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Running doesn’t necessarily prepare you for the rigours of walking, says Richard Hayes.

An experienced marathon runner, he is preparing for a different challenge as part of a team of four who will be participating in a 100-kilometre hike along trails south of Georgian Bay over 48 hours, July 13 to 15.

“It’s not the distance alone” that poses the problem, Hayes says. “It’s being awake and on your feet all that time.”

Spending a day in the Centre for Engineering Innovation helped convince Dilshan Pieris that the subject could be fun.

“We crash-tested crumple zones for some remote control trucks and built bridges out of popsicle sticks,” he said. “Engineering is more interesting after today!”

Pieris was one of about 100 grade 11 students of academic and enriched science at Vincent Massey Secondary School to participate in the all-day experience Friday, May 25.

Making existing vehicle components lighter won’t be enough for car makers to meet tough emissions standards expected in the future, according to the chief scientist at General Motors Canada.

Drama alumni Mark Lefebvre (BFA 1988) and Kyle Sipkens (BFA 2008) are walking tall after taping a segment for the CBC television series Dragons’ Den to pitch an expansion to their business, Stilt Guys.

The program matches entrepreneurs to investors, and Lefebvre said the two hope to hire more entertainers to join their company, which sends the costumed actors on stilts to make appearances. Already experiencing multiple bookings around busy summer weekends, they want to expand their business so they don’t have to turn down gigs.