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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, A pr il 9, 20 20 | 12 It's 1 p.m. and Francis Boyer arrives right on time, jogging up to the cor- ner on Princess Anne Drive. At a time everyone is be- ing encouraged to stay at home, Boyer has found a unique way to get to know his town better. And appar- ently, learn exactly how long it takes to get any- where using his own two feet. Boyer has plotted 35 routes that will allow him to run every street in Georgetown, Glen Wil- liams, Stewarttown and Norval over the coming months. By the time he fin- ishes his last route, he will have covered more than 400 kilometres of local streets. It's interesting to watch Boyer run his routes. He'll turn and disappear down a street, only to re-emerge from the cul-de-sac a few minutes later and continue on. His adventure was in- spired by ultra-marathon- er Rickey Gates, who ran every street in San Fran- cisco. Boyer's runs this spring were originally intended as training for The Rugged Raccoon, a nighttime trail run near St. Mary's, Ont., in May. When that was can- celled, he needed a reason to keep running. "I found I was running all the same routes," Boyer said. "One day while run- ning, I was listening to a podcast and heard about Gates." Having moved to Georgetown two years ago, he decided he could get to know the town better by taking on a similar project locally. "You see some different sides of the town," the 27- year-old said "There's a lot of variety, it's not all flat lands. It's been quite enjoy- able and I've still got a fair bit left." He is looking forward to the routes that will take him through Stewarttown and Glen Williams, places he has not spent much time. But he's saving those for when the weather is better. His routes range from five to 22 kilometres, giving him options each day. He saves the longer routes for the weekends, but on aver- age, he runs about 12 kilo- metres a day. And so far, he's been able to outrun any of the skunks he's en- countered on his early- morning runs. "It's a fun challenge for the summer," he said. "Es- pecially with all that is go- ing on; it's a chance to go out and clear your mind." ROADS SCHOLAR SETS OUT TO JOG EVERY STREET IN TOWN When the race he was training for was cancelled, Francis Boyer took on a new project. Inspired by ultra-marathoner Rickey Gates, Boyer set out to run every street in Georgetown, Glen Williams, Norval and Stewarttown. Herb Garbutt/Torstar HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com NEWS 7();=><&%F(-&9(6(B(;>)<,H;A&H9(6,%<&A=;A;H<DA&"HA7 KA?H%%9>)<'AA, &(?%A(&A=+HD(+&9(?(++H(;9(6,)H=; A8&9DA=;)A;;H+?:AD)H;%<B+H<D(%: $6HB(;A;H*<;%A+H9;&<8&9(6;A>$A)<+)( >)<,&(7A&HA7;9FBA%(+DAF6H*A7 #!$G0/4EC1/GL04!#NICGOI!4.OJE!O00/! %9+<H*A """"P53M"2 %9++HD $BA;?<+ A&H%)(<;D<&;%A&A%A=;)A=7;DA-(&' &9(6;&H;%(;6BHA&AF++<7A7 #!$G0/4EC1/GL04!#NICGOI!4.O$@@@ SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA