Some events you cover from the sidelines.
Others, you roll straight into.
The 2023 Main St. Mile was one of those days.
Sean from Hockey Night In NY and I headed out to cover the annual mile run supporting the incredible work of the Companions in Courage Foundation, founded by NHL Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine. What we walked into was more than a race. It was a moving block party with a purpose.
Who Is Pat LaFontaine?
If you’re a hockey fan, you know the name.
Pat LaFontaine is one of the greatest American born players in NHL history. A Hall of Fame career, elite scoring ability, leadership everywhere he played. But what stands out even more is what he built after hockey.
Companions in Courage creates interactive game rooms in hospitals for seriously ill children. These spaces are designed to give kids connection, competition, and a break from the weight of treatment. It is about courage, yes. But it is also about joy. About giving a child a moment that feels normal in the middle of something anything but normal.
That mission is what fuels the Main St. Mile.
What Is the Main St. Mile?
On paper, it’s simple. A one mile run.
In reality, it is a tightly packed surge of energy. Families pushing strollers. Competitive runners eyeing personal records. Kids bouncing at the start line like shaken soda cans ready to pop. Local supporters lining the street. Volunteers everywhere.
A mile is short enough to go all out. Long enough to feel it in your lungs. And meaningful enough when you remember why everyone is there.
The starting horn goes off and suddenly it is a wave. Shoes slapping pavement. Cheers echoing off storefronts. Smiles mixed with pure grit as runners dig for that finish line.
Filming on a Skateboard Through the Run
Standing still did not feel right.
So I grabbed my skateboard.
Instead of filming from the curb, I rolled with the runners. Weaving carefully along the course, matching pace, drifting ahead, falling back. It turned the coverage into something immersive. You are not observing effort from a distance. You are inside it.
From that perspective, you catch things you might miss otherwise. The nervous grin before the gun goes off. A parent shouting encouragement. A kid realizing halfway through that they can actually do this. The final stretch faces, equal parts exhaustion and triumph.
There is something electric about moving alongside the action. The camera becomes less of a barrier and more of a bridge. Real time reactions. Real smiles. No staging. Just raw moments unfolding at full speed.
More Than a Race
Events like this remind you why community matters.
The Main St. Mile is not just about who crosses first. It is about why everyone shows up. It is about rallying behind a cause that makes a tangible difference in the lives of children and families facing serious illness.
Pat LaFontaine’s legacy is not only in the record books. It is in the hospital rooms turned into spaces of connection. It is in the streets filled with runners giving their energy to something bigger than themselves.
For Sean and me, it was an honor to document it. To roll through it. To feel it from the inside instead of watching from a distance.
One mile. Hundreds of stories. All moving in the same direction.
And sometimes, the best way to capture momentum is to hop on a board and chase it. 🛹
