A South Surrey runner finished a major fundraising effort in White Rock's East Beach Sunday, after running 60 kilometres a day for 60 days in a row.
Canada Border Services Agency officer Sachin Latti completed his last run shortly before 2 p.m. on Sunday right by the 'Grizlee' bear statue with a smile on his face.
He admitted he was tired, having been battling illness for the past few weeks, but was pleased to finish his mission.
"I feel good! The effort was worth it... the goal we set out was accomplished, so that's great," he said, noting $25,000 was raised for New Wesminster's Honour House Society.
Latti runs long distances regularly, usually to raise funds and awareness for mental health initiatives. He chose the 60-km-a-day distance because it's the equivalent of running from Victoria to the Terry Fox Memorial in Thunder Bay, Ontario, or 3,100 km, and runs to help raise awareness about the impact of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and associated mental health issues on first responders and veterans.
Honour House is a refuge, a “home away from home” for members of the Canadian Armed Forces, veterans, emergency services personnel and their families to stay, completely free of charge, while they receive medical care and treatment in the Metro Vancouver area. Another facility, Honour Ranch, is a beautiful 120-acre rural retreat, where where military veterans and first responders can take part in programs to support the treatment of operational stress injuries, such as PTSD.
His latest fundraising effort is just one of many he has conducted in recent years, with one of the first seeing him run nine ultramarathons – an ultramarathon is where participants run 50 or more kilometres per race – in nine months, with Lattie raising $16,000 for Honour house Society.
"I just think it's important to continue to raise awareness about mental health," Latti said.
In August 2023, he ran 22 marathons in 22 days – running from Revelstoke to Victoria – to help the same society.
Latti plans to take a TED Talk-style gala fundraiser like the one he held in March national, to Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax, to help spread awareness about the importance of mental health. And that's not all.
His next effort will be national: Latti plans to run across the entire country, and is looking to break the record for fastest run across Canada.
And he doesn't plan to take that much time off.
"After this, I'll take a two-week break. Then I'll start training for that," he said.
Learn more at sachinmotion.ca
