Inuit runners hit the pavement in Hawaii
Seven high school students from the small Inuit community Salluit, Que. have returned from a whirlwind trip to Hilo, Hawaii to run in the Healthy Horizons Foundation's marathon.
"I trained for like two months before the marathon, I just wanted to make my parents proud ... I want to be a healthy young adult," said Luke Amamatuak, one of the runners.
The students are part of the Salluit Running Club, and they trained in temperatures remarkably different than what they experienced in Hawaii.
"Sometimes there were blizzards, sometimes there were sunny days. It didn't really matter to me because I wanted to do good in the marathon in Hawaii."
Salluit is the second most northern Inuit community in Quebec, and the residents speak Inuktitut, French and English. The community is also located in polar bear country, but that did not scare the runners from continuing with their training.
"I'm not really scared of running into a polar bear … [they] barely ever come to the village," said runner Larry Thomassiah.
"If I ever did I think I would be fast enough to run away from them."
From his love of running,Thomassiah became a healthy role model for the Nunavik Regional Health Board. The position takes him to other communities to teach kids how to be healthy by eating right, staying active, and not doing drugs.
Having completed three half-marathons, Thomassiah's next goal is to do a full marathon.
"I think I'll be able to do a full marathon now, that's the only goal I have set for myself. Where I would run the full marathon doesn't really matter to me, just as long as I'm running," said Thomassiah.