Hi, I'm Jax.
I run for
people who can't.
28 years old. Pembroke-born, Winnipeg-raised. Father, adventurer, storyteller. I ran 7,000 km east to west, from St. John's, Newfoundland to Port Coquitlam, BC, finishing at Terry Fox's resting place. Slept in a 1985 VW Vanagon, livestreamed every step, and raised $100,000+ for cancer research along the road. None of it happened alone. The community that showed up, watched, donated, and shared my story is the real engine behind every number on this site.
My Story
I'm Jackson Charron-Okerlund. Most people just call me Jax. Born in Pembroke, Ontario, raised in Winnipeg, and still calling it home.
Before any of the running, I worked in therapeutic recreation with older adults. I spent my days with people in their 90s and 100s, watching whole generations of family fill a room on a birthday. It taught me what a long life actually looks like, and how much further some people deserve to get.
Terry Fox was one of the first names I ever knew. Growing up Canadian, his story is the floor everything else gets built on. So in 2023 I laced up in St. John's, Newfoundland and ran west, 7,000 kilometres across the country, finishing at Terry's resting place in Port Coquitlam, BC.
For the first 40 days I pushed a baby stroller with my tent and gear and slept wherever the road let me. After that, a 1985 VW Vanagon became home for the rest of the run. The whole journey was livestreamed on TikTok, shared along the way on Instagram and Facebook, and picked up by local and national news. Strangers turned into a community, donating, sharing, and meeting me on highway shoulders. They're the reason that number kept climbing.
7,000 km · 160 days · $100,000+ for cancer research.I'm the 16th human to ever cross Canada on foot.
After the run, I wrote a book about it. Self-published, picked up the printed copies in person, packed a minivan, and drove across the country a second time. 50 cities in 65 days, selling 1,000 books and raising another $6,070 for cancer patients. Every signed copy moved because someone in that town showed up.
After the book tour, I became a public speaker for the Terry Fox Foundation. The 2024 New Brunswick ambassador, and today a national guest speaker. Over 5,000 students have heard the story in person so far.
Also after the book tour, I ran the length of Prince Edward Island. 280 km in 65 hours, no sleep, becoming only the second human on record to do it.
My son was born July 17, 2024. He's the reason the next chapter looks the way it does.
Highlights
The Crew
None of the big stuff happens without the crew! My son, my partner, and the '83 VW Vanagon. Come along for the ride!
Full-time dad first. He's the reason every future plan has a different shape, and a better one.
My beautiful, radiant earth goddess. I love her so much.
Old engine, big heart. Replaced my 1985 Vanagon, which burned down after the cross-Canada run.
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School assembly, fundraiser, corporate audience. I tell the real story of what it took to run across Canada, and what anyone in the room can do with the same engine.