Jeff Bell, Times Colonist
Published: Monday, May 26, 2008

Donald Peterson won’t have to worry about keeping the rest of his team organized at this year’s 24 Hour Relay.

He is the team.

The 39-year-old running machine will be lining up for Saturday’s relay as the sole member of See Donald Run. It will be the first time a one-person entry has taken on the overnight event in Victoria.

"We did have a team of three people last year," said Pam Prewett, event manager for the Easter Seals 24 Hour Relay for the Kids. She said the lone-wolf approach has been done a few times at Vancouver’s 24 Hour Relay, and Victoria’s relay staff is looking forward to seeing Peterson take up the challenge.

Spotting him in the crowd of runners will not be too difficult — he already has his hair spiked and is planning on dying the pointy parts purple by relay time. Peterson is no stranger to distance running and even ultramarathons, so he said doing the relay by himself seemed like the thing to do.

"I figured ‘Why not?’"

Runners, usually 20 or more to a team, take turns doing two-kilometre laps on a course that takes in the University of Victoria’s Centennial Stadium track and Ring Road. Peterson said he hopes to total about 160 kilometres during the relay, which goes from 10 a.m. Saturday until 10 a.m. Sunday.

Covering long, long distances is just what Peterson does.

"Last year I ran a race called the Gobi March, which is a multi-stage race across the Gobi Desert in China."

That was a 250-kilometre effort, he said.

"But I’ve never done a 24-hour event, so we’ll see how it goes."

Peterson said he plans to take breaks as needed, perhaps 15 or 20 minutes here and there.

Team fundraising is going well, he said, thanks to things like a raffle, on-line donations and 50/50 draws at Acme Supplies, where he works. As with all other funds being raised for the relay, the money goes to send disabled children to Easter Seal Camp Shawnigan.

It’s a great cause for anyone to get behind, Peterson said.

See Donald Run is part of a 62-team field preparing for the 2008 relay, which means about 1,300 runners and walkers will be in action.

Despite being a team of one, Peterson said he won’t really be on his own.

"I’ve got a whole team of friends and family that are going to come out and kind of be my support crew. I’ve also got a few friends who are going to come out in the ‘ugly hours’ and run some laps with me and make sure I keep my feet moving."

He said that will include Rob Mackay, one of his running mates from the Gobi March.

The public is invited to take in the relay and its on-site entertainment at Centennial Stadium on Saturday, including the KidZone play area. One of the big attractions on the relay stage will be well-known children’s author Robert Munsch, appearing at 3 p.m. For the older crowd, a Guitar Hero contest will be held in the beer garden at 4 p.m.

At 8 p.m., security will be stepped up and the stadium and its environs will be accessible only by wrist bands, which are issued to participants, officials and others. That is also the time the featured evening performer, Wide Mouth Mason, takes the stage.

Wide Mouth Mason is appearing in lieu of the Lip Sync Contest for this year.

On Sunday, the final parade of teams takes place at 9:30 a.m., followed by the closing ceremonies at 10 a.m.

Last year’s relay raised $490,933, bringing the overall total since it began in 1995 to $5.7 million.

Donate on the web at www.24hourrelay.com.