After raising more than $12,500 for children’s hospitals and tracking more than 201 kilometres in 2023, bladerunner Sarah Gillies hopes to make a return to The Million Reasons Run and make a difference for others in 2024.
The Million Reasons Run is a virtual fundraiser for 13 children’s hospitals across Canada and is back for its fourth year this May, providing a unique opportunity for anyone, anywhere in the world, to make a positive contribution. Since its launch in 2021, this virtual running challenge has already raised more than $5.8 million.
Gillies, who is an undergrad at McMaster University, was born with a rare condition that required her leg to be amputated when she was just seven months old. Growing up, she found running challenging with her prosthetic, and she felt slow. “I didn’t know any other amputee runners, so I assumed it wasn’t for me,” Gillies says.
In high school, Gillies’s mom encouraged her to join the cross-country team and she was inspired to get a running blade—a prosthetic designed for running. It changed everything for her, and she now runs to de-stress, enjoy social time and remind herself of what she can do. “Running is a reminder of the support I’ve had from my family, friends, and prosthetists,” Gillies wrote on Instagram.
In 2023, Gillies dedicated her funds raised through The Million Reasons Run to children at McMaster Children’s Hospital, hoping to support them “so that they can do things they never thought possible.”
