‘Life-defining’: Oro-Medonte volunteer firefighter finishes 100-mile fundraising run
Courtesy Barrie360.com
By Julius Hern, October 18, 2026
An Oro-Medonte volunteer firefighter put his endurance to the test this weekend, completing a 100-mile run across the township to raise funds for a new utility terrain vehicle (UTV).
Tyler Marchand of Oro-Medonte Fire & Emergency Services (OMFES) began his fundraising run at 6 a.m. Saturday from Fire Station 1, trekking to Fire Station 5, and then back. His run finally ended around just after 11:30 a.m. surrounded by friends, family, colleagues, and other community supporters.
“There were some dark moments in the middle of the night there, but that last stretch seeing all the support from our local firefighters and family and friends meant so much,” Marchand told Barrie360 shortly after finishing the run.
His final mile was completed in full bunker gear, which he said added a lot more weight (roughly 11 to 15 kilograms), but seeing the 40 people there supporting him at the finish line carried him through.
Once he got to Fire Station 3 for the second time, around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, Marchand took the opportunity to take a 30-minute nap, the only sleep he had during the 36-hour tribulation.
Tyler’s wife, Claire Marchand, could not have been prouder.
“It’s been an adrenaline high for me as well,” she told Barrie360 during the final few miles. “It’s been awe-inspiring seeing him do this.”
Tyler Marchand says he’s adherent to the Misogi challenge, which is described as one monumental, life-shifting physical or mental trial once a year to break self-limiting beliefs. It’s inspired by the Shinto purification ritual which originated in Japan.
“I’ve tried to live by that in the last decade and this so happened to tie into our fire department and I’m so proud of it.”
While this run was on his calendar for a while, Marchand calls it “life-defining,” given the emotion he felt at the end.
Marchand is a golf professional by day, and joined OMFES as a new recruit for Fire Station 3 earlier this year saying on social media that he joined “to be a part of the community and help demonstrate the value of hard work for my two boys.”
Preliminary totaling indicated that the effort raised roughly $50,000 of a $60,000 goal, according to Marchand. His GoFundMe page had raised over $15,000 alone as of late Sunday morning, while supporters also contributed cash during the run.
A new UTV would help firefighters and emergency responders reach people in locations that may be difficult to access with traditional emergency apparatuses.