3 minute read
Going 100 with Britton Roxburgh
Seth Schouten
Days before his fundraising run for sports charity TeamUp, Britton Roxburgh was nowhere near expecting to perform a 100-kilometre run. The idea came rather suddenly to Britton. “It initially was actually a bet,” Britton said. At an RA retreat the weekend before the Spring 2023 semester, he jokingly mentioned that he could run 100 kilometres. Others were doubtful of his claims.
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By the end of the retreat, attendees were beginning to place bets on whether or not Britton could, in fact, complete his goal. “If people tell me I can’t do something . . . I’m going to try,” he said. But the idea of completing such a run was no easy feat. “I realized . . . ‘Wait, can I actually do this?’ Because I had never run more than 22 kilometres at one time.”
In the end, Britton chose to raise funds for the charity TeamUp which, according to their website, works with partner organizations “to assist community development programs using sport in order to build the way to a brighter future.” TeamUp was founded by Graham Roxburgh, Britton’s father, who also serves as the head coach for the TWU women’s soccer team. TeamUp works in communities that range from Burnaby, BC to Malawi and Paraguay, among others. Britton, along with the rest of his family, has worked extensively with TeamUp in the past.
On Sunday, January 8, the reality of the task began to dawn on Britton. “I had no preparation for this,” Britton said. Between Christmas break and the RA retreat, Britton had spent minimal time in recent weeks running. “I think I ran once over Christmas for, like, a kilometre. At that point, it hit me, like, ‘What am I about to do?’”
But Britton maintained his resolve. “I need[ed] to get this done. It’s either I stop at the finish line or I get a free ride in the ambulance to the hospital.” four hours of sleep.”
But he was not alone in his journey. Along the way, Britton was joined by others for support and companionship. People brought him food and water over the course of the day. His heartbeat and oxygen intake were also frequently monitored. Britton completed the run just before 11 p.m., having run continuously for the past 19 hours. He had started out with a fundraising goal of $1000. By the end of the race, he had raised just under $3000.
After some deliberation, the run was set for Monday, January 9, the day before the start of the spring semester. Britton had under 24 hours to prepare. “That night, I went home, I told my parents . . . I said, ‘Mom, Dad, I’m going to do something stupid.’” Britton realized, however, that he did not want to complete the run just for himself. “If I’m running 100 kilometres, I could do a fundraiser.”
Britton woke up at 3:30 a.m. on Monday morning and began his run. By his calculations, Britton would have to run the road around Trinity Western University’s Langley campus some 66 times to reach 100 kilometres. He had some support at the starting line from friends and the RAs who were on campus. By 11 a.m., Britton hit the halfway point on the run. “I think that’s when people [realized] . . . that maybe [I] could do this.” Britton took the race slowly, trying to pace himself over the course. “The challenge wasn’t how fast I could do it, but just to get it done,” said Britton. “I wasn’t prepared physically, I hadn’t been doing anything special with my diet, I had less than
“It’s definitely one of the longest, hardest things I’ve done,” he said. “By the last 8K, I was just like, ‘Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.’ I was just trying to finish.”
I spoke to Britton a few days after his run. He was still recovering and mentioned persistent pain in his feet and legs from the run. However, he remained optimistic and proud of his accomplishment. “It was really fun, honestly,” he said. “I’m probably going to do it again, but I want to go for three marathons in a day. . . . Next time, I would love to include more people and get them involved. . . . I thought I was going to be mainly by myself, but I had people with me for about 70 percent of it.”