When Curtis Hargrove interrupted his degree at Red Deer College, he wanted to save money and work for charities. In Hargrove’s case, charity work meant running across Canada.
Treading in the footsteps of Terry Fox, Hargrove laced up his running shoes with the goal of raising $1 million for cancer research.
Hargrove said he decided to run across the country after a young girl with cancer asked for his help. His cross-Canada run followed closely on the heels of a shorter run from Alberta to British Columbia during which he raised $50,000 for the Terry Fox foundation.
“I’m just crazy,” the 24-year-old said about his activism.
Less than a month after running across Canada, Hargrove dedicated himself to a new cause, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, a campaign organized by the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), he said.
As part of the fundraiser, men participate in a one-mile march in high heels to raise awareness about violence against women and children. Hargrove took the initiative a step further. In fact, several thousand steps.
Alternating between two pairs of size-11 heels, he trekked almost 300 kilometres of Albertan highways from Cold Lake to Edmonton.
“My feet have taken a beating . . . but my pain is nothing compared to what [abused women and children] go through on a daily basis,” Hargrove said, noting his heels were ground down to nubs from overuse.
Hargrove said his charity work sparked some negative reaction from people he knows who placed bets about whether he would be able to finish the walk.
Rumours circulated that he was homosexual, due to him wearing heels, he said. Rather than crumbling under the pressure, Hargrove said the naysayers motivated him.
“You’re always going to have haters in life. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing something good,” Hargrove said. “I realized after starting my event that there was a lot of hate going on for no reason. These are the things that pushed me to continue.”
After 10 days of seven-hour treks, Hargrove arrived in Edmonton Sept. 9, accompanied by a crowd of supporters who joined him on the final leg of his journey. His feat is currently under review for the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest walk completed by a man in heels, Hargrove said.
Hargrove’s close friend Morgan Seward cheered him to the finish line after following his entire journey. Seward and Hargrove met in 2012, shortly before he ran across Canada.
Hargrove planned to run a marathon everyday while eating and sleeping in an RV driven by a friend. After the driver unexpectedly cancelled two days before the beginning of their trip, Hargrove said he posted advertisements for the position on Kijiji. Seward, in search of summer employment, accepted the job.
They started the journey as strangers but finished as best friends, Seward said.
“It’s unlike any other friendship. Curtis is inspiring and courageous and definitely someone you can look up to,” Seward said. “It sucked every day seeing him have to wake up and put on the heels over his blisters and the scratches and marks he had on his feet. That was tough.”
When Hargrove said he wanted to walk from Cold Lake to Edmonton in heels, his friends called him crazy but Seward said she never doubted him. Instead, she climbed behind the wheel of the RV and started her work as a driver, cook, foot masseuse, and social media correspondent for Hargrove’s cause.
“I don’t know how she does it all,” said Hargrove. “I have nothing but great things to say about her.”
On the last day of his trek, Hargrove had raised $7,000 of his $25,000 fundraising goal. Despite blisters and worn-down heels, he said he wants to keep walking until he meets his goal.
“I want women and children to be able to get the help they need so that they don’t have to lead scared lives,” Hargrove said. “I will walk until the goal is reached.”
