Ultramarathoner Runs 100 Miles for Mental Health Awareness
In 2021, twenty-year-old Darius Sam, a First Nations individual accomplished the now-imaginable feat of completing a 100-mile ultramarathon to raise awareness for mental health. Darius accredits his success to his friends and family who stood by him and watched as Darius grew from an “uncoached and inexperienced runner” to someone who made running the focal point of his activism. Darius is an adoptee who came from an unfit home and now is supported primarily by his mother and grandfather. Darius chose to run for mental health awareness because he has lost several people to addiction including family members. His coach and friend, Mark Nendick, runs with Darius and helps him train. He was there when Darius both physically and mentally couldn’t go on and cheered just as loud when his close friend completed the ultramarathon.
Although Darius lives in British Columbia and has personal ties to his activism, Americans, primarily students at Nease, can use his example of fortitude and dedication to fight for the change they want to see in the world. Darius was not a star athlete in high school and didn’t dream of finishing such a challenging task until he decided to. All Darius wanted was a way out of his own personal doubts and internal conflict and consequently found a way to turn his healing into awareness for others as well.
After completing the 100-mile ultramarathon in 2020, Darius went on to run the Moab 240 Endurance Run (240.3 miles) and finished 90th with an estimated time of 99 hours and 26 minutes.
By: Danielle Reynolds
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