Zephyr runner endures pain for good cause
Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Myles Dininio has been resting at home in Zephyr the past week, trying to ease some of the pain he is feeling from his cross-Canada run.
Dininio began his run in St. John's, Nfld., on April 1 with the aim of raising $50,000 for The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). He arrived in Uxbridge a week ago and was greeted by the students at Scott Central Public School in Sandford.
Now at home, he's recuperating from painful legs, blackened toenails and hurting feet. Dininio said it takes him an hour every morning to get his legs back in shape for the run ahead.
A STAR IN HIS HOMETOWN - Myles Dininio signs autographs for students at Scott-Central Public School in Sandford. Dininio, who is running across Canada to raise money for mental health, took a break at home in Zephyr this week. Photo by Roger Varley
"I can barely walk," he said in an interview with the Cosmos. "I barely slept my first night at home."
He said Newfoundland was the hardest part of the trip so far. With his father driving his camper van behind, Dininio said that portion of the run was "a survival trip."
"We weren't prepared for the weather," he said, pointing out he and his father spent several nights shivering in the camper.
He said he put on 16 pounds before he started but lost that extra weight pretty quickly. He eats about 4,000 calories a day, with lots of carbohydrates.
"I sit down for one meal a day," he said.
Running through Quebec, he said, police removed him from the road on which he was running and made him run on a road with no shoulders. Also in Quebec, he was hit by a flag sticking out the side of a truck.
Travelling across Canada is not new to Dininio. When he was 18, Dininio, now 40, rode his mountain bike from Mount Albert to Nelson, B.C. It was during the bike trip that he first thought about running across the country. However, he admitted he had second thoughts while he was driving to Newfoundland to start his run, realizing just how far it was going to be.
"I asked myself 'What am I doing,'" he said.
Logistics are somewhat of a problem for Dininio. He has drivers lined up for the trek to Marathon, Ont., but has to find drivers for the rest of the way. Up to now, he has been helped by friends and family who have travelled to hook up with him.
Dininio said he has raised $23,500 so far. However, that increased slightly when Uxbridge council donated $500 to his cause from the township golf fund.
Dininio planned to resume his cross-Canada run tomorrow (Friday).
To donate to Dininio’s run, visit fundraise.camh.ca/fundraisers/mylesdininio/myles-across-canada