100 Miles for Hunger runners raise over $6,000 for local food banks

“Sore. Legs are a little sore,” noted Grace, when asked how they were feeling after 100 miles, “Stuff like that, but not bad, really.”

Usually, Dirty Feet has several long distance running events lined up for the summertime. However, COVID-19 cancellations this year had the Hioms getting creative with what could be done within their Upper Sahali neighbourhood.

“So we thought, ‘Well, let’s do this as a charity run. We’ll figure out how many laps make 100 miles,’ because I don’t know why 100 kilometres wasn’t good enough,” Grace laughs. “100 Miles for Hunger is what we came up with. So we decided that we’d each have to do 24 laps to get it done, and we just picked a weekend that we thought would work and decided to put it together.”

Kamloops Food Bank Executive Director Bernadette Siracky out to offer pre-race support for Grace and Phil Hiom (Image Credit: Dirty Feet)

Every hour in the 24 hour span, the pair would both run a pre-determined 3.3km loop around local trails and neighbourhood streets, making up 50 miles apiece. Late Friday evening, Grace and Phil had friends come to run alongside them at a distance, so they wouldn’t be going through trails alone in the dark.

“The hardest part was the not-running. It was sitting here for 20 to 30 minutes,” explains Grace, “Sitting or running around, or getting fueled up again. But that wait time and then to go… It was like, ‘Oh, yikes.’ I stiffened up a little bit during the night and it was hard to get going again.”

Usually, Phil says the Run for Donuts raises about $2,000 for the food bank, but this year’s run tripled that amount.

“So we’d really wanted to be able to match that so we could keep the same sort of fundraising coming from Dirty Feet to the Food Bank,” he says. “So we obviously surpassed that, and had a great event, and everyone supported it really well. It’s been really well received.”

Many in nearby communities made donations to their own local food banks in solidarity with the runners, so the fundraising was spread beyond just the Kamloops Food Bank.

Neighbours and friends took turns coming out to support from the sidelines, including the Kamloops Food Bank. After years of accepting their fundraising donations, Executive Director Bernadette Siracky says the Hioms are definitely appreciated.

“The thing about those two is they’re so humble. They’re so quiet, and very humble in their support of what they do, but I’m telling you, they have raised tens of thousands of dollars over the years to help us do what we do, so we’re really grateful for them,” says Siracky. “I can’t wait for their next call to see what they come up with next. They’re so creative.”

While the Kamloops Food Bank serves about 7,000 local clients, the organization also supports 54 other agencies, and nine regional food banks. Given the wide spread of the operation, Siracky says the money is definitely needed, and will be put to good use.

After a day of recovery, the Hioms say they’re glad the community stepped up to donate, and motivated them through all 100 miles.

“Because it could have just been the two of us running around in our neighbourhood for 24 hours, and that could have been the end of it,” jokes Phil. “So without the support of the community, and the support of the people, it’s just a run.”

The Hioms by the finish line, after completing their 100 mile race Saturday morning. (Image Credit: Dirty Feet)

by Dylana Kneeshaw

100 Miles for Hunger runners raise over $6,000 for local food banks

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