DUNNVILLE—Erica Hopman finished the hardest run of her life with scratched knees, a swollen leg, soaked feet, and more than double her original fundraising goal waiting at home.
Hopman completed the Ribbon 100, a 100-mile (160.934km) Bruce Trail race, in 25 hours and 38 minutes after starting near Orangeville at 6 a.m. on June 13, 2026 and running through the day, night, and into the next morning.
The Dunnville runner took on the race as part of her fundraiser, ‘10 Years. 100 Miles. Gratitude In Motion,’ with proceeds to be split between Dunnville Hospital and Healthcare Foundation (DHHF) and the Youth Impact Centre.
—Submitted photo.
As of Tuesday, June 16, the fundraiser had raised $22,587, more than doubling its original $10,000 goal. Hopman said donations can still be made until June 20.
“The race itself was just really challenging,” Hopman said, noting the day was beautiful but hot, with a breeze that helped and a course that tested her.
“Between the terrain and the elevation, there was a lot of climbing,” she said. “There were quite a few times throughout the race that I definitely felt like I couldn’t go any further.”
What kept her moving was the purpose behind the run.
“I really reminded myself … that it had been such a huge fundraiser for our community,” said Hopman. “I really wanted to just keep pushing through and accomplish it.”
Hopman launched the fundraiser to mark 10 years since her family moved to Dunnville, 10 years since her husband Cyrus received urgent care at the Dunnville hospital, and 10 years since she began working at the Youth Impact Centre.
Her goal was to thank the community by supporting these important services. By the time she reached the trail, that goal had grown well beyond what she first imagined.
Hopman began thinking about the challenge in January, training as the fundraiser came together with support from DHHF, the Youth Impact Centre, local businesses, family, friends, and the running community.
“It’s been an incredible half a year of just watching this all coming together,” she said.
The run brought several firsts, including Hopman’s first all-nighter run and the first time she saw two sunrises over the course of a single run.
A pacer named Krista Bolyea from the Blue Mountain area joined Hopman for the night.
“It was pretty neat to have someone sign up to do 70 kilometres just for fun to help me,” Hopman said, noting Bolyea helped her finish the race.
Running in the dark was challenging, with Hopman falling hard twice overnight and banging up her knees. She also had technical problems with watches, phones, and headlamps dying.
“You just keep putting one foot in front of the other,” she said.
She carried water, a high-carbohydrate drink mix, and food, but as the hours wore on, even eating became difficult.
“Your palate and your mouth starts to get really sick of sugar, which is kind of the main fuel source to keep you moving and energized,” she said. By midnight, she had to force herself to swallow food with water. “It was just really hard to physically eat at that point.”
The overnight weather added another obstacle. Two major downpours hit, including one around 4 a.m. during the biggest climb of the race through the Pretty River section.
“I would say those were the most difficult challenges – the rain and nutrition,” Hopman said, noting pain and swelling around her right ankle flared up as well with about 30km remaining.
Hopman said Cyrus was a steady presence throughout the race, meeting her with supplies and encouragement.
“He just was a rock star,” she said of her husband. “He was around every time I needed him.”
Hopman also thanked her children, local businesses, the community at large, and local runners for their support, as well as Erin from DHHF for creating a video to tell the fundraiser’s story.
“Everyone who rallied around this, that’s just been so incredibly mind-blowing to see how much support has come in,” she said.
Asked if she would ever run that distance again, Hopman said she could not answer so soon after finishing.
“This was the toughest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she said. “This tested me physically, mentally, spiritually. It really tested all my limits just to push through and complete it.”
For now, Hopman plans to rest, recover, eat well, take a short break from running, and enjoy summer trail time without a training plan: “I’m looking forward just to some calmness.”
