Northern Ireland man covers a lot of ground in mammoth run after emigrating to Canada

And that is exactly what Ben Caldwell did last weekend – he donned his trainers and embarked on a mammoth run in aid of an inspirational person back home in NI.

On Saturday past the 28-year-old from Portadown set him self the target of running 100 miles close to his new home in Toronto in a time of no more than 36 hours.

He managed it 27 hours and 30 minutes.

Asked if there was any point he felt like giving up, Ben said: “Of course, I just had to try and tune out that part of myself until it was done. Chip away step by step until there were no more steps left.

“I only stopped to change my clothes and shoes and also whenever I had to quickly eat bigger meals.”

He said: “I’ve been training and staying fit for a long time but in terms of training specifically for this, it’s been about roughly 10 weeks.

“I’ve been wanting to cover that distance for a couple of years now and I wanted to raise awareness for Cystic Fibrosis and try raise some money so I just put the two together.

“I never had the time to train and set it up, then I moved to Canada in March and after two days of landing the lockdown happened and everything shut down. I thought there’s no better time than now to get the ball rolling.”

Ben, who moved to Canada on his own, said: “I had visited Canada a few times before and loved it, so I decided why not move here and see how it goes.

“I’ve settled in Toronto, I love it here. I will travel a bit when everything calms down, hopefully after Christmas.”

Ben has played football all of his life and said he hoped to play for a team in Toronto having left Hanover FC in Portadown when he emigrated.

Explaining his choice of charity for the 100 mile challenge, Ben said: “I have someone close to me back home in Northern Ireland who has Cystic Fibrosis.

“I’ve seen the dedication it takes to stay healthy and enjoy life regardless of having it and it’s inspiring to me. So if I could do something to help raise awareness and some money then I thought I should.”

Cystic Fibrosis is a life-limiting genetic condition affecting more than 10,000 people across the UK. Half of those with the condition will not live past 41.

Ben said: “The Cystic Fibrosis Trust is fighting for a brighter future for people with CF and their families by funding cutting-edge research, driving up standards of care and supporting people with the condition and their loved ones every step of the way.”

To make a donation go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Ben-Caldwell100

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