Canadians have a reputation for loving ice hockey… but these players have turned their passion for the sport into a record-breaking tradition that’s raised millions of dollars for cancer research.
It all started in 2012, when a group of hockey-lovers in Chestermere, Alberta, Canada were thinking of ways they could support the daughter of a friend who was diagnosed with adrenal cancer – the then-six-year-old Diamond Marshall, a sweethearted girl who went viral for giving a big hug to Princess Kate and Prince William.
Inspired by the idea of a fundraising marathon, they quickly set up a committee to create “Hockey Marathon for the Kids” – a record-breaking attempt that would host over 40 non-professional players with personal ties to cancer in a continuous ice hockey game, with proceeds going to the Alberta Children’s Hospital for paediatric cancer research.
For their first attempt, the group of 40 players were split into the “Hope” and “Cure” teams, with team “Cure” emerging victorious 4,170 to 3,843 after 246 hours and two minutes of straight play between 6 – 16 May 2012. Despite the loss, Team Hope ran up the scoreboard, as Dave Shillington from Team Hope led the scorers with 522 goals and 275 assists, while Andy Larose, also of Team Hope, also racked up 323 assists and 355 goals.
Nevertheless, the biggest prize inevitably was the funds the teams raised for cancer research – after collecting thousands of dollars for the nearby children’s hospital, the organization officially won over the hearts of their players and spectators, setting a new tradition as well as their first Guinness World Records title for the longest marathon playing ice hockey.
Even better? The community supported the competition so much that they began hosting marathons semi-regularly – in 2014, 2022, and 2024.
Their best year was 2022, when players spent 261 hours and 15 seconds on the ice.
Each 20-man team always had eight players skating at a time (seven skaters and one goalie), and after every two hours, there would be a maximum 10-minute break for power-naps and for the zamboni to flood and smooth the ice.
Every player had to skate the entire marathon, and they were not permitted to lay on the ice or sit (with exceptions to the goalies). The organization estimated that on average, players were involved directly in play from between 8 and 12 hours each day, sometimes even more if they were filling in for an injured teammate. Due to the way the schedule worked, there were even instances where groups would have to put in eight hour shifts on the ice.
Therefore, it required an incredible amount of support from local businesses and volunteers to get through the game – as chefs showed up for 24-hour shifts to make food for the starving players, and the local Tim Hortons was kept busy with coffee requests and donut-needs.
Yet thanks to the energetic crowd, the players were able to push through their exhaustion and into the record books. They were even surprised with guest appearances from some of their heroes, such as: current NHL players Mikael Backland and Matthew Tkachuk, country music artist Drew Gregory, Canadian curling Olympian Ben Herbert, and sledge hockey player Ryan Straschnitzki.
One of the favourite moments for many players, however, was when over 500 children and support staff from local daycares showed up every weekday morning to host a ‘flash-mob’ for the teams, repeatedly cheering and making noise for the players just when they needed it the most.
“We are so grateful to our community and big-hearted people who go to truly extraordinary lengths to help children with cancer,” said Saifa Koonar, President and CEO of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation.
“And just like we cheer for these kids and families facing a cancer diagnosis, we will be cheering these incredible Hockey Marathon players every step of the way.”
In 2023, the organization had raised nearly four million CAD (roughly £2,133,720 GBP) for the hospital’s foundation – a number that only promises to go up, as they take on the challenge year-after-year.
And we hope to see many more donations, events, and goals in the future, as the community continues to support this incredible event.
Congratulations to everyone who helped at Hockey Marathon for the Kids – you all are Officially Amazing!