Mohawk district chief running Ottawa Marathon to combat child obesity

Chief Troy Thompson won’t just be running for himself at the 2018 Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon. He’ll be running for the future of the Akwesasne youth, hoping to help curb childhood obesity within his community.

The 42-year-old district chief and member of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne will be running 42.2K in support of a non-profit organization called Iakwa’shatste Youth Fitness, an initiative aimed at encouraging youth to stay active whether that be through running or other individual and team sports.

Iakwa’shatste’s purpose is “to provide expert fitness, nutrition and leadership education to youth in the community of Akwesasne, as well as the surrounding areas, in order to work toward empowering the next generation through the cultivation of healthy bodies and minds,” he says. Thompson hopes to raise $10,000, with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to the youth fitness program.

“I’m just trying to do my part to promote getting kids to be more physically active,” Thompson says. “They’re our future leaders and Olympic athletes. Sometimes life is hard. Obesity and related health issues make things worse. They make odds of reaching goals that much more difficult.”

According to the Government of Canada, obesity rates in the country have almost tripled in the past 30 years.

“I’m fearful for the state of our kids,” Thompson explains. “There are less children playing outside, too many playing video games and not enough eating properly.”

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Obese children are more likely to develop high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes, sleep apnea, joint problems and depression among other physical health and emotional health problems, according to Health Canada, which adds that children and teenagers are recommended to exercise for more than 60 minutes every day.

According to Health Canada using data from the First Nations Regional Longitudinal Health Survey in the 2002-03, obesity rates among First Nations on-reserve population range from 48 per cent in children aged three to five, 41.2 per cent for those aged six to eight, 26.4 per cent for ages nine to 14. “Obesity in Canada remains higher in Aboriginal populations compared with non-Aboriginal populations,” Health Canada says.

Thompson says that approximately 700 children have gone through the program. By training for the marathon within the community, he hopes to encourage others to join him. In Ottawa, fellow community member Andrew Chubb, 18, will be running his first marathon and is training at times alongside Thompson.

On race day, a local elementary school will have several dozen students making the trip to Ottawa to complete the kids marathon. In the leadup to race day, students are encouraged to complete the equivalent of a marathon, with 30 minutes of exercise, regardless of activity, equating to 1K. Completing the Run Ottawa Scotiabank Ottawa Kids Marathon program adds up to more than 1,200 minutes of exercise.

To reach the full marathon distance, youth aged 6-12 run 1.195K as part of the kids marathon, finishing at the same spot as the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon, which thousands of runners will complete on May 27 at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend.

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Thompson says he’s chosen running to raise awareness and funds – through what he calls ‘Running Vs. Child Obesity 2,’ which will be replaced by a charity that he’s working on which will focus on building trails, parks, playgrounds and recreational spaces in Akwesasne to get kids to become more active – because it’s low-cost and there’s few barriers and “everyone can do it. You don’t need to be a tremendous athlete to become decent at running,” he adds.

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In 2017, Thompson ran the Quebec City Marathon in an effort to raise funds to combat obesity in Akwesasne. By running Quebec City, he raised nearly $4,000 for Iakwa’shatste Youth Fitness.

Akwesasne, where Thompson resides, is a Mohawk Nation territory on the banks of the St. Lawrence River located at the intersection of Ontario, Quebec and New York. He was elected to his position by members of the community. He cycled to more than 400 (of 600) homes during his campaign in hopes of inspiring others to increase their physical activity levels.

Speaking about the 2018 Winter Olympics at the time of interview, Thompson emphasized that no Akwesasne athlete has ever qualified for the United States or Canada to either the Winter or Summer Games. He says he would love to develop an Olympic fund, similar in nature to the current youth fitness program he’s running for, in hopes of a member of the community representing internationally. “We all need to start taking better care of ourselves, starting today,” he says.