Furnace Creek 508

Dany Bonneville

When Dr. Patrice Pellerin told me about the Furnace Creek 508 event, it immediately spoke to me.

This challenge, cycling across 508 miles (818 km) of California desert with a total elevation gain of 35,000 feet in less than 48 hours, has become one of my greatest projects. The undertaking of this feat will have me push the limits of my endurance and surpass myself for a charity organization that is dear to me, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Québec.

The HSFQ’s mission is very important in my opinion, and that is why I want to keep supporting it, following the two partnerships I’ve had with the organization through its Loterie du Coeur. This partnership with the Foundation has allowed me to see how important the population and the community’s support is to research projects that have been saving lives for over 50 years.

My participation in this project will also serve as an example of commitment and effort for Quebecers. Physical activity and a healthy diet are needed to maintain good heart health. I hope I’ll inspire others to get up and move.

The various biathlons, triathlons, marathons and Ironman competitions I’ve participated have certainly helped me prepare for a challenge of this magnitude. Furnace Creek 508 is an extreme event, I am well aware of this, but I am lucky enough to be blessed with the good health and physical endurance required to take part in an event such as this one.

In closing, I would like to ask you to support the Furnace Creek 508 challenge for the benefit of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Québec. Thanks to your donations, women and men will have the opportunity to live healthier lives and to meet their own personal challenges... Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Patrice Pellerin

As the saying goes, good things come in threes... So I am very excited to be taking part in the Furnace Creek 508 ultramarathon bicycle race for the third consecutive year! I rise to this daunting challenge every year with another cycling enthusiast, Dany Bonneville. Next October 8th, we will be the only two Quebecers to undertake what is known as the Toughest 48 hours in sport, as we cycle across Death Valley Desert in California, covering 508 miles (818 km) with a total elevation gain of 35,000 feet in less than 48 hours.

Getting involved in this type of endeavour requires a lot of energy and I am fortunate enough to be in no short supply of it, thanks to the good health I currently enjoy. It’s important to me to adopt healthy lifestyle habits so that I can fully enjoy life and push myself to the limit.

Furnace Creek 508 also gives me the opportunity to actively contribute to a cause. I’m very proud to be associated with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Québec this year. We are all affected by this terrible illness that strikes too many people...too often! Did you know that someone succumbs to heart disease every 7 minutes in Canada? Did you know that heart disease kills more Canadian women than all types of cancer combined? And that research shows that making changes to our lifestyle habits can reduce cardiovascular risks by 80%?

We must act now! And I sincerely believe that, together, we can make a difference. That is why I urge you to support me in this desert-crossing challenge, for the benefit of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Québec. Every donation counts and know that it is thanks to people like you that the Foundation can carry on its mission and save lives!

Thank you for being at the heart of my success!