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Montreal couple takes on marathon together following ALS diagnosis

Read the original at Global News ↗
Cite

Maratta, A. S. (2026, October 9). Montreal couple takes on marathon together following ALS diagnosis. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/12093722/montreal-couple-als-marathon/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Global News · collected 2026-10-09 · by Alessia Simona Maratta

Quick Summary

Spencer Levine and Amanda Tam, a Montreal couple married in 2024, are participating in the Montreal Marathon this weekend with Spencer running while pushing Amanda in a specially adapted wheelchair. After Amanda’s ALS diagnosis at age 20, they trained together over 600 kilometers from June to present for the marathon. The event aims to raise awareness and funds for ALS Quebec, highlighting issues of accessibility and advocating for living life fully despite challenges.
Written by AI on 2026-10-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A Montreal couple, Spencer Levine and Amanda Tam, is preparing to participate in the Montreal Marathon this weekend. Tam was diagnosed with ALS years ago while she was a student at McGill University, and despite her condition, they are running together using a specially adapted wheelchair for the 42.2-kilometre course. The idea originated last spring when Levine saw another person participating in an Ironman competition with assistance and thought it would be cool to do something similar.

Since then, they have trained extensively, covering more than 600 kilometres from June until now. They purchased a specialized running wheelchair for the event and plan to continue training together despite the challenges posed by Tam's condition. Dr. Angela Genge, clinical research program director at the McGill Neurological Institute, praised Tam’s remarkable upbeat spirit in the face of her diagnosis.

Written for “Marathon After ALS Diagnosis” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Marathon After ALS Diagnosis
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
63/100
Global News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Global News · 2734 article(s) · 12 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 12 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Alessia Simona Maratta
56 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Alessia Simona Maratta
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 56 articles by Alessia Simona Maratta →

Topics

Global News Ironman McGill University Montreal the Montreal Marathon

Subjects

Tam PERSON · 8× Levine PERSON · 4× Montreal GPE · 2× Spencer PERSON · 2× Amanda Tam PERSON · 1× Angela Genge PERSON · 1× Global News ORG · 1× McGill University ORG · 1× Spencer Levine PERSON · 1× the McGill Neurological Institute ORG · 1×

Narrative

The idea came last spring, when Tam went to cheer on Levine at an Ironman competition and the couple saw another person with a disability participating with assistance. “We actually saw a (person with a disability) being pushed and they were attached to the bike, they were on a kayak for the swimming portion and Spencer thought it would be a cool idea to do the same,” Tam told Global News on Thursday.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-09
🔮 Spencer Levine will run the 42.2-kilometre course while pushing his wife, Amanda Tam, in a specially adapted wheelchair.
2026-10-09 · Global News
Montreal couple takes on marathon together following ALS diagnosis · assertive framing

Claims (19 extracted, 1 hedged)

A Montreal couple is preparing to take on the Montreal Marathon together this weekend, years after an ALS diagnosis dramatically changed their lives. asserted
diagnosis → prepare → lives
Spencer Levine will run the 42.2-kilometre course while pushing his wife, Amanda Tam, in a specially adapted wheelchair. asserted
Levine → run → wheelchair
The idea came last spring, when Tam went to cheer on Levine at an Ironman competition and the couple saw another person with a disability participating with assistance. “We actually saw a (person with a disability) being pushed and they were attached to the bike, they were on a kayak for the swimming portion and Spencer thought it would be a cool idea to do the same,” Tam told Global News on Thursday. asserted
Tam → come → Thursday
The high school sweethearts, who married in 2024, bought a specialized running wheelchair in June and have since trained more than 600 kilometres for the Montreal Marathon. “We have trained all throughout the summer from June until now,” Levine said. asserted
Levine → marry → June
“We’ve run 623 kilometres as of today.” Get daily National news Tam, a McGill University graduate, was 20 years old when she was diagnosed with ALS. asserted
she → run → ALS
Dr. Angela Genge, clinical research program director at the McGill Neurological Institute, described Tam as remarkably upbeat. asserted
Genge → describe → Tam
“She is one of these kids that in another circumstance would have flown,” Genge said. asserted
Genge → fly → circumstance
The neurodegenerative disease has taken away much of Tam’s autonomy, leaving her reliant on Levine, who is also her primary caregiver. asserted
who → take → Levine
Claudine Cook, executive director of the Quebec ALS Society, said the couple have become “incredible ambassadors.” asserted
couple → say → Society
“Having a care partner like Spencer along her side is just … they’ve been really incredible ambassadors,” Cook said. asserted
Cook → have → side
The couple has been determined to share their experiences, and their marathon effort is also raising money for ALS Quebec. asserted
effort → share → Quebec
“Just because I was dealt an unlucky hand or the fact that I have a death sentence, I mean, it doesn’t mean that you have to stop living,” Tam said. asserted
Tam → deal → sentence
Training for the marathon has also given the couple more time together. asserted
Training → train → time
“As someone who trains 10 to 15 hours a week, having those extra six to 10 hours a week with her is just so meaningful and has made us grow so much closer as a couple,” Levine said. asserted
Levine → train → couple
But even getting to the starting line at Parc Jean-Drapeau could pose a challenge, with Berri-UQAM Metro station not fully accessible. uncertain
station → get → challenge
“I love the fact that we have this huge marathon, but if you have a wheelchair category … make it at least accessible to get to,” Tam said. asserted
Tam → love → category
With 20,000 people expected at the starting line, the couple also wants to avoid traffic. asserted
couple → expect → traffic
Tam said she uses social media in part to draw attention to accessibility issues in Montreal while encouraging others to continue living their lives despite difficult circumstances. asserted
she → say → circumstances
“That is also why I have social media, to bring awareness to, I guess, accessibility around the city and to also to keep living life no matter what,” she said. asserted
she → have → life
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