'An incredible moment': Cyclists honour life of 12-year-old athlete Ole Heie on 172-kilometre trek

WINNIPEG -

A group of cyclists completed a 172-kilometre trek across Riding Mountain National Park on Saturday to honour Ole Heie, a 12-year-old athlete who passed away suddenly in July.

“At the end of that 172 kilometres, there were so many smiles,” Dave Ternier, board chair at Valley Life Recreation, said. “I think anyone that was there would tell you Ole was there in his entirety. It was just an incredible moment.”

Members of Valley Life Recreation, along with Ole’s parents and sister, completed a gruelling 13-hour adventure to raise money for a new trail park near Minnedosa.

Ole grew up in Camrose, Alta., but cycled and ran through the area when he visited his grandmother.

Ole had Olympic aspirations and completed his first ultramarathon earlier this year. He died while out for a run near his home in Camrose on July 10, 2021.

Ride Like Ole surpassed its initial $17,200 fundraising goal – $100 for every kilometre the group rode on Saturday. By Monday evening, it had eclipsed $26,000.

The money will go towards the development of Squirrel Hills Trail Park, and Valley Life Reaction will name a segment or feature after Ole Heie.

“This event has come to mean far more than raising money for a trail park,” Ternier said. “It’s helped Ole’s family with a lot of really important parts of their journey throughout this.”

Ternier said groups in Camrose and Cape Breton, N.S., participated in Ride Like Ole as well.

“It truly became a Canada-wide endeavour of a community of people, who, in some form or another, were all touched by Ole.”

Ternier hopes Ole’s legacy will inspire others to get out and get active.

“Find a trail to run, walk, hike, or ride on. Go and be like Ole. He loved the outdoors and he loved people.”