Brad “Caribou Legs” Firth has been moving his whole life —as young boy in the Gwich’in nation, in the northern community of Inuvik, N.W.T. — he would strap cross-country skies to his feet and take off across the snowy landscape.
It’s what he’s been running for that has changed over the years. Though he was a talented athlete, he was also exposed to violence in the remote northern community where he grew up. Like so many others, Firth first turned to alcohol, then to drugs to cope with the plight of those around him.
A former crack cocaine addict who spent years on the downtown east side in Vancouver, Firth experienced first hand the mire of issues which afflict the addicted, often street-entrenched population,
He also saw first hand as countless indigenous women he knew and interacted with, disappeared from the East Van streets.
But Firth managed to escape addiction, thanks in part to a meeting with an elder who urged him to return to the activities of his youth in order to heal himself.
So he began to run — something he had always been good at, but had faded to the background as alcoholism and addiction took over his life.
His latent talent for running was striking, enough to power him into a series of great finishes at Vancouver marathons and eventually earn himself a spot with the Vancouver Falcons Running Club.
Now, after a number of years of sobriety, and a powerful set of legs to carry him along the way, Firth is embarking on his longest run yet: he left from Merritt on May 17, aiming to run all the way across Canada to St. John’s, N.L. to raise awareness about the scores of missing and murdered indigenous women from coast to coast.
“There was a lot of violence growing up in my home — cousins were murdered, my mom was beaten, my sisters would fight. There was a lot of that kind of violence, the language of abuse. I grew up with it,” said Firth.
“Even though I didn’t, myself, hit women, I used other forms of violence. Emotional violence, psychological violence.”
He shared his story in the auditorium of the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology on Tuesday before heading on the road. Firth was welcomed by a group of indigenous drummers from Merritt Secondary School, who performed a traditional welcoming song.
This isn’t Firth’s first long distance run — two years ago, he ran from Vancouver to Whitehorse, and last year he ran from Vancouver to Ottawa.
“In the winters, I like to go home to the arctic and do ice road running. That trains me for the summer runs,” he explained.
Firth shares a spiritual connection with his running — perhaps what allows him to traverse more than 75 kilometres in a day when he embarks on his long-distance runs.
“There are certain things I do in the morning, part of my running ritual. I stretch, I drink water in the morning, I say some prayers — I thank my creator for being able to operate like this,” he explained.
His unshakeable faith in his own ability will be put to the test this summer, as he’s setting off on this run completely solo — no support vehicle behind him, no physiotherapists monitoring his physical well-being, and no funding to ensure he has a place to sleep every night.
“Just me — that’s all I need. When I first ran back home, my support staff included a truck, and I had all kinds of reserve clothing, shoes… I’ve found that it takes a certain kind of strong mental person to be a support driver. So far I haven’t come across that person,” he explained.
“For me, I can’t worry about them, their safety and well being.”
He hopes to be finished the run by early October, to avoid running through snowstorms on the east coast.
With the federal government’s inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women underway, Firth said that now was the time to start his run.
Firth hopes his challenge to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to join him on his run will make its way to the office of the PM.
We’ll see if the PM can keep up.
