Sachin Latti doesn’t claim to have all the answers. What he does have is a pair of running shoes, a wrapped RV, and a plan to run more than 7,500 kilometres across Canada – one step at a time.
Based out of the South Surrey-White Rock area, Latti will officially begin his cross-country journey early Monday morning at 6 a.m. from Victoria, heading east on a mission to raise $1 million for mental health charities and bring national attention to what he calls Canada’s “modern-day cancer”: the mental health crisis.
The day before, on June 15, he’s inviting the community to Victoria's Clover Point Park for a Father’s Day kickoff event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It’s a chance for supporters to meet the team, sign the RV, learn about the cause, and send him off with encouragement before the miles begin.
“It all started around 2020,” Latti said. “I was going through a divorce, a pandemic started kicking off, and then 18 years in law enforcement – all three of those things were a perfect storm to basically affect my mental health.”
He was eventually diagnosed with major depressive disorder, and the fallout from that period left him searching for something to help pull himself back together. At 41, with no running background since high school, he laced up.
“It was really more to help me and manage my own mental health,” Latti said. “If I’m feeling good–or not good, but let’s say, feeling a little bit better–let’s see if I can leverage what I’m doing to help some other people.”
Running, it turned out, worked.
But this next chapter – a cross-country run from Victoria to St. John’s – is about more than therapy.
“I know firsthand what it feels like to really struggle with mental health,” Latti said. “What I’m trying to do as one individual is galvanize the country around a common goal.”
Inspired by Terry Fox, Latti said the idea of a run across Canada came naturally once he realized he was the type of person who needed a bold, impossible-seeming target to chase.
“I’m an aggressive, goal-chasing, high performer,” he said. “What got me fired up was, OK, if I can run across Canada, what do I need to do and what steps do I need to take to make that happen?”
His team, a small core group plus friends, pacers, and social media partners, will be travelling with him to document the journey and provide support.
Another key aspect of Sachin’s run is the organizations that will benefit from the funds he raises – one of them being the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation (CMHF).
The non-profit organization is one of several that will receive support through Sachin’s journey.
Kenton Boston, president and CEO of CMFH, says the run will give men across the country a reason to open up.
“He is literally and figuratively proving that you don’t need to do things alone,” Boston said. “When he reached out to us, it was a no-brainer to join forces with him. He is doing something that will raise awareness in so many different ways. This is going to showcase a lot of resilience.”
Outside of organizations, there will also be plenty of community engagement – from inviting Canadians to run alongside him, to connecting with small towns along the way.
“Those are the people I want to talk to,” Latti said. “In smaller towns, people just tend to be more engaged – they show up.”
This isn’t his first time putting his body through the gauntlet for a cause.
In 2023, Latti ran 22 marathons in 22 days from Revelstoke to Victoria, finishing at the BC Law Enforcement Memorial. There, he was greeted by Chief Del Manak and members of the Victoria Police Department – a moment that affirmed he was on the right path.
Still, this run is on another level entirely.
He’ll average ultramarathon distances daily – up to 100 kilometres a day, with only a handful of rest days – until he hits Newfoundland.
He’s not sure what the road will throw at him, but quitting isn’t on the table.
“I’ll make it to St. John’s – that’s happening. The question is how I get there,” he said. “What kind of message would I be sending if I’m running across the country, letting people know we don’t quit things… and then halfway across, I just say it’s a bit too hard? That’s a terrible message to send.”
Latti doesn’t expect to raise Terry Fox-level money or become a national icon. But he hopes his run gets people talking, gets people moving, and gets people to realize they’re not alone.
“If I could just play a 1 per cent role and raise 1 per cent of what Terry Fox did – man, that’s a win.”
The 7,500 kilometre run chasing $1 million in fundraising efforts can be followed throughout its entirety from sachinmotion.ca.
