Archive

Hann plans fundraising runs for Cystic Fibrosis

April 7, 2016   ·   0 Comments

Nick Hann has a goal.

The 23-year-old from Orangeville is hoping to raise as much money and awareness as possible for Cystic Fibrosis.

“My main goal for this year is to run from Orangeville to Toronto, then run from the bottom to the top of the CN Tower,” he explained. “It’s an 82.12-kilometre run, then 1,776 steps of stairs to reach the top of the CN tower. I would like to raise at least $10,000 – if I can raise more than that, even better.”

The run will take place Oct. 22. So far he has raised just over $1,500 for the cause. Mr. Hann completed his first full marathon when he was 19 years old.

“I am more than prepared to do this run,” he said. “I have run half marathons, full marathons and ultra marathons. My biggest race was running the 100-kilometre ultra marathon in London, Ontario, where I was the youngest to ever complete the distance in that area.”

While he was proud to have completed his first full marathon, he wasn’t satisfied with the distance.

“I thought the distance was too small,” he said. “So I decided to start running ultra marathon’s instead (anything over 42.2 kilometres).”

Although he has run to raise money for charity, he has never actually organized a charity event himself. He was inspired to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis after a story in the newspaper about a young man battling the disease caught his attention.

“The article was about a family that was putting on a charitable poker tournament to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis,” he explained. “As I was reading further through the article, I had found out that the parents hosting this tournament had lost their own son, Justin, to Cystic Fibrosis at the age of 26. Justin started fighting this disease at the age of two.

“As Justin got older, his disease got worse and worse. Justin’s disease got so bad, that he was forced to leave college. He was also not able to work, and he was confined to a wheelchair and an oxygen mask. There were times where Justin was mocked for his condition. There were people, who would make fun of him, laugh at him. Justin began making movies, about Cystic Fibrosis in order to help other individuals who were also suffering from this disease.”

By the age of 26, Justin’s lung capacity was reduced to 15 percent. He got a double lung transplant, but by that point it was too late and his organs were shutting down.

“Reading this article touched me in many ways,” Mr. Hann said. “I was inspired by Justin’s story because he had to go through struggles every day dealing with this disease, but he still had the heart and determination to make a difference. That is why I want to run for Cystic Fibrosis, I want to raise enough money to beat this disease, so people no longer have to suffer with this disease. I just want to continue what Justin wanted, and that’s to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.”

Why should you donate to his run?

“There are many people out there today, struggling with Cystic Fibrosis, and we still don’t have a cure for it,” he said. “People should donate to my run, because people are not getting any better, as long as this disease still exists, more and more people are dying each day. If we can get people donating, then we can be that much closer to finding a cure to beat Cystic Fibrosis.”

For more information or to donate, visit secure.e2rm.com/registrant/PersonalPage.aspx?RegistrationID=3193708.

People can also contact him on Facebook or email nickhanntherunningman@outlook.com.

Readers Comments (0)