On Sept. 2, Toronto’s Magnus Hepburn set out on a 30-day journey to run the length of the UK–1,358 km from Land’s End in southwestern England to John O’Groats in northeastern Scotland (LEJOG), with the goal of raising funds for the Veterans Transition Network (VTN). On Thursday, after battling through a few setbacks that stretched his journey eight days longer than planned, Hepburn completed his journey, raising nearly $18,000 in the process.
The 22-year-old, a geography student at Queen’s University, spent the greater part of the next five weeks completing the journey alone, running between hotels, hostels and airbnbs. With no crew, Hepburn carried his own pack (which weighed between 20 and 30 lb. (or 9 to 13 kg) on his back as he ran. When he wasn’t running, he was focused on his studies, using his phone to complete quizzes and assignments for his university courses.
A few bumps in the road
Hepburn’s first obstacle arose just over two weeks into the run. What started out as a painful blister soon developed into severe shin splints from having to adjust his stride–forcing him to sit on the sidelines for four days. “I could barely walk around with my shin pain,” he told Canadian Running. “I didn’t know if I was going to be able to finish–even though I was over halfway done. That was really hard to think about.”
A physiotherapist diagnosed his injury as tendinopathy, before giving him clearance to slowly ramp up his mileage as the pain subsided. Hepburn ran successfully for four days before coming down with a fever and a cough, which forced him to take another five-day break–which he was not nearly as concerned about. “I was so mentally hardened by then,” Hepburn explained. “I knew it was a hurdle, and I’d be able to get over it.”
Thanks to these setbacks, Hepburn’s father, who planned to stay for five days at the end of the run, ended up staying for 13 days. Hepburn admits this was a huge bonus, and that his father helped him by carrying his heavy pack.
Veterans Transition Network (VTN)
Hepburn was inspired to take on the challenge by his grandfather, who served in the British Army, and he knew he wanted to honour veterans with his fundraiser. The VTN offers a safe space and resources for veterans to seek help when they need it, and is the only Canadian charity delivering mental health services specifically for veterans.
Hepburn’s only experience running was one 10K run in high school–which took him well over an hour. He signed up for a half-Ironman with friends, and ended up being the only one to actually complete it. He went on to complete a full Ironman, but still wasn’t satisfied; he wanted to do something even bigger, and to fundraise. Since he wasn’t a fan of swimming or biking, he decided he would commit to running a marathon a day for one month–which set his fundraiser in motion.
With a short way to go to reach his $20,000 goal, the fundraising page will remain open for another week. If you’d like to show your support for Hepburn’s run and the VTN, you can make a donation here.
