Trevor Redmond of Halifax, Nova Scotia is currently running across Canada to raise funds for mental health programs in his Run for Courage.
Brightly dressed as he travels, he’s also known as ‘The Fellow in Yellow.’
Redmond, a motivational advisor and public speaker, began his long trek on March 26, 2024. He intends to eventually reach the West Coast.
He had travelled as far as Thessalon Saturday, planning to spend the night at the Carolyn Beach Inn. He hopes to reach Sault Ste. Marie by midweek and has had offers from Sleep Inn as well as private homeowners for accommodation while in this community.
“Funds raised go to A Dollar A Day Foundation which helps grassroots organizations across Canada offer mental health programs within communities all across Canada,” Redmond told SooToday in a phone interview.
It isn’t an easy journey for Redmond.
“I’m running and pushing a fully loaded cart that I built. I don't want to be really out if the temperature is below -15,” Redmond said.
Now in his early 50s, he limps as a result of a serious injury he suffered in his teens.
“I got struck by a car when I was 15 and almost lost my leg. I know what it's like to be in a hospital and suffer physically.
"I also know a lot of that emotional attachment to the thought of losing a leg. You really do have to exercise to come back from both physical and mental trauma. When you have a physical injury, you are going to have an emotional injury. When you have an emotional injury, often it will manifest into a physical injury.”
Redmond said his run, apart from raising funds for mental health programs, is also about emphasizing that we heal physically and mentally if we keep moving, exercising and eating right.
“It does take exercise to become strong enough to face what we need to face emotionally and I would like to see more development put towards mental health care in the health-care industry.”
Along the way, Redmond has stayed overnight in motels, homes of supporters and in his own tent that he keeps in his cart.
He said that he has raised approximately $30,000 so far in his Run for Courage.
Prior to his current journey, Redmond walked across Canada throughout 2006 and 2007. He did a bike ride across the country in 2009.
Those two journeys were fundraisers for cancer research at Toronto’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
Redmond said he raised approximately $32,000 for that cause.
Supporters can donate to Redmond’s Run for Courage through his website and a Fellow in Yellow GoFundMe site.