Run A Hopping Success

Hopping, hopping, never stopping… even when the terrain is a little more challenging than what his famed bipedal and bouncy cousins in Australia are used to.

Goway Travel’s Aubrey Schmidt admits that he didn’t break any land speed records when he ran (hopped?) the 5K at Toronto’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon Sunday.

Schmidt sported the kangaroo costume of Goway mascot Skippy while joining some 30 of his colleagues who collectively were participating as a show of support for a cancer-stricken colleague.

“The Goway mascot and I walked/ran as one yesterday. Well at least until the hard Toronto pavement got the better of him and he blew out one of his paws. Definitely much harder than the much softer, red soil of Skippy’s native Australia,” Schmidt said after the event. “But I finished the 5K. I wasn’t going to let a little paw injury stop me. I used my tail as a crutch.”

Competing in a kangaroo outfit unquestionably slowed Schmidt’s time, but he said sporting a ‘roo outfit wasn’t a rueful experience.

“Wearing the ‘roo costume got great reactions from fellow runners and spectators alike,” Schmidt says. “Let’s just say that the papparazzi was out in full force trying to get the ‘roo to stop for a Polaroid or two. I had a blast and was able to show support for one our fearless leaders at the same time. It’s definitely not easy to walk/run in that ‘roo outfit… But my fellow co-worker put it best when she said, ‘it doesn’t even compare to the difficulties and trials that cancer patients must endure.’ I couldn’t agree more!”