Day 1 update: Toronto’s Fadesola Adedayo begins run across Nigeria
Toronto's Fadesola Adedayo completed the first of his 17 marathons across Nigeria on May 13 to raise awareness for Stevens-Johnson syndrome.
All smiles on day one.
Adedayo and his run crew.
Adedayo mid-run during day one of the 17 in 17 run.
Adedayo talking with the media.
Fielding questions at the 17 in 17 press conference in Abuja, Nigeria.
Toronto’s Fadesola Adedayo is in Nigeria, his birth country, and began his 17 for 17 run on May 13 in honour of his late brother who died of Stevens-Johnson syndrome. He’s running 17 marathons over the span of 17 days to raise awareness and money for research.
Fadesola’s brother, Adeyosola, passed away from Stevens-Johnson, a disease in which skin cells die and fall off, which is often caused by a reaction to certain drugs. In Adeyosola’s case, he was treating a patient with HIV in Nigeria and had an allergic reaction to a drug. He was 27 and a doctor in Nigeria.
To raise money for awareness and research, Fadesola is running from Abuja to Lagos in Nigeria. He got into running following his brother’s death in 2012 to help cope with depression and has been training ever since. During his run, he has police and a run crew that will help keep him safe on the roads.
The run will be approximately 717 kilometres.
RELATED: See Canadian Running‘s feature on Adedayo which appeared in the magazine’s trail issue.
Below is Adedayo’s day one update from Nigeria:
May 13
It was all a dream
“Today was one of the more transformative times of my life. I remember when I was trying to put [on] this event [17 in 17] and I just got a lot of resistance for everyone. The biggest issue about doing something novel isn’t the act itself – it’s the resistance to the act which ranges from skepticism to the more doubtful “it’s impossible.” To that end, it is critical that you [be] supportive or, even better, supportive and successful.
The point is that dreams sometimes come true with luck. The key operative is you because no one else will truly know’s what possible. No one saw me moving to northwestern Ontario, in the depths of depression, eight weeks after my brother passed. No one saw me alone running, night and day, because I didn’t want to take medication. No one saw my vision to one day run across a country. No one saw me run eight [marathons] in a row in the middle of the summer last year to prepare for this [17 in 17]. So if people decide to help you after you explain to them your condition then fantastic, and if they decide not to, keep on moving.
Heat: 37 C
The press conference ended early so we had to run in the afternoon. The original plan was to run for the cameras and to start the real race tomorrow [May 14] but I decided that was soft so we just decided to run. It was a lot of work and the heat was searing. However, we reached our destination just outside Kuje, Nigeria marking the end of the first marathon; it took [about] five hours. Hopefully tomorrow we can start at 4 a.m. so that we can avoid the afternoon sun.”
RELATED: Training tips: Heat acclimatization takes time.
Follow Canadian Running on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (CanadianRunning) for updates on Adedayo’s run through Nigeria.
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