Donna Bartel and Mike Pearson in Nanaimo on May 8 during a kick-off event in advance of their nationwide triathlon tour. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

ALS advocacy

B.C.-based ALS advocates complete nationwide triathlon tour, which started in Nanaimo

Sep 16, 2025 | 9:20 AM

NANAIMO — While packing up their belongings and heading home to B.C.’s interior, Mike Pearson and Donna Bartel took stock of their ambitious journey.

Pearson, 64, and his wife Donna, 60, capped off 18 triathlons in four months on Sunday, Sept. 14, at Cultus Lake near Chilliwack in an effort dubbed Trii’ing to End ALS.

While the $40,000 was well short of their fundraising goal to bolster Project Hope, a new ALS research and care hub at UBC, Bartel said they got their message across.

“Although financially it wasn’t as big, from an awareness perspective it was way bigger than we expected — and it’s not the end, we’re going to keep doing things going forward.”

The Vernon, B.C. duo travelled to all 10 provinces and three territories in a truck and RV, except for flights to Iqaluit, Nunavut.

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Their first race was at Nanaimo’s Westwood Lake Park on May 11.

Pearson and Bartel in Nanaimo in advance of their journey. (Tri’ing to End ALS)

“We’re tired, ready to go home and set up our hot tub. We’re looking forward to that.” Bartel said with a chuckle.”

ALS Society of BC managed donations and sponsorships for Pearson and Bartel, while local race directors helped coordinate their 18 triathlons.

Bartel and Pearson said they heard countless stories of Canadians impacted by ALS, as well as immense gratitude displayed toward their mission to combat the often-fatal neurological disease.

Bartel’s mother died from ALS, while Pearson’s great uncle also succumbed to the debilitating disease.

Recounting a period with limited media attention and gloomy weather in Nunavut, fortunes reversed for Bartel and Pearson upon stepping into a pub in the territory’s capital of Iqaluit.

The pub full of locals enjoying trivia night profoundly impacted them, Bartel shared.

“The guy organizing it heard our story, and he passed the hat around and complete strangers within about 15 minutes raised $520 for us, and they didn’t know us from anybody. They were so grateful that we came to their community, and we were including them in our journey.”

Pearson agreed connecting with ‘Big Jon’ for his trivia night was a standout memory.

“It went from kind of a bummer day to one of the best days, we were pretty happy we had gone to Iqaluit.”

Pearson said their bodies held up relatively well for the races, but pointed to the amount of time they spent travelling as a drawback on their physical health.

“We’re just not in as good as shape when we left because we haven’t been able to do the maintenance workouts between races; it’s hard to do that when you’re on the road.”

Pearson and Bartel completed 18 triathlons in four months involving 750 meters of swimming, cycling 20 kilometers and running five kilometers. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Conceding it’s a challenging climate to ask people to part with their hard-earned money with so much economic uncertainty in the world, Pearson said they were able to make significant inroads awareness-wise.

He said local media outlets amplified their advocacy efforts, while their branded truck and trailer encouraged many people to share their heart-wrenching personal stories.

“At the halfway point, we were still trying to raise funds, but the awareness piece became a bigger driver,” Pearson said.

The ALS Society of BC has pledged to raise $20 million to support Project Hope, of which over $4.2 million has been secured.

Donations can be made here.

The ALS Society of BC estimates about 500 British Columbians and over 75 people on Vancouver Island are living with ALS.

Nanaimo’s Bastion structure was ignited purple in May in recognition of the Tri’ing to End ALS effort. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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