Listowel, Ont. strongman pushing car 21 kilometers for charity

Cole Brubacher will be putting a few kilometres on his Mazda this weekend —  but not how you might imagine.

“On May 19 I’m going to be pushing this car half a marathon. I’m raising money for It Takes a Village, which is a charity that helps homeless people,” said Brubacher.

The 20 year old pulled a truck 10 kilometres last year to raise money for It Takes a Village, raising $7,000 in the process. This year he hopes by pushing his physical limits, he’ll top last year’s goal.

“I want to inspire others to do similar things, maybe not push a car this far, but to get out and challenge themselves, and just bring awareness to causes like this,” said the Bible College student from Listowel.

That’s the purpose of all eight events put on by Jesse Nethercott and the Challenge Accepted Foundation over the past few years: physical feats of strength and endurance for the greater good.

20-year-old Listowel, Ont. native Cole Brubacher will push a car 21 kilometres for charity on May 19th, 2024. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

“Cole has been training for months and months. He’s got a job and a life, but he’s going to the gym every day, and trying to eat right. He’s taking a lot of time out of his day to do this. So, it’s amazing. I’m excited,” said Nethercott.

Cole’s 21 kilometre car push will start at 7 a.m. on May 19 outside the Steve Kerr Memorial Arena in Listowel. While he has been training for months, he’s not yet pushed his car the length he intends to on Sunday.

“I haven’t done 21 kilometres yet. The most I’ve done is 10 kilometres, which took me about five hours. I figured I didn’t want to do the 21 kilometres until I had to. No need to do it twice,” said Brubacher with a chuckle.

There will be food and entertainment and raffles as part of Cole’s push on Sunday.

You can learn more and/or donate on the Challenge Accepted Foundation website.