1926 Skate History
Steve McNeil skates for 19 hours and 26 minutes to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s disease.
He started his marathon skates in 2012 in Toronto as a tribute to his mother Eunice McNeil who died of the disease, and to all the caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s.
His mother was born on December 15 1926 thus the name of his skate -1926Skate. McNeil, who is a recreational hockey referee in Toronto, says his 19-hour and 26-minute effort is just one day in his life, but caregivers spend that much time each day looking after their loved ones.
In the winter of 2018/2019 he skated in the seven Canadian NHL cities. It was -29C in Montreal, -40C in Edmonton and it snowed all night in Calgary. He listens to the music of rock band ACDC when he skates. One of the members of the band, Malcolm Young, died of the disease and when members of the band heard about McNeil’s efforts they donated $19,260 to Alzheimer's music program in Canada.
Last year's highlights included:
Steve skated in 9 provinces (11 cities.)
In Montreal three amateur hockey players will discovered how difficult the marathon is when they joined him on the ice for 19 hours and 26 minutes in 2020.
McNeil encourages everyone to come to skate with him for a brief time. The money raised in each city is donated to the local Alzheimer.
