tina Hu and North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Bowinn Ma, came out to cheer Ostler on.
He completed his marathon around the track, located at Mahon Park, in just over four hours. The endeavour included a total of 106 laps around the track.
While Ostler initially set out to raise $5,000 for the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation, he ended up far exceeding that goal, bringing in $11,000 for the fundraising arm of the North Vancouver hospital.
