Burlington runner aiming for quintuple Around The Bay run

(Updated) If you’re not a runner you’ll find this next story shocking. If you are a runner, you may understand his motivation. Bruce Smith of Burlington will attempt to run the Around the Bay Road Race five times in a row coming up at the end of march.

Last year Smith ran the bay 4 times; that’s a total of 120 kilometers. This year he’ll run it five times – 150 kilometres. That’s like running all the way from Hamilton to Barrie. He’s doing it to raise money for St Joseph’s Hospital.

“It’s amazing how much further you can go if you slow down by about 50 per cent.”

Smith has laced up his running shoes to run the race for 24 years. Last year, his quadruple run raised $2500 for St Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.

“In the last year I had a friend who has survived two heart attacks with the help of St Joseph’s and I’ve had a friend who had a kidney transplant at St Joseph’s.”

Smith will start at Bay and York at lunch time the day before the race. He’ll run the route four times and finish around 4 am. He’ll take a break – then do the fifth lap when the race starts March 30th.

Race director Mike Zajczenko says he’s never heard of a runner doing this before. “Crazy ha ha, but there are lots of runners who like to do crazy things and like to challenge themselves.”

However both Zajczenko and Smith mentioned Cameron Lutley of Toronto. Lutley begins his run from his home in Toronto and then runs the 30 kilometre route. He covers 80 kilometers in 15 hours.

It’s people like Lutley and Smith who help raise money for St Joseph’s, and the hospital’s special events manager, Janine Belzak, is more than grateful.

“Certainly Bruce has a big heart and really cares for his community. He’s doing this to help people who need help in our hospital and raise money for the hospital, an incredible person does that.”

It’s been a tough winter for training.

“It’s a lot more effort every step you take, you slide a little.”

Bruce says it’ll be hard but worth it.

“I’ll walk all the hills so don’t anyone think I’m running up that last hill. When I finish it feels FAAAANTASTIC!”

The hospital’s goal is to raise $400,000.

Smith’s goal is to raise more than the $2500 he did last year. He says he promises not to let his sponsors down and he’s determined to run the full 150 k. He expects each lap to take him about four hours so all together he hopes to run 150 kilometers in 20 hours.