Why Two Lifelong Friends Are Paddling 162 KM for Amici Children’s Camp Charity
By: Etye Sarner
July 14, 2026
Later this month, in the pre-dawn darkness of a Friday morning, my life-long friend, Ryan, and I will drive through a pitch-black, winding Highway 60 from Huntsville, ON to Canoe Lake in southern Algonquin Park. Despite the 2 am wake up, we’ll be full of energy and excitement for what lies ahead. In the car en route to the boat launch, it’s safe to say we’ll be shaking out the nerves and discussing the final details of our long-planned adventure. Will the weather hold up? How bad will the bugs be? Will we be able to complete the trip in time?
As we near the boat launch ahead of embarking on the legendary Brent Run, there may be silence in the car but in reality, Ryan and I will be communicating telepathically. We’ll look at each other, smile and know exactly what the other is thinking amid a shared mix of exuberance and apprehension. This will be the final moment of relative calm before we begin what will be the hardest physical and mental test of our lives.
As we reach the Portage Store’s parking lot at Canoe Lake, our canoe will be waiting for us at the rocky beach. We’ll load our gear into the canoe, lock our car, and push off. Ryan will be in the bow of the canoe, and me in the stern. As we push off Canoe Lake’s beach and start paddling, if we look behind us, our car in the parking lot will gradually appear smaller and smaller with the realization there's no turning back.
Why are we doing this? It comes down to three things: a place we love, a personal challenge we need, and a cause worth fighting for. For 60 years, Amici Children’s Camp Charity has been giving children from low-income families the opportunity to experience the magic of summer camp year after year, so when we started planning our trip, Amici was a natural choice to partner with. Our goal is to raise $25,000 in support of Amici, which would give two cabins of children the summer camp experience they otherwise couldn’t afford.
For those unfamiliar with the Brent Run, it’s Algonquin Park’s toughest unofficial endurance paddling and portaging challenge. It entails travelling 162 km in a canoe and by foot in as little time as possible. The Run takes paddlers from Canoe Lake in the southern end of Algonquin Park 81 km north to the small community of Brent, where paddlers then immediately turn around and travel another 81 km back to Canoe Lake.
The Brent Run Route
Given the time crunch, most paddlers bring only food and safety equipment. No tent, sleeping bag, or even a change of clothes. Most participants travel through the night(s) without an extended break so they can complete the journey as fast as possible. The route covers nearly every terrain Algonquin has to offer – big lakes, small lakes, winding creeks, bogs, rapids and portages of all lengths.
The Brent Run dates back nearly 100 years to 1934 when Bill Stoqua and Bill Little were the first to complete the inaugural Brent Run in 32 hours. Since then, many others have completed the Run.
I can still remember the first time I heard about the Brent Run when I was a young camper at Camp Tamakwa. It was on the first night of my first-ever canoe trip and while sitting around the campfire with my cabinmates, our counselors told us about it. They showed us on a map the distance involved in the Brent Run and cited the record (at the time) of 27 hours. I recall thinking then that it was impossible to complete a canoe trip like that so quickly. Perhaps it was because at the time, I was struggling to complete the trip I was on. Three years later, at age 12, I saw staff members return to Tamakwa from their Brent Runs. They were exhausted, but euphoric. I vowed to myself that “one day, I’m going to do that.”
Etye at Camp Tamakwa
Now, at age 33, I’ve learned that sometimes, the adage that “life is what happens to you when you’re busy making plans,” (as John Lennon once famously said), is true. After years of living away from Toronto and going through a difficult personal chapter, returning home felt like a reset. For me, part of that reset was finally being ready to stop dreaming about the Brent Run and actually do it.
Over the past 10 years, Ryan often asked me to do the Brent Run, and I’d brush him off, thinking he was joking. This year, after moving back to Toronto, I decided to turn the table and ask Ryan if he would do it with me. It didn’t take much before he jumped at the idea, and soon after, we started planning for the challenge, and what our goal time should be.
Ryan and I met as students at Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, a Toronto mid-town high school. Since then, we’ve remained close friends. During an annual trip to a friend’s cottage, I recall Ryan and I going for a nighttime paddle together. We both could tell it was going to be a beautiful summer night under the stars, and without much hesitation, we decided to get into a canoe. There’s no other person I’d rather be stuck up a river without a paddle than Ryan.
I grew up in a middle class family and was afforded many opportunities that a lot of kids don’t get. One of those privileges was attending summer camp in Algonquin Park for most of my childhood and young adulthood. Tamakwa, where I also worked on staff, taught me many lessons that I took into my adult life.
For example, at Tamakwa, everyone is taught to live by the motto, “Leave the campsite better than you found it.” Of course, Algonquin Park is full of campsites, and leaving them cleaner than you find them is a nice gesture for people who’ll visit the site after you. However, the “campsite” is just a metaphor, and the motto can be applied to many other things in life.
Tamakwa taught me that confidence is built from developing competence. Learning real skills (building a fire, navigating, windsurfing, etc.) builds confidence in a way that nothing else does.
Tamakwa, and hundreds of other summer camps in Ontario give kids the opportunity to “just be kids.” Campers get to enjoy playing sports and doing other activities such as swimming, windsurfing, kayaking, arts and crafts, ropes, and many others. Campers participate in these activities everyday which staff members oversee as part of ensuring everyone’s safety.
Unfortunately, many parents can’t afford to send their children to summer camp. As a result, they won’t get the incredible opportunity to experience the life-changing, rewarding experiences that summer camps provide for young people. Fortunately, Amici Children’s Camp Charity is helping address this situation, for which Ryan and I are proud to donate all funds we raise to this wonderful charitable organization and its important mission.
When Ryan and I will finally return to Canoe Lake nearly 30 hours after setting off, we expect to be physically and mentally exhausted in a way we’ve never experienced. Our arms, legs and shoulders are sure to feel like jello from the non-stop paddling and portaging. I can only imagine the mix of emotions we’ll be feeling – delirium, happiness, relief and, ultimately, a disbelief that we were able to complete the Brent Run. As we get out of our canoe and step foot back on the beaches of Canoe Lake, why we started this ordeal will sink in; the desire to reconnect with Algonquin Park, which has always been our happy place; the need to do something hard to prove we still had it in us, and, most importantly, our wish for all kids to experience the same life-changing moments in nature we had as kids.
If our story and mission resonate with you, we would love for you to follow along and consider making a donation, no matter the amount, to Amici Children’s Camp Charity. Every message of support and donation means a lot to us. To follow along, please go to https://chasingthebrentrun.lovable.app/ or if you’d simply like to make a donation, go to https://amici.akaraisin.com/ui/brentrun2026.
Thank you.
