Running News Daily

Dave Proctor ends his cross-Canada run in Victoria after 67 days

Right on schedule, Dave Proctor of Okotoks, Alta. wrapped up his cross-Canada record quest in Victoria late Thursday afternoon. Proctor completed his 7,159km run after 67 straight days of running, and (pending verification) will have topped Al Howie’s cross-Canada speed record of 72 days, 10 hours, set in 1991. Proctor began this record attempt with a hat dip in St. John’s, and has been steadily running around 105 kilometers a day across the country, bumping that distance up to 107 km over the last few days to be certain of hitting the target.

This was not Proctor’s first attempt at the record; in 2018, running in the other direction, he was beset by a back injury and forced to quit in Manitoba after 32 days on the road. He then had to put off making his record attempt due to COVID. He shared gratitude for the journey in a social media post Thursday evening, calling the experience “priceless.”

Proctor is one of Canada’s most accomplished and best known ultrarunners. He holds course records at races including Lethbridge, Alta.’s Lost Soul Ultra (where he ran the 100-miler in 2021 in 19:05:00, beating his own previous course record of 19:27:00); he set the 48-hour Canadian record at 6 Days in the Dome in 2018 (358.163 km); in addition, he holds Canadian records over 24 hours (257.093 km) and 72 hours (500.077 km).

Proctor shared daily posts on Instagram that included his mileage, a ‘ditch find’ of the day, and his daily progress. In a recent post thanking the watch brand Coros for their sponsorship, he mentioned that he would be making his COROS data available post-run, but warned, “they’ll be big files.”

American ultrarunner Pete Kostelnick is familiar with a journey like Proctor’s: he holds the trans-American speed record of 42 days, 6 hours, 30 minutes. Kostelnick spoke to Proctor on Thursday during the final leg of his run, and shared some insight into how he is probably feeling right now.

“It’s bittersweet, but mostly sweet. After over two months, Dave’s new normal is very simple–eat, run, rest, repeat. Soon he’ll be back to ‘normal’ life, which, quite honestly, is a shock to the body and mind. In something like this, I think also a lot of the reward comes while you’re doing it,” Kostelnick said. “It’s a powerful feeling to know you just ran another 105 km yesterday, today and will keep doing it day after day.  Once you’ve done it, you have so much to celebrate and be thankful for, but part of you is also thinking “well, what now?” My best advice to him today was to spend some time running alone and reflecting on the whole experience as he nears the finish line.”

Proctor was joined across the country by various friends, family members and fellow ultrarunners, who crewed and logged kilometres with him for anywhere from six days to over two weeks. Calgary-based ultrarunner Joel Campbell spent nine days with him, and has also paced him at local races. He feels Proctor’s strongest ability is his mental stamina.

“[It] is what puts him on the shortlist of elite multi-day runners out there,” Campbell says. “A lot of it has to do with his courage and the willingness to put himself on the line for failure, and high-profile public failure at that. Scrolling through the comments on his social media posts, I’m struck by how many people mention their own running triumphs, but more often, their missed attempts. Most of us have bonked in a race at some point, and to see him be willing to try again and now achieve his goal, seems to inspire others in whatever pursuits they’re facing.”

Kostelnick agrees: “He’s stubborn! This accomplishment for him has been in the making for years, and there were so many times when almost anyone but Dave would have said ‘well, maybe it’s not for me. Time to move on.'” Proctor faced both mental and physical challenges on the road and shared some of them with his fans on social media, including his struggle with not seeing his kids for so long and the physically painful start to each day.

Proctor touted both Howie and Terry Fox as inspiration on the road, sharing his thoughts on day 39 as he ran on the stretch of highway where Fox was forced to end his own trans-Canada run: “On this road, on this day I was schooled in the lessons of courage, determination, and belief that I thought I understood prior to this run but now know that I knew nothing.”

Proctor’s partner, Lana Ledene, shared her perspective on social media Wednesday evening. She wrote about watching Proctor log miles seemingly without effort, and the immense suffering and exhaustion she witnessed at the end of each day. Ledene asked Proctor how he managed to keep going: “He said he doesn’t think about the pain, he blocks it out and does not allow it to occupy any space in his thoughts.” She adds: “Without a doubt, Dave’s superpower is not his legs, it’s his mind.”

Post-run Thursday, Proctor shared that he was looking forward to coffee in bed, and added: “I’ll be taking tomorrow off running.”