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<\/p>\nFor Kristians K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161, walking more than 26,000 kilometres around the world is about more than entering the record books.<\/p>\n
The Latvian long-distance walker says every step is also helping him manage his mental health, and he hopes the journey can help others struggling with theirs.<\/p>\n
Read more:<\/p>\n
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Latvian long-distance walker Kristians K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161 on his journey across Canada. K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161 is walking more than 26,000 kilometres around the world says every step is also helping him manage his mental health. (Kristians K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161\/Submitted)<\/p>\n
K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161 passed through Regina on Friday during the Canadian leg of his attempt to complete the fastest walk around the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the past 20 years, I would say, I do not want to be alive,\u201d K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161 said during an interview in Regina.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo now 50,000, 60,000, 70,000, 80,000 steps a day makes me not care. It\u2019s like my SSRI, but I have to put the legwork in.\u201d<\/p>\n
K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161, who is 12 years sober, said he returned to long-distance walking in 2020 and began noticing its effect on his well-being.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started walking long distances again, and I saw how it\u2019s benefited my mental health,\u201d he said. \u201cBeing outside 24\/7, it balances the hormones. Doing an activity all day, it helps regulate your neurochemicals. So I\u2019m doing what humans were built to do, basically. I\u2019m naturally happy now.\u201d<\/p>\n
K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161 is following the World Runners Association\u2019s rules for a pedestrian circumnavigation. Those rules require participants to cover at least 26,232 kilometres, cross at least four continents from coast to coast and walk a minimum of 3,000 kilometres on each of those continents.<\/p>\n
His current leg will take him about 5,300 kilometres from Vancouver to New York. K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161 began that portion of the journey on July 17 and hopes to reach New York on Nov. 14, his birthday.<\/p>\n
But the journey began months earlier and on the other side of the world.<\/p>\n
K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161 set out from Perth, Australia, on March 29 and walked roughly 4,200 kilometres to Sydney in 86 days. He took two rest days, averaging close to 50 kilometres a day, to complete the crossing before his three-month visa expired.<\/p>\n
He then walked another 450 kilometres in New Zealand before flying to Vancouver.<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s isolated stretches required careful planning. During one roughly 1,200-kilometre section, K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161 arranged for someone to leave food for him at five roadhouses along the route.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no grocery stores. There are just, like, nine roadhouses with motels,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI liked that part the best because you don\u2019t have to make any decisions. There are no stores, no towns, no nothing. You just do what you have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite walking across Australia, K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161 said the heat on the Prairies has presented a greater challenge.
\u201cCanada\u2019s hotter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
His equipment is packed inside a multisport stroller that he pushes along the highway. It carries what he needs to camp when a place to stay is unavailable.<\/p>\n
K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161 said strangers have regularly offered food, shelter and other help after spotting him on the road or learning about his journey online.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are awesome, always helping me out on my way because I have this huge thing behind me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"Latvian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/img-9371.jpeg\")
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Latvian long-distance walker Kristians K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161 travels through the Rocky Mountains on his journey across Canada. (Kristians K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161\/Submitted)<\/p>\n
A Reddit post seeking somewhere to sleep in Calgary received more than 100,000 views and led to offers of accommodation in communities farther along his route. In Regina, he was offered a couch for the night.<\/p>\n
His first look at the city came as he entered along College Avenue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw the great architecture,\u201d K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161 said. \u201cThe lake or the pond you have there, nice private houses over there. I like the architecture.\u201d<\/p>\n
He planned to buy groceries before walking at least another 40 kilometres east of Regina. If he could not find another couch, he expected to pitch his tent near the side of the road.<\/p>\n
While the physical toll is significant, K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161 said deciding to begin was the most difficult part.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe starting was the hardest part,\u201d he said. \u201cOn the night before starting in Perth, I almost quit two times before even starting.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the first few weeks, he found himself thinking of reasons to abandon the attempt.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the more I did, the more I wanted to keep on going,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After reaching New York, K\u0101rkli\u0146\u0161 plans to fly to Chile and walk about 3,000 kilometres through Chile and Argentina, finishing that leg in Buenos Aires. He may then add another 1,000 kilometres in Morocco before continuing through Europe and eventually finishing in Istanbul.<\/p>\n