Marathon in Canada: The First 42Forward Marathon at Home
For the third edition of 42Forward I ran a marathon in Canada. It was the first marathon I’ve ran in my home country and the first where I didn’t find myself running alongside traffic after throwing everything together in a few days. This was an actual organized marathon with thousands of runners on a closed off route. A far cry from the 42Forward marathons I’ve done so far.
Despite the change in logistics, every other aspect remained the same: run a marathon in a local community and give back an item per kilometer along the way. While the impact of the donations can often stretch further in lower-income countries, that doesn’t mean we should simply ignore the problems we have here at home. The world is full of communities that are faced with their own challenges. Yet across the globe, there are countless small acts of kindness that have the power to change the trajectory of these communities. No matter where you are, the opportunity to create positive change is always there.
I am immensely proud of what 42Forward has already built, what we are continuing to build, and the change in communities we’ve made so far. That being said “Made by Momma“, the charity we supported this time, made a profound impact on me. Helping them was honestly one of the coolest things I’ve done in my life.
Table of Contents
Why Run a Marathon in Canada?
For my first marathon in Canada I ran the 2026 Servus Calgary Marathon, a yearly event that draws thousands of runners to the city. My goal with 42Forward is to run at least four marathons a year, one every quarter. The 2026 winter marathon running for the dogs at Casa Viva in Peru, by the time the spring marathon came around we would be home in Canada. It worked out in the end, we just came home after being abroad so I couldn’t really jet off again. At the same time I didn’t want to, I thought it was weird I hadn’t actually ran a marathon on Canadian soil yet.
It was an easy decision and it was half made for me. Once Canada was locked in I took it a step further and searched if there were any organized marathons in the spring. I had planned on joining one eventually I just wasn’t sure when, it couldn’t hurt to look.
Just like that I found Servus Calgary Marathon, the biggest running event in the city and it was scheduled right at the end of May. The stars aligned and before my phone went back into my pocket I had bought my race bib.
Planning a Marathon in Canada
The marathon in Canada was planned using the same process that the other 42Forward runs used. Me going on a whim and trying to deal with problems individually as they come up instead of getting buried by all of them at once. However this time I had one less thing to deal with, the route was already mapped out and on a closed road. No needing to map out 42 kilometers in a foreign country, no need to worry about getting swiped on the side of the road. Honestly I was already ahead of where I usually was in the process.
That only left me to figure out which charity to donate to, the logistics of the donation, and a way to document everything.
Made by Momma
After helping families in Mexico and helping a dog shelter in Peru, I wanted to dial in a little and help a specific group of people. I wanted to support a women’s shelter. After doing some research on various shelters in the Calgary area, I landed on “Made by Momma”.
“Made by Momma” is a grassroots non profit and registered charity, ran by an incredible group of superhero volunteers. They are mothers assisting mothers in a variety of ways. They support mothers and families who can’t afford to eat with home cooked meals, mothers facing abuse with items to help leave their situation and get back on their feet, they support mothers and families where one parent or both are going through critical illness and treatment, as well as mothers and families dealing with addiction, the list goes on and on. They truly make magic happen everyday.
It’s one thing to read about a charity like this and it’s another to witness it in person. At this point I was simply reading about all the great things they do and figured a donation here would have the biggest impact with everyone that they helped. I was correct, however I don’t think I really grasped it at the time, and I wouldn’t until I got to Calgary to experience it first hand.
The Donation
The items for the donation were easy enough to get. Most places have a wish list and if they don’t they wont be afraid to tell you what they need most. Also this time around I had my own (borrowed…thanks Faye) car. No more tracking down where to find the items in a different country where English isn’t the first language. No more hauling my donation through crowded market streets, or piling it into the chaotic clown car that is a collectivo. It was a simple trip to the grocery store, then a short drive for the drop off, no different than just going out to get groceries yourself.
Things felt different. I couldn’t tell if it was good different or bad different, just simply different. An unusual blend of relief and yearning. Yes I was thankful I wasn’t hauling 6 overflowing bags through the narrow market streets of Peru, but at the same time I missed the chaos, I missed the adventure. I felt like the thief who got away and was sitting on a beach with a drink in his hand, yet all he could think about was the good old days with his crew.
Despite how I felt acquiring the donation and moving it around could not have went smoother, and I’m thankful for that.
Documenting it All
I always want 42Forward marathons to be filmed, partly so everyone can see what the money is used for and partly to inspire and show others what small acts of kindness can do. However I absolutely don’t want to be the guy to do that. I learned that pretty quick in Peru, there is an art to videography and I don’t have a shred of it in my body. I’ll stick to running thank you.
I needed a videographer, ideally a Calgary local. After sending some cold messages I found Ihor Skorchenko and his company Skorchenko Productions. After watching a few of his videos I liked his work, however there was one video where I pulled the trigger and messaged him immediately and it actually had nothing to do with the video itself. It was a simple video of him giving videography tips out, no camera work just him sitting on a chair giving advice. At the end of the video he said something along the lines of “the best advice is to get a camera and go outside, start trying and start failing, that’s the easiest way to learn”
I absolutely love people like that. The people who think about calculated risk but don’t spend there life thinking about it, they jump in. They succeed or fail but at least they lived it. That way of thinking is the reason I’m writing this and the reason we’ve helped the people that we have.
My intuition was right, Ihor is an incredible guy and videographer. He was a pleasure to work with and I couldn’t recommend him enough.
Preparing for the Marathon in Canada
Getting ready for my first marathon in Canada wasn’t too hard. The logistics were easier to manage being home and running had been going well. Everything was working out and now it was the weekend of the race. I’ve said in other marathon posts how I’ll always make at least one mistake a race, this mistake didn’t happen Sunday on race day. It happened on Friday night.
My friend turned 30 and we had a surprise party planned for Friday night, I was absolutely not missing it but figured I would try and keep it tame. A tale as old as time. I woke up Saturday having felt better days, then got ready for my 3 hour drive to Calgary. I was supposed to meet Ihor that afternoon to film buying the donation. From here on out the weekend would be all gas and no breaks, and I just shot myself in the toe to start everything off. Solid move Rostad.
100% no one to blame but myself so I pushed on. I drank as much water and ate as much food as I possible could over the 3 hour drive to feel more human, it worked to a degree. A band aid over my shot off toe.
Just Getting Started
I arrived in Calgary with no time to check into my hotel room, I had to meet Ihor in 20 minutes. I got to the store and tried to look as energized as I could. We met outside the front doors, he was the guy with the huge video camera. As I said he’s an absolute solid guy, despite me being exhausted we hit it off well and he was a pleasure to be around.
I won’t name the stores but at the first store we tried, we walked in and talked to a manager to get permission to film. We explained what we were filming for, the charity and donation, how we wouldn’t film shoppers or get in the way of employees. It was a cold no and we left in a hurry. Ihor recommended trying the next store only this time we would simply start filming and see what happens, I knew I liked this guy. We started filming at the next location and followed the guidelines we made for ourselves, no issues at all. Sometimes it really is easier to ask for forgivness than permission.
After buying the donation I said goodbye to Ihor and that I would see him bright and early tomorrow at 5:30am, saying it out loud really drilled it into my head how much I screwed myself with my Friday late night. Realizing this without a minute to lose I drove to Boston Pizza, bought two pasta dishes to carb load, checked into my hotel, shoveled down my food and passed out.
Race Day
5:00am came so much earlier than I wanted it to, however there was no backing out of my first marathon in Canada now. I rolled out of bed and after getting changed stepped out into the cool morning air. My hotel was within walking distance to the start line so I could get as much sleep as possible. I zombie walked over to the marathon grounds, meeting Ihor along the way. We had about an hour before the marathon began. We started with getting some drone footage, warmup shots, and videos of the crowd.
I knew this was a big event but being there in person still caught me off guard. 17,000 people all corralled together, considering that amount of people the event was incredibly well organized. I got my last couple shots with Ihor and he was off after he gave me an air tag to throw in my bag so he could track me along the route to film me. He also somehow got a media pass to allow him to get by the crowds and get awesome footage. Something I would not have thought about doing.
With Ihor gone and the start time minutes away, we were off. Any exhaustion I felt was replaced with excitement and energy. The crowd slowly started moving towards the start line, a slow walk turned into a jog and just like that the marathon began admist the cheers of the runners and crowd.
My First Organized Marathon
I had an absolute blast running my first ever organized marathon, I wasn’t sure what to expect but reality blew me away. While I was surprised with how many people participated, I was totally blown away with how many people came out to watch. There was almost always cheering on the sides on the road for the entire day, the city and community showed up with so much support. It was actually hard to keep a pace. You would be running then a crowd would cheer as you ran by, after you passed the crowd you would find yourself almost sprinting and not even know it, the energy was infectious.
I also loved how many different groups came out. A Chinese cultural group put on performances as people ran by, at one point I ran past a group of men playing the bagpipes, dozens of buskers sang for the people like me who can’t run with headphones. It was honestly very cool to see how the city came together to support the marathon in one way or another
It was different however, I didn’t get the same “what the f@$k am I doing” feeling like I did on the other 42Forward runs. Probably because there was much less risk, and also probably because these aren’t far fetched ideas anymore. They become more and more real with every run. Running organized or running self support, I can’t say I like one over the other. Going forward we will continue to do both.
I didn’t make it easy on myself with how little rest I got but overall the day went fantastic. As usual the last 5k were brutal but up until then I kept a solid pace and was happy with how everything felt. I managed to shave almost a full hour off my marathon time, absolutely insane. I’ll chalk that up again to the energy of the crowd and other runners. Times don’t matter in 42Forward but on a personal level I was pumped. With 4.5k of the of the last brutal 5k I could see the finish line and Ihor waiting at the end. I crossed just after 11am and finished my first organized marathon at home.
Our Donation and Made by Momma
The marathon in Canada was complete however I still had hours of things to do, no rest for the wicked. Immediately after the marathon we got in our cars and drove over to the “Made by Momma” facility. Here we met Joanna Low, the vice president of “Made by Momma”. I’m very thankful that she was able to come meet us on a Sunday however as she said this kind of thing really doesn’t have days off. She gave us a tour of the facility which is actually two buildings. One has a commercial kitchen and food storage while the other stores non perishable items and clothing.
I said it before and I’ll say it again, everyone involved in what goes on at “Made by Momma” truly make magic happen. Joanna showed me a stack of papers, all applicants to the program. They almost never turn anyone away. What blew me away the most was how they don’t just make a generic care package for everyone, though that would still be impressive. They go through every single applicant, see what they need, and make a uniquely tailored package for that persons situation. Given the size of stack of paper she showed me earlier this is no small undertaking. Entirely ran by volunteers no less, truly incredible. It was an absolute privilege to help and be apart of “Made by Momma” even if only for an afternoon.
After we gave the donation over to Joanna, she said that some of the things we brought were on an “urgently needed” list that was printed the night before and I had not seen. Those items would literally be gone the next day. Real impact and real change, exactly what I want 42Forward to be. I will 100% be supporting “Made by Momma” again in the future.
Wrapping up the Weekend
The marathon in Canada was ran, the donation given out, there was one last thing to do. I always do an interview after everything explaining what we are doing and why. Ihor knew of a really nice park that would be a perfect place to film our recap. The park lived up to the hype, it was a beautiful spring day, a nice way to end it all. Interview went smooth, we didn’t get harassed by anyone and I didn’t forget any lines, what more can you ask for. After the interview I would say goodbye to Ihor for the last time. He will be the first person I call when I start planning the Servus Calgary Marathon 2.0 next year.
Marathon, donation, and interview all done. Get me the f@$k home to bed. I somehow didn’t fall asleep at the wheel during my 3 hour drive home. It was an extremely busy weekend but I wouldn’t change a thing. Maybe this marathon did have the chaos that the other ones had just in different ways, maybe I created that chaos myself. I guess you can’t fight your nature.
Marathon in Canada: What Did I Learn?
I am extremely happy with how everything turned out that weekend, however there are always things you can improve and changes you can make.
- #1 no hesitation, don’t go out drinking hard the night before literally everything. So dumb
- Even though it’s Canada you’re still outside for hours, so bring sunscreen
- Organized marathons offer electrolytes and energy gels for free along the route, however there are often lines. I liked that I had my own stash
- Same as above there are lines for the bathrooms, I genuinely didn’t know there would be. I’m also just used to using the side of a rural road.
- The energy is infectious, pace management is more important than I thought
There isn’t anything I would change that wasn’t in my control, the race organizers know what they’re doing. I loved the event and will participate in it again.
Final Thoughts on my First Marathon in Canada
My first organized marathon in Canada was an awesome experience. Totally different than being off on your own abroad but not in a bad or good way. I’m glad I got to be a part of it, happy to have met Ihor and love what he created, and grateful I got to learn about “Made by Momma” and help them in some way. Joanna said that people like me were the heroes, the people that fund and provide everything so that these charities can flourish. I disagree. Yes it is a necessary component to the process, however almost anyone can write a check or donate an item they never use and pretend the problem is solved. The real heroes are the people like Joanna and the other volunteers, the people who see first hand the support that’s needed out there and actually make it happen.
Those are the people I want to work with and help, the ones who take messy action and make things happen. After I got home and got a good nights sleep I properly reflected on the weekend, I had never felt so inspired.
