Sachin Latti found himself living in the basement suite of the house he once shared with his wife and daughter, not knowing how to move forward. His marriage had ended, he was battling depression, and he felt completely alone. 

The pandemic had isolated him even further, cutting him off from the physical outlets he once relied on to manage his mental health—jiu-jitsu, bodybuilding, and the gym.

So he turned to something he had always hated: running.

“I didn’t know what else to do,” he says. “I was in a dark place. No distractions, no noise. Just me and everything I hadn’t dealt with.”

What started with painful 5 km runs became a daily ritual that helped him cope. “I wasn’t running for the physical benefits,” he explains. “I was running for my mind. It was the only thing keeping me grounded.”

He didn’t want to be that man anymore

Sachin didn’t hit rock bottom overnight. The son of South Asian immigrants, he grew up between Toronto and Dallas, facing bullying and internal pressure to live up to his father’s high expectations. 

As an adult, he served in the military and later worked as a border enforcement officer, absorbing years of trauma along the way.

By 2019, the cracks began to show. His marriage was falling apart. He was emotionally overwhelmed, financially unstable, and disconnected from longtime friends. The pandemic magnified everything, leaving him alone in a basement, barely able to see his daughter.

“I felt like a failure,” he admits. “But I also knew I didn’t want to be that man anymore.”

Turning pain into something positive

With therapy, medication, reading, and running, Sachin began to rebuild himself day by day. He read books that inspired him to take accountability and embrace difficult challenges. One of those hard things became his purpose: running to raise awareness for mental health.

In 2021, Sachin ran 100 kilometres from Chilliwack to Vancouver, raising $21,000 for veterans and first responders with PTSD. That run changed everything. “I realized I could turn my pain into something positive. I didn’t want to work in border enforcement anymore. I wanted to make a difference in a different way.”

This planted the seed for his next challenge: running across Canada.

Sach-In-Motion

On June 16, 2025—the day after Father’s Day—Sachin will start his run from Mile Zero at the Terry Fox Memorial in Victoria. He’ll run a total of 7,500 km, averaging 100 km each day, and cover an elevation gain equivalent to summiting Mount Everest, seven times!

Sachin is poised to become the first person of colour to run across Canada. His goal is to raise $1 million for mental health charities, including the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation. 

“I’m an average guy,” he says, “who went through some dark times and found a way out. If I can do it, anyone can.”

Get involved

You can be part of Sachin’s mission to help men take charge of their mental health. Donate, share his story, and run with him in your community. Every action makes a difference.

Visit Men’s Health Month to get involved or track his journey, and follow him on Instagram @sach.in.motion.

Do you like running? What’s your favourite thing about it? Share in the comments below.

Join guys across Canada talking about the tough stuff and getting tools to build better mental health. June is Men’s Health Month.

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