Moncton runner wraps up challenge for kids' fitness

Moncton-area middle School teacher Armand Doucet ran 90 kilometres Friday — about the length of two marathons — capping off his campaign to encourage New Brunswick children to get fit.

Doucet started his Iron Will challenge at the beginning of the month. Since that time he has run nearly 1,000 kilometres — or 30 kilometres a day.

• Iron Will highlights

The goal of the campaign was to get kids off the couch and participating in 30 minutes of activity a day.

He began the final leg of his journey at 4 a.m. Friday and will finished at Moncton City Hall at 7:45 p.m.

Doucet has been making pit stops at schools across Moncton and has become a celebrity over the last month. He says the kids gave him an extra push to finish, although the attention has been a little overwhelming.

Reluctant role model

"The kids are really getting excited. And I mean if you're not seeing it New Brunswick, the kids are sending you guys a loud and clear message that they want to get active, they want you to get active and they care about their future."

Ryan Friars, 11, has been following Doucet's progress closely.

"He's running like 30 kilometres every day ... and then 90. It's kind of awesome."

Twelve-year-old Carissa Geddes said, "If he can run 30 kilometres a day, I can manage to do 30 minutes of activity a day."

Doucet is reluctant to accept the title of role model, however.

"The role models are the ones in each household. They're the ones in each community that are getting people active. All I'm doing is to bring some awareness to that and making sure that we are going to get some changes in the future," said Doucet.

Although running the equivalent of just over half a marathon a day is an impressive feat, it came with challenges including calf injuries, with little time to recover, and plenty of bad weather to run in.

"Emotionally I'm drained, I'm exhausted. But it was well worth every second," said Doucet, who is planning an even bigger challenge next year.