Best feet forward

St. Boniface

Rob Tétrault loves this time of year.

While many people may have one eye on their summer holidays and have started thinking about putting their feet up and relaxing, the St. Boniface resident is busy putting in his steps as he prepares for his annual Run With Rob event.

This year, Run with Rob will take place in Nova Scotia from July 19 to Aug. 1, when Tétrault – who is the founder and president of CMV Canada – will run 50 kilometres on each of the 14 days to raise awareness for congenital CMV (cCMV) and newborn screening, a cause close to his heart.

According to the organization’s website, cCMV is a common viral infection that can pass from mother to baby during pregnancy. It can cause health problems in some babies, which is why awareness, prevention, and early detection are so important. One in 200 Canadian newborns are infected during pregnancy.

Tétrault’s son, Alexandre, was born with the condition in 2008 (and turned 18 last month), and for nearly two decades he’s made it his single-minded mission to raise awareness about cCMV and its impacts, as well as funds to aid much-needed research.

Another purpose of Run With Rob has been to lobby provincial governments in Canada to affect change, as not every Canadian province has universal cCMV screening protocols for newborns.

Last year’s event was held in P.E.I., and Tétrault said he’s pleased with the impression the visit made and hopes it will have a lasting impact.

“We focus on where we can have the most impact,” Tétrault, the founder of Tétrault Wealth, said recently.

“I think we had a tremendous amount of success in P.E.I.; it’s been the most receptive province so far. There’s lots of work still to be done, but we’re much further along than when I started.”

Tétrault is now hoping to have the same sort of impact in Nova Scotia, as he has done in P.E.I. and New Brunswick, where Run With Rob was held in 2024.

As the title of the fundraiser suggests, everyone is invited to run alongside Tétrault during the upcoming 14-day event, which is something the energizes and inspires him. In previous years he’s been joined by many other runners along way, notably during the inaugural event in Manitoba when he was joined by around 200 runners.

“Run With Rob is about awareness, fundraising and the community coming together,” Tétrault said, noting the goal of this year’s event is to raise $200,000. “We hope to get close to that.”

“The community piece is that I love running with people, and I love meeting strangers. People can chose to run along for however long they’d like,” he added, noting it’s helpful if folks sign-up in advance and pick their preferred dates and routes, but his logistics team will also try and accommodate anyone that turns up on any given day of the event.

Run with Rob also represents a personal challenge for Tétrault, who has changed his lifestyle and worked hard on his fitness in the last few years, which has had positive effects on many aspects of his life, including his relationships he said. This has been life-altering for him, as he works hard to stay in the best shape of his life.

“I’m so thankful and appreciative to everyone for their support,” he said. “I look forward to this event most in my entire calendar. All I’ve got to do is turn up and run 50 kilometres while I’m supported by my family and friends, who also feed me and give me Gatorade. I’ve never felt healthier or happier.”

Tétrault is also grateful for the support he’s received from his running coach Patrick Peacock, fitness coach Joel Toews, and physiotherapist Quentin Raval.

Prior to holding Run With Rob, the 44-year-old held several editions of an event called Le Classique, a winter outdoor three-on-three ball hockey festival, which he co-founded with Marc Foidart in 2012.

Go online at runwithrob.com for more information.