When Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope came to an emotional end in 1981, millions of Canadians were left feeling inspired by his bravery and athleticism.
In the 43 years since, long-distance runners, walkers and cyclists from Toronto and beyond have attempted their own unique feats for a variety of motivations — raising money, breaking records, or perhaps just hoping to earn some clout on social media.
For Richard Conway, a Roncesvalles resident who rose to Reddit stardom after walking nearly the entire distance of Yonge Street, the experience was unconventional and unexpectedly rewarding.
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Fasting during the day isn’t an enjoyable task for most people. Neither is walking for 11 hours straight.
Conway, who dubs himself the “Yonge Street Killa,” achieved both tasks when he trekked along Yonge from East Gwillimbury all the way down to Queens Quay on Nov. 2 — a distance totaling 64 km and 66,194 steps.
Based on the feedback he received on his Reddit post — which amassed more than 8,300 upvotes and hundreds of comments — Conway won’t be alone when he gives it another go.
“It’s very empowering,” he told TorontoToday. “I wasn’t expecting it to blow up. A lot of people said they’d like to try it with me in a group rather than by themselves, so we’re going to organize something next year.”
Conway was inspired to walk the entire length of Yonge when he discovered another user on Reddit had previously accomplished the challenge.
He was already walking 30 km once a week from Roncesvalles to Woodbine and back all summer, so doubling down on his usual distance appeared to be an attainable goal.
But the catch — and what he believes made him go viral online — was the idea of fasting along his walk.
“I’m currently [taking] this course that entails how to get into decent shape by fasting, lifting and walking,” he explained. “The intermittent fasting is something I’ve practiced for a while now.
“I only eat once a day. You adapt to it.”
Conway isn’t the first, nor the last, to accrue social media fame by walking a great distance in Toronto.
A TikTok user who goes by the username “kwedog” gained some attention when he walked from Kennedy Station to Kipling Station in five hours and 40 minutes last May — totaling more than 35,000 steps. He’s also documented walks from Scarborough to the CN Tower, as well as from the CN Tower to Brampton.
Comments generated from Conway’s post — which now stands as one of the most popular uploads of all time on the r/Toronto subreddit — are incredibly positive.
The long-distance walker never intended to attract this amount of attention, especially since he didn’t have much of a following two weeks ago. But he feels thankful for the result.
“When people reach out saying I inspired them, it makes me feel good,” he said. “I’m very grateful for that, which is why it’s inspired me to organize a group next year.”
Throughout his 11-hour journey — which took him through Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill and eventually downtown Toronto — Conway only stopped walking twice. A quick coffee break in the morning and a soda break in the afternoon was all he needed to replenish his energy.
“The challenge with the walk didn’t even have to do with a lack of food, but my ankles started to give way,” he said. “In a mental or nutritional sense, I could have gone another few hours easily. Once your body adapts to this new way of fasting, it’s not hard.”
Conway’s perspective of the GTA changed considerably on his walk. He said he was blown away by Toronto’s skyline while travelling through Richmond Hill, but that was also where the realization hit that he still had a long way to go.
“Seeing the CN Tower, you feel like victory is on the way,” he said. “[But] that’s until you realize you’re only halfway there.”
“But once I got to the end, it just felt like such a cool accomplishment,” he added. “It felt like I climbed Everest.”
Conway began his journey at the top of Yonge Street near Lake Simcoe around 9 a.m. on Nov. 2, finishing at Lake Ontario shortly after the sun went down around 8 p.m.
Replying to a commenter on Reddit who brought up Terry Fox’s impressive journey, Conway said the Canadian icon was on his mind a lot during the walk — noting he’d like to fundraise for a cause when he returns to the route next year.
“I started to think about him toward the end when it was getting difficult,” he wrote. “Some people are just built differently.”
