Massey-vanier raises $2,380 for the Cancer Research Society

Massey-vanier High School held its annual 24-hour stair running marathon last month with several students participating and raising $2,380 for the Cancer Research Society.

Marlene Albrecht, Yohan Fredette, Tyler Holden, Jule Nauschutt, Drew Wilson and teacher Jeremy Anderson ran a cumulative 179,800 steps between May 27 and 28. The small group climbed up and down four flights of stairs 30 times every hour, Anderson explained.

“We used to do it in the arena, and I would do it in May when the ice was out, but the ice was still in this year, and it’s too humid, so we did it in the school. I was trying to do it when there was no traffic, so we started around 9:30 p.m. and ended on Saturday morning,” he said.

But, according to Anderson, while it sounds difficult, dividing the task among each participant makes it a lot easier. Anderson told The Record that he and another student were able to carry most of the running load, while the others split the 24-hour challenge into 15 sets apiece.

It was also one of the smallest groups to participate in the event since Anderson started it back in 2007. He has had as much as 21 students climbing flights of stairs for cancer research. But it depends on the year. It also began as a fitness option class, which is no longer the case.

Anderson has been working in the high school’s athletics department for 26 years. In the inaugural stair marathon, he brought a handful of students to his alma mater, Mcgill University, to run the challenge there. It had stopped in 2009, though, and he brought it back in 2012.

There was also a two-year pause due to the pandemic. In the 12 years that he has organized the event, however, the school has managed to raise approximately $19,600, Anderson told The Record. The highest total raised was $2,690, he added, so this year was fairly high.

At 56 years old, Anderson said his wife often asks why he has chosen this path to raise donations for the Cancer Research Society. It has become more difficult with time, he admitted, but the cause is worth it for him, adding many families have been affected by cancer.

“I could have a 24-hour cheeseburger festival and I would raise the same amount of money for cancer, probably, but I always tell the kids that I want it to be difficult because what people are going through with cancer is way more difficult than what we’re doing,” said Anderson.

The marathon is meant to be physically, emotionally and mentally challenging, he continued, and the students this year were able to grind all the way to the end. Although, Anderson does allow participants to take the occasional nap or snack break to recharge for the challenge.

“This time I think a couple of the girls slept a bit, but they got up and they did it. I can’t sleep. If I sleep, I’m not getting up, so I just stay awake. I walk around, play guitar, and listen to music. They usually start out with quite a bit of energy […] but that kind of fizzles out,” said Anderson.