July 12, 2011 - Meet Scott Cannata, student and varsity athletic trainer at Trent University. Scott may just be headed to a city near you; he’s embarked on a run across Canada to fight cancer.

Running the equivalent of a marathon a day, Cannata has burned through four pairs of running shoes so far but remains driven by desire to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society.

“When I was about 12 years old, my mom was diagnosed with cervical cancer." Cannata said. “A few years later, I lost my paternal grandfather to cancer. It hit my family hard and I was struck with a feeling of helplessness. It's this feeling that is driving me to run across Canada. It’s the only way I can think of to prevent these circumstances and fight back.”

He began his run May 1, 2011 in St. John's, N.L., and expects to end up eight months from now in Port Renfrew, B.C.

Two other Trent University students are with Cannata, serving as his road crew. They raised money and sought out sponsors so that all the money raised from the run will go directly to the Canadian Cancer Society for research.

"Every cent we raise on the road goes to the Canadian Cancer Society," he said.

So far, online donations are at $10,500, and cash and cheques received from well-wishers he's met total $1,000. Cannata is able to issue tax deductible receipts on the spot.

“Every day I do a marathon, which is 42.2 kilometres,” Cannata said. “I've made a commitment to people and a very special commitment to those of whom I'm dedicating this run, so I have to come out and feed off of that to get myself going each day.”

While Cannata loves to run, the pace is gruelling. He's so far been running non-stop and took his first break in Moncton after doing 30 marathons in a row.

“The only reason we took a day off is because our third crew member flew in from Toronto. It's absolutely exhausting. All I do is eat, sleep and run, basically, but my crew takes care of me.”

To learn more about the run or donate to the Canadian Cancer Society in support of his efforts, visit his website at www.theruntolive.com.


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