Driven by a fierce determination to end amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Donna Bartel and Mike Pearson, a couple from Vernon, BC, are gearing up to embark on a cross-country triathlon journey.

Over four months from May to September 2025, the couple will swim 750 metres, bike 20 kilometres, and run five kilometres—not once, but 17 times across Canada’s provinces and territories. It’s a bold, 24,000 kilometre mission they’re calling Tri’ing to End ALS.

But for Donna and Mike, it’s not just about the triathlons. It’s about trying to raise $600,000 to support ALS patients across Canada—and to drive progress where it’s needed most. Fifty per cent of all net funds raised in each region will support local ALS societies, while the remaining fifty per cent will directly support ALS BC PROJECT HOPE, led by Dr. Erik Pioro, a clinician-scientist at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health (DMCBH) at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

Donna lost her mother, Marilyn Walters, to ALS and knows all too well how devastating and fast-moving this disease can be.

“Whenever I meet someone who doesn’t know about ALS, I tell them that those voluntary muscles that let you walk, run, hug and smile, or laugh, talk and breathe, just progressively die and become paralyzed,” she says. “Life expectancy is typically just two to five years.”

Since her mother’s diagnosis in 1999, Donna has dedicated her life to fundraising for ALS, organizing community events and competing in triathlon races. Now, together with her partner Mike, she’s taking it national—with UBC and PROJECT HOPE at the centre of their mission.

Donna and Mike in front of the DMCBH with Dr. Erik Pioro and the ALS and Related Disorders Clinic team.

The main objectives of PROJECT HOPE are to enhance clinical care by promoting advanced ALS research and treatment innovations, to create a world-class ALS Centre at UBC and ultimately, to find a cure for ALS. Under Dr. Pioro’s leadership, the new ALS and Related Disorders Clinic at the DMCBH is transforming how the disease is treated in British Columbia. The clinic combines a highly trained clinical care team—including nurses, therapists and dieticians—with a rapidly growing research hub. The research team is expected to implement groundbreaking clinical trials in the near future – something that has not existed in British Columbia for at least 15 years.

“Our main focus is to improve patient services for the people who have ALS,” Donna says. “We want to give hope by providing funds for research and clinical trials.”

The impact is already being felt across the ALS community—Donna recalls a chance encounter at a triathlon in 2024, where a man approached her after noticing her “Tri’ing to End ALS” shirt. His father had just been diagnosed with ALS, and thanks to Donna’s guidance, he connected with the ALS Society of BC. He now fundraises in support of their journey.

The couple’s first race is May 11 in Nanaimo, BC—officially proclaimed “Tri’ing to End ALS Day” by the city. From there, it’s full steam ahead across all 10 provinces and three territories.

When the training days are long and exhausting, Donna and Mike remember why they’re doing this: to help families facing the same heartbreak Donna lived through, and to give future patients a chance, through research at UBC, to stop ALS in its tracks.

“PROJECT HOPE represents a true partnership between patients, families, researchers and care providers,” says Dr. Pioro. “Thanks to efforts like Donna and Mike’s, we are accelerating the search for treatments—and ultimately, a cure—for ALS.”

Follow Donna and Mike’s journey and support PROJECT HOPE at www.triingtoendals.ca.

Donna and Mike are gearing up to complete 17 triathlons across Canada over the next four months.