After 22 long days, a White Rock man has completed running the distance equal to 22 marathons through British Columbia, ending his run in Victoria.
It’s not a challenge many can, let alone decide, to do — but after dealing with mental health issues, Sachin Latti wanted to make a change.
“I just found a way for me to do something, and through that process, these people inspired me to keep moving,” said Latti.
On Aug. 5, Latti began running the distance of 22 marathons in 22 days. The distance equals 920 km.
“Three years ago, I couldn’t even run 5k,” he said.
He began in Revelstoke, running north throughout the province, before turning around and finishing his run in Victoria at the Law Enforcement Memorial at the B.C. Legislature. His run was not for competitive reasons but to raise money and awareness for charity.
“I wanted to raise money and awareness for a charity called the Honour House Society,” he said.
The Honour House Society is based out of New Westminster and provides temporary free housing to Canadian Armed Forces members, Veterans, first responders and their families while they receive medical care for mental health issues such as PTSD.
Latti managed to raise more than $16,000 through his GoFundMe.
“I was going through personal issues with myself, work issues — essentially, my whole life was upside down. For me, I need to find a way to turn [it more] positive[ly] rather than negative[ly]. Running in service to others was what saved me,” said Latti.
He arrived at the Law Enforcement Memorial site in the early afternoon on Aug. 26, greeted by handshakes and a standing ovation from members of VicPD.
“He’s an extremely gifted person and a special human being. What really stands out for the Victoria Police Department and all first responders and those from the Canadian Forces is really that he’s doing it unselfishly to support others,” said Chief Del Manak.
Latti works for the Canadian Border Services Agency and says he “extensively” trained for this feat for the last nine months. He says the number 22 is special to his cause.
“In 2011, a study was conducted in the States that revealed 22 Veterans a day commit suicide,” said Latti.
The now-marathon runner is preparing for his next two runs: from Thunder Bay, Ont., to Victoria and across Canada.
“Anything is possible, I never thought in a million years I could run one marathon,” said Latti.
He’ll continue to advocate for the charity and share his training updates on his Instagram page.
Oli Herrera
