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Orangeville man Nick Hann completes 82km trek to CN Tower, raises over $11,000 for Cystic Fibrosis

November 2, 2016   ·   0 Comments

Orangeville resident, Nick Hann checked off another item on his bucket list.  The 23 year old ran from Orangeville to the CN Tower in Toronto, then climbed all the way up in support of Cystic Fibrosis.

It took a total of 11 hours and 43 minutes for Hann to complete the challenge.  That’s an 82 kilometre run and 144 flights of stairs or 1776 steps to be exact.

Hann’s challenge raised $11,367.80 for Cystic Fibrosis research.  Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is the most common fatal genetic disease affecting Canadian children and young adults. At present, there is no cure.

Inspired to do something huge in his life, Nick says he knew he wanted to help others and make a difference.  He is an avid runner and has completed over 100 races including half marathons, full marathons and ultra marathons.

Hann’s journey began when he read the paper one day and was motivated by an article.  The article was about a man who passed away from Cystic Fibrosis at the age of 26.

“I knew he was a really strong man, and a fighter since he started fighting this disease at the age of 2,” said Hann.

Hann said the support from everyone helped him push through and complete the run.  “I had to keep going and get this run completed, because so many people donated to my run, and they did their part by donating, so I knew I had to do my part, and that was to run from Orangeville to Toronto, up to the top of the CN tower”.

Hann also kept motivated by the simple fact that more people are now talking about Cystic Fibrosis and donated to help find a cure.

The OPP and Peel Police along with friends and family were along for the night run to Toronto.  Hann kept fueled up with foods that may surprise some.  He ate Pizza, cookies, chips and a few bananas.  “Most people who run Ultra Marathon’s only focus on calories, but you need to focus on your salt levels as well. So I eat foods that have a lot of salt and a lot of calories to refuel myself for these long runs.” Says Hann.

The highlight of the run was coming up a hill and seeing the CN Tower.

“Just staring at that CN Tower was the highlight of my run, because I thought to myself, about 10 and half hours ago, I was in Orangeville starting my run at the Alder Arena, then 10 hours later I was in Toronto staring at the CN tower” says Hann.

Hann received much support from the family in the article that started his journey. He never met the family, only knew he wanted to help support them in memory of their son.

Hann says if you have a dream, don’t give up on it. “Most people don’t accomplish their dreams because people don’t know the difference between a dream and a goal. A dream is a vision. A dream is something you see yourself doing in the future, but you haven’t done it yet.  A goal is stepping stones that get you ready to accomplish your dream” says Hann.   “A lot of hard work and patience, you will know when you are ready to go after the dream you desire”.

It took just one article in the paper, and a motivated man, now over $11,000 has been raised for Cystic Fibrosis research.  Hann says he has future plans for another challenge that include a run from Orangeville to Ottawa.

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