Former Clearwater resident, Edward “Fast Eddy” Dostaler, is writing a book about his run for cancer and Alzheimer’s donations, which saw him hoof it across the country from Victoria to Newfoundland and back again.
Dostaler’s book, titled Iceberg: A Run Across Canada and Back for Alzheimer’s and Breast Cancer, will be an account of the adventure, and he’s asking any locals who helped out with the Clearwater portion of the trip for their perspectives to be incorporated into the book.
“It’s going to be a book about the entire run, but I really want to focus on the people who helped out,” said Dostaler.
“The community of Clearwater I consider home because I was basically born and raised there, so a primary focus for me is to incorporate these people who helped out, how they helped out, and identify that these smaller towns really are the key to Canada.”
Dostaler began his run March 1, 2015, when he set off from Victoria for Cape Spear, Newfoundland and finished when he returned on Oct. 29, 2016, covering more than 27,000 km.
He took on the Alzheimer’s cause out of inspiration from his grandmother and also raised money for breast cancer in honour of one of his former professors.
The money raised stayed in the province, going to the Breast Cancer Foundation of B.C. and the Alzheimer’s Society of B.C. and though he couldn’t provide exact figures on how much he raised, he said he’ll reveal the details in his book.
Some of the people whose perspectives he’s looking to share include local students of the schools where he conducted presentations and those he ran with when he passed through Clearwater.
“I want different people’s perspectives than my own. If you sat there and watched one of the school presentations, how did you feel? What did you do about it? Were you one of the students who wrote a question out and did you get a response?,” said Dostaler.
“One student beat me in a race. He physically beat me in a race where I can openly state I gave it my best and he still beat me. These are the kinds of stories I want to mention.”
Dostaler said he expects his book to be completed by the end of the year and anyone who wants to contribute a memory or anecdote can email him at fasteddydostaler@gmail.com.
newsroom@clearwatertimes.com
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