A Niagara-based long-distance runner is lacing up his shoes for an ultra-marathon that’ll see him run along Lake Ontario from Niagara-on-the-Lake to the Thousand Islands — 886 kilometres in 21 days.
Adam Saltarelli, 18 years old from Port Colborne, is kicking off his run on Saturday morning, Aug. 8, setting off from the Waterfront Trail under the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.
He plans to complete the ultra-marathon as a series of half-marathons, each 21 kilometres long, along the coast of Lake Ontario.
With a few days to go before the big run kicks off, Saltarelli says he’s feeling “excellent” and ready to go.
“My body feels better than ever. I’d probably say I’m in the best shape of my life, which helps out a lot,” he said.
The total distance, 886 kilometres, is about 134 kilometres short of Lake Ontario’s shoreline length, 1,020 kilometres (which excludes its islands).
Originally, he hoped to run around the entire lake, which would’ve included crossing the border to and from the United States, but he says he was unable to make it happen due to logistical problems.
Instead, his process will be as follows: begin each day at a marked point, point A; run 21 kilometres to point B, marking the exact spot; turn around and run back to point A; drive in a car to point B, park for the night, then set off the next day on another 21 kilometres toward his next point, repeating the process until he reaches the 1000 Islands Tower on Hill Island.
The past few years, Saltarelli has begun testing his limits as a runner, trying to see how far he can go. Two years ago, he ran his first marathon, the Niagara Falls International Marathon. After finishing it, he decided he wanted to try and run a 100-mile race before he turned 18 — he completed one a month before his 18th birthday.
“I’ve always been drawn to how far you can run,” he said. “Hearing [about] some people running across the country … what does that person know that I don’t about pushing my body? It’s always been, kind of, a curious question.”
For him, this ultra-marathon, which he’s calling the LO550 (the run is 550 miles), is the next step in his evolution as a runner.
Saltarelli is hoping to raise money for Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities, which aims to remove financial barriers to children and youth accessing sports by co-creating athletic programs and supporting local sports organizations.
He said he became inspired to support the non-profit organization after hearing about how it changed the life of someone close to him: his martial arts coach, Anthony Romero, a mixed martial artist.
Alongside that, he believes in what they’re doing and how they’re trying to keep sports in young people’s lives, something important to him.
“Sports, they’re wonderful. They’ve really made me into the person I am today,” he said. “Any way I can give back funding to that, then I’ll throw every cent that I got at you.”
His goal is to raise $5,550 by the end of the run, which he’s expecting to finish Aug. 29.
The LO500 run begins at 9 a.m. on the Niagara River Recreational Trail underneath the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge in Queenston. Those interested in supporting the run, either through a donation or by sponsoring a mile, can visit lo550.com.
