This winter has been unseasonably warm, frigid cold, rainy, snowy, icy, slushy, and everything in between.
Carley Billups has ran through all of it.
She is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist who has worked in Prince George for 12 years, she set out with the goal to run 1,000 kilometers this winter and raise $10,000 for northern children while doing so.
In an interview with My PG Now, Billups said the money raised will go to Variety Children’s Charity, which has agreed to keep it in northern BC.
She said it will give “top-up funding for medical equipment including wheelchairs, adapted strollers,” and other similar items.
“I have worked closely with kids with really complex needs who need medical equipment,” she explained. “Often they are waiting a really long time to get that equipment.”
Right now, Billups is just under halfway done running, having logged around 450 kilometers. In that time she has raised over $6,000.
“A couple weeks ago it was down to -38. I thought I would just try. I went out with a heated jacket, glove warmers… I managed to do 19 kilometers. That was a first for me, I have never tried to run in that cold,” she said. “Recently we had a big snowfall, running through fresh powder was pretty challenging as well.”
Her strategy is to run for 12 kilometers every single weekday and 20 kilometers on weekends, aiming for 80-90 kilometers a week.
Billups said the support she has received from her friends, family, and the community has been “amazing” so far.
“I tend to be a quiet person who doesn’t like attention on me, so it is a little overwhelming at times. But I think it is wonderful and I am excited to see where it goes, hopefully it will be helping lots of kids.”
You can track Billup’s run on her Facebook page, and you can see her online donation page here.
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