Calgary man flies to Toronto to run 100 km around the CN Tower

If you walked past Toronto’s CN Tower on Thursday, Nov. 13, you may have spotted a young man in a black Asics tracksuit running around Canada’s tallest structure.

Two days earlier, Calgary’s Skylar Roth-MacDonald posted on Instagram that if his photo reached 1,000 likes, he would buy a flight to Toronto and run a 100K ultramarathon around the CN Tower. By the next day, the post had surpassed 1,200 likes, and he stuck to his word.

Roth-MacDonald admits the challenge was “a little silly,” but that was the appeal. When debating whether he should fly across the country to run 100K around a tower, his mantra was simple: “Why not? Life is short.”

Anyone who has visited the CN Tower or lives in Toronto knows that the base around the structure is anything but flat. Each lap includes a steep ramp and a set of stairs. Roth-MacDonald had mapped out a loop of just over 500 metres: up the ramp on the east side, circling the north end of the tower, and descending the stairs on the west. He repeated this 200 times.

What shocked him most was the elevation gain. By the end of his 12.5-hour effort, he had climbed nearly 1,200 metres. To put this into perspective, using the CN Tower, the total vertical was two stacked on top of each other.

Throughout the day, the 28-year-old was joined by several Toronto runners who came out to support him. Midtown’s Turtle Run Club founder, Kyle Sharp, also offered Roth-MacDonald a place to stay during what he jokingly called his “short business trip.”

This isn’t the first extreme challenge Roth-MacDonald has taken on. In 2021, he ran 7,200 kilometres across Canada (west to east) over 143 days to raise awareness for mental health, collecting more than $65,000 for the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Even though he woke up on Friday with some sore muscles and a long trip back to Calgary, he says the experience was worth it. “I’m so happy I did it and created new friendships with some amazing Toronto runners,” he tells Canadian Running. “That’s what it’s all about; inspiring others to get out and run, whether it’s one kilometre or 100.”

What ridiculous challenge comes next for Roth-MacDonald? Only he knows, but he says plans are already in the works.