Jonathan Mogg, a local realtor, made a goal to himself at the beginning of the year that he will run every street in Sault Ste. Marie to raise $5,000 for ARCH as part of his Great Bucket List Challenge.
“Why ARCH? They truly have the toughest job of all jobs,” Mogg said.
“They take care of people at the end of their journey, and that is such a heartwarming thing to be able to do. This goal was sparked to raise money for the people who are at the end of their journey,” he said.
The idea was to run every street by December 2021. Six months ahead of schedule, Mogg has completed his goal. On May 28, he tackled his final section, the Second Line hill near Black Road.
“I’m so excited. This is the best day ever. This has been such a great event. I’m so happy to have done every street of Sault Ste. Marie,” Mogg said.
Over the course of five months, Mogg has run over 770 streets and has found a new appreciation for how hilly the city can be and its views.
“I actually have now a love affair with Goulais Avenue hill for the beautiful view and the challenging uphill the whole time,” he said. “And some nice waterfront locations that I found as well.”
The thought of being finished with his goal brings so much joy to Mogg. Now, he is the man who has seen every nook and cranny of the city.
“Well, it’s a bit bitter-sweet," he said.
“I’ve been overwhelmed with the amount of support I’ve received from the community. But I’m also super proud of the fact that I can confidently say I know the city better than most people,” Mogg said.
Mogg began his goal at the beginning of January and ran some of the coldest and windiest days. But, as much as the weather was a challenge, the biggest challenge for him was time and driving from street to street.
“Honestly, it’s been travelling to each location and probably the weather,” he said.
“I did most of this throughout the winter, and it was some cold, cold, windy days, just terrible conditions,” Mogg said.
Even in the cold, Mogg learned that this was still fun. It wasn’t just a run, but a way to achieve something little by little.
“We were lucky to have a mild winter,” he said. “It was a lot of fun.”
During Mogg’s clean-up on May 28, the shortest distance he had to run was 300 metres.
Running every street in the city is just another goal Mogg is scratching off his list. Since he started running just four years ago, he has run 11 ultra-marathons and three marathons. He created one of those marathons and ran it twice.
Now finished his goal with so much time to spare, he is thinking of his following challenges and still has one more to complete, inspired by his Bucket List Challenge.
“I would think maybe I’ll run all the streets backwards," he said.
"Actually, in all seriousness, I have another goal to complete, and that is to match each dollar donated with a kilometre, either run or walking, so I still have some work to do this year."
Meaning, Mogg hopes to complete 5,000 kilometres for the year.
To support Jonathan Mogg's success and donate to his Great Bucket List Challenge, click on the link.
To view the map of all the streets and Jonathan’s journey, click on the link.