by Barbara Sylvester Unama’ki

In the Cape Breton Highlands of Unama’ki, Darren Sylvester, 51, of Membertou, became the first Mi’kmaw to run the Cabot Trail in its entirety.

In the annual Cabot Trail relay race, participants traverse a terrain that features some of the world’s most precious scenery over a distance of 281.64 kilometers (175 miles). Darren considers it one of his favourite places on earth. Over steep mountains throughout Cape Breton Highlands National Park, the run follows the famous Cabot Trail to the low-lying Margaree Valley. The Highlands possess a variety of magnificent animals, such as the moose, some of which runners have encountered. Also, another one of Darren’s favourite animals – and which his closest friends lovingly refer to him as.

“In 1988, six teams of 17 runners each tried out the feasibility of a relay race around the Cabot Trail. Through this, it was the start of one of the largest and most popular running events in eastern Canada. Now 70 teams compete in a team-spirited and camaraderie-filled event from across Canada and the United States. On the Cabot Trail, more than 1000 runners traverse some of the most challenging and spectacular terrain in North America.”

It was Floyd Prosper from the Unama’ki Running Team who approached Darren in January of 2007 asking him to join as a runner for the upcoming May Cabot Trail Relay race. Darren wasn’t expecting that a quick conversation and agreeing to step in to fill ...