ANDREW COOPER

Participants in the 100km Push for Diabetes will skate from Saskatoon to Biggar to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The third annual Push For Diabetes will take place on Saturday Sept. 21, when longboarders will kick from Biggar to Saskatoon to raise money and promote awareness for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Although the road’s distance of roughly 100 kilometres was a major deciding factor, organizer Nathan Bosman explained that other considerations were taken into account before the location was settled on.

“Not to mention the hills, the road has the biggest shoulders and the best pavement,” Bosman said.

For reference, Saskatoon is only about eight kilometres across — meaning participants will travel the equivalent of more than 10 trips across the city.

“It can be really hard. In the past we’ve been lucky to have a tailwind,” Bosnan said. “I remember the first year we were just over halfway done and it started pouring rain.”

Rain, wind or shine boarding 100km isn’t easy and participants shouldn’t plan on doing much else the day of the race.

“It takes about eight hours to board 100k,” says Andy Tait, who is also an organizer of the event. “But the difficulty depends on a number of factors: conditioning, type of board, even riding style. For the most part, though, none of us can very well walk the next day.”

The trek has enlisted 20 riders so far, primarily members of the Saskatoon Longboarding Underground Group. Sponsors for the event include Escape Sports, a local outdoor sporting goods store which donated a longboard for the participant who raises the most money beforehand, and Rawlco Radio, which put up a large amount of free airtime for the group in order to promote the fundraiser.

Diabetes is a condition where your body does not produce enough insulin or use the hormone properly. The JDRF became the organization of choice for these highway shredders because of Tait’s personal connection to the disease.

“I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes almost three years ago,” said Tait. “Longboarding was a great way for me to manage my blood sugar. Through SLUG I met Nathan and our first distance run was 25 kilometres out to the casino. We decided we wanted to do a bigger run and settled on 100 kilometres.”

“We felt that if we were doing [these long runs] anyways, we might as well do it for a cause. I had diabetes; we chose diabetes,” he said.

The event raised $2,000 in 2011 and in 2012 that number jumped to $3,000. This year the goal is to raise that number to $4,000.

The fundraiser shows no signs of slowing down for future years.

“We will continue this event as long as people are interested,” said Sarah Kelly, a third organizer of the event. “It’’s such a great cause and we love to put that positive light on downhill skateboarding.”

Whether you longboard for leisure or bomb hills for thrills, everyone can appreciate the motivation these boarders have in doing something for their community in the most excellent manner possible.

Donations for the 100km Push For Diabetes can be made through its Facebook page, in-person at Escape Sports and by contacting Andy Tait, Nathan Bosman or Sarah Kelly.

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Photo: Supplied