Darius Sam, the young man from Merritt who pledged to run 100 miles in 24 hours to raise money for his local food bank, will be throwing on his running shoes and hitting the road yet again.

Sam raised over $110,000 for the Nicola Valley Food Bank in June after his mission caught widespread media and public attention.

害羞草研究所淢y original goal last time was only $1,000, so to jump to $110,000 was pretty surreal,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚t made a huge impact down at the food bank, I couldn害羞草研究所檛 be happier with what it did for the people.害羞草研究所�

However, this time the 20-year-old Merritt man will be running for a different cause.

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Sam won害羞草研究所檛 be raising money this time around but rather awareness. The 20-year-old is dubbing this run as 害羞草研究所渢he Run Against Addiction害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所� a cause that hits close to home for him.

害羞草研究所淚 grew up in an adopted home because of addiction, I害羞草研究所檝e lost a few family members to addiction, I害羞草研究所檝e lost friendships害羞草研究所� and I害羞草研究所檓 sure a lot of people can relate,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淓very person I know at least knows one person that害羞草研究所檚 in addiction and it affects them in some way.害羞草研究所�

Sam hopes to shed light on the many different forms of addiction that can take over a life, rather than simply focus on drug and alcohol addiction.

害羞草研究所淲hether it害羞草研究所檚 food, alcohol, pornography, social media or a handful of other things used to escape reality, addiction is everywhere and has taken over so many lives,害羞草研究所� he said.

害羞草研究所淎 huge one I want to address is excess time on social media. A lot of young people don害羞草研究所檛 realize that害羞草研究所檚 an addiction and it can be very destructive.害羞草研究所�

Sam hopes his run will help change the narrative and stigmas surrounding addiction.

害羞草研究所淎 lot of very beautiful souls and very beautiful people have been lost in addiction and I害羞草研究所檇 like for people to realize that people just like you and me can get caught in the wrong place.害羞草研究所�

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Sam is determined to reach the 100-mile mark in 24 hours after his previous run in June was cut short at the 89-mile mark.

害羞草研究所淚 ran into some complications last time where I don害羞草研究所檛 think I trained as hard I could have, ultimately I didn害羞草研究所檛 end up finishing the full 100,害羞草研究所� Sam said. 害羞草研究所淚 knew I had to come back and face it.害羞草研究所�

Sam admitted that running 100 miles in 24 hours was a bigger challenge than he had anticipated. The mental and physical anguish was ultimately more than he was prepared for.

害羞草研究所淚t gets to a point where it害羞草研究所檚 so easy to pack it in, it害羞草研究所檚 such a mental battle with yourself because you害羞草研究所檙e hurt, doing this hurts. Your whole body is just shocked really.

害羞草研究所淚 think the hardest part is just keeping one foot going after the other.害羞草研究所�

Sam ended up running for 29 hours in his last attempt. After a trip to the hospital, his mother convinced him to shut it down.

This time, however, Sam feels more prepared 害羞草研究所� physically and mentally.

害羞草研究所淚 went into it (last attempt) pretty ignorant to everything害羞草研究所� I didn害羞草研究所檛 know much about nutrition and how to fuel my body when approaching something like that,害羞草研究所� Sam said. 害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檝e learned a lot in the last few months and there were a lot of flaws in my game plan going into the last one.害羞草研究所�

Sam has been training for this run for over two months, putting in 害羞草研究所渟erious weeks害羞草研究所� where he runs a minimum of 40 up to 100 miles (160 kilometres) per week.

Sam thinks his new training regimen along with a stronger dedication to nutrition and allowing his body recovery time will ultimately make the difference in his second attempt at 100 miles in 24 hours.

Sam had little running experience prior to his first attempt. Despite vigorous training leading up to the run, his goal still seemed ambitious for a relatively new runner.

Other than the mental battle that occurs when attempting to run 100 miles in 24 hours, Sam anticipates that weather might be his biggest challenge this time around.

He plans to start the run on Dec. 5, snow and cold temperatures may be inevitable. 害羞草研究所淚 don害羞草研究所檛 know what mother nature has in store for me but it害羞草研究所檚 happening Dec. 5 regardless of anything that害羞草研究所檚 going on.害羞草研究所�

jesse.day@pentictonwesternnews.com
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