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REGINA — A Regina-raised soldier shared his experience competing in a march that honours Latvia's military heritage.
Cpl. Damon Burfitt was one of 10 Canadian soldiers, along with Latvian and other NATO soldiers, who competed in the Zemitāna March, a gruelling, nonstop 100-kilometre ruck march.
“I thought it would be a great experience for me and help better represent the country of Canada,” he told SaskToday, explaining his reason for participating.
Heading into the event, Burfitt wasn’t sure how he’d interact with troops from other countries.
“I always kind of thought they would have different cultures, and for some reason it would, like, conflict with ours.”
However, his perspective began to change after running alongside soldiers and experiencing their culture firsthand throughout the march.
“Doing something like this makes me realize that we're all still people, and just because you're from a different country doesn't really mean you're any different at all.”
Bonding and teamwork are fundamental aspects of military life, Burfitt said.
He admitted he began to struggle during the march once he passed the 30-kilometre mark.
“My legs were hurting so bad, like so bad. I never hurt that, never felt that in my life before.”
While struggling, an Estonian soldier running with Burfitt encouraged him to keep going.
“It felt really good to have that support and to push myself to keep going.”
After resting for a while, Burfitt managed to start running again at a fast pace.
“I started running again at a six-minute-per-kilometre pace for the last 44 kilometres and actually ended up passing a few people ahead of me and winning the race.”
While winning the race was important to Burfitt, he said coming together and supporting each other was a more important takeaway.
“You're kind of always doing something that just really sucks [in the army], usually. And when you have people to do it with, no matter where you're from, no matter who you are, you always find a way to laugh through it just to get through it.”
As a 22-year-old, Burfitt said he’s built a bond that he hasn’t really felt before.
“It shows you can form cool bonds, and it goes from nation to nation like that by doing things like this.”
Burfitt is unlikely to compete in the Zemitāna March again, as participation is limited.
However, he said he would welcome the opportunity to take part in more nation-building events in the future.
