London, Ont. man lacing up for biggest race of his life

Joel Kennedy, Bear Clan member of the Oneida First Nation began his health journey in October 2015.

"Just started improving my eating habits, started being active, obviously I was a lot heavier at that point, so being active at that point was very difficult, so I took walking on," says Kennedy.

A simple walk kick-started Kennedy's mission to get healthy and eventually losing 150 pounds. But he says it is more than just the weight loss.

"Once I found my passion for running, I felt that kind of took over my interest, as opposed to the weight, it's more trying to find and improve more as a runner," he says.

And improve as a runner he did. After he completed his first five kilometer run, he kept running, and three years into his journey he was able to complete the Chicago Marathon.Joel Kennedy, Bear Clan member of the Oneida First Nation, running along Springbank Running Trail in London, Ont., Feb. 23, 2022. (Reta Ismail / CTV News)"It taught me a lot about not giving up and continuing to push through and do what you can," says Kennedy.

He completed three more marathons and is now preparing for the biggest race of his life.

"I did the Chicago [Marathon] two more times, did the Boston [Marathon] virtual experience in 2020, and actually going to be doing Boston this year as a charity runner."

Kennedy is training for the Boston Marathon by running five times a week. He hopes to raise money for the ‘Peer Health Exchange,’ an organization that promotes healthy living in the Black, Indigenous, People of Colo (BIPOC) community.

When he's not training for marathons, the father of two works at the N’Amerind Friendship Centre as the Urban Aboriginal healthy living coordinator.

Promoting an active lifestyle is important to Kennedy, that's why he says he began the Indigenous Running Club.

"We are just try to offer space for Indigenous people to be active, whether its walking or running on a weekly basis," he said.

Kennedy says he is a trailblazer in his community and hopes to be able to continue promoting a healthy lifestyle and encourage others to start moving.