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.

sa国际传媒淢y original goal last time was only $1,000, so to jump to $110,000 was pretty surreal,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚t made a huge impact down at the food bank, I couldnsa国际传媒檛 be happier with what it did for the people.sa国际传媒�

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

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Sam wonsa国际传媒檛 be raising money this time around but rather awareness. The 20-year-old is dubbing this run as sa国际传媒渢he Run Against Addictionsa国际传媒� sa国际传媒� a cause that hits close to home for him.

sa国际传媒淚 grew up in an adopted home because of addiction, Isa国际传媒檝e lost a few family members to addiction, Isa国际传媒檝e lost friendshipssa国际传媒� and Isa国际传媒檓 sure a lot of people can relate,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淓very person I know at least knows one person thatsa国际传媒檚 in addiction and it affects them in some way.sa国际传媒�

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.

sa国际传媒淲hether itsa国际传媒檚 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,sa国际传媒� he said.

sa国际传媒淎 huge one I want to address is excess time on social media. A lot of young people donsa国际传媒檛 realize thatsa国际传媒檚 an addiction and it can be very destructive.sa国际传媒�

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

sa国际传媒淎 lot of very beautiful souls and very beautiful people have been lost in addiction and Isa国际传媒檇 like for people to realize that people just like you and me can get caught in the wrong place.sa国际传媒�

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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.

sa国际传媒淚 ran into some complications last time where I donsa国际传媒檛 think I trained as hard I could have, ultimately I didnsa国际传媒檛 end up finishing the full 100,sa国际传媒� Sam said. sa国际传媒淚 knew I had to come back and face it.sa国际传媒�

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.

sa国际传媒淚t gets to a point where itsa国际传媒檚 so easy to pack it in, itsa国际传媒檚 such a mental battle with yourself because yousa国际传媒檙e hurt, doing this hurts. Your whole body is just shocked really.

sa国际传媒淚 think the hardest part is just keeping one foot going after the other.sa国际传媒�

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 sa国际传媒� physically and mentally.

sa国际传媒淚 went into it (last attempt) pretty ignorant to everythingsa国际传媒� I didnsa国际传媒檛 know much about nutrition and how to fuel my body when approaching something like that,sa国际传媒� Sam said. sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檝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.sa国际传媒�

Sam has been training for this run for over two months, putting in sa国际传媒渟erious weekssa国际传媒� 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. sa国际传媒淚 donsa国际传媒檛 know what mother nature has in store for me but itsa国际传媒檚 happening Dec. 5 regardless of anything thatsa国际传媒檚 going on.sa国际传媒�

jesse.day@pentictonwesternnews.com
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