Boston Marathon ‘just another rung on the ladder' for local athlete

 The irony is certainly not lost on three-time Boston Marathon finisher Steve Fessenden. Within the running community in general, there is often a weird affinity to the race T-shirt — that most prized possession to a surprisingly large portion of the population that see fit to put their body through the physical madness that is long-distance running.

“In 1999, I saw a guy with a neat T-shirt, a President’s Choice Triathlon shirt, so I asked him how I could get one,” reminisced Fessenden recently.

“He said I had to run a triathlon, so I trained to do a triathlon to get a T-shirt,” he laughed.

Over time, the oddity of his endeavour has given way to an appreciation for all that is involved in committing fully to this type of challenge. Yet tackling another rung of the sporting ladder was hardly out of character for 44-year-old Fessenden, or much of his family for that matter.

A native of Scarborough who pursued his university studies in Guelph, Fesseden comes from a sports-minded family, albeit not exclusively in the role of participating athletes. A sister who is a swimmer, another that dances, a brother who nearly cracked the major leagues as an umpire and a father who managed and coached and loves to run tournaments: yes, it would be safe to say the Fessenden household was immersed in sport.

Acknowledging that his athletic background is somewhat diverse, the elementary school teacher suggests that while hockey and baseball were ever-present in his youth, it was badminton that provided the greatest success.
“I’ve coached, worked with and played against athletes who have been to the Olympics in the sport of badminton.”

In fact, along with years of coaching house league and all-star baseball and hockey, Fessenden also guided the University of Guelph badminton program for nearly a decade.

A southern Ontario resident for much of his life, Fessenden attended Nipissing University to complete his teaching degree, working in Trenton for a year before accepting a position with the Rainbow Board of Education early in the new millennium.

Teaching clearly appealed to Fessenden, providing a domain which catered to many of the strengths he had to offer. Yet it also provided a challenge, at least initially, for one who has always considered athletic activity as an integral component of his life.

“I really wanted to become a teacher and in focusing on that, I realized that other aspects of my life were suffering ... so I decided to do a better job of balancing my life, to go back to the physical fitness level and health level that I was at back in university.”

If only it were that easy. With every passing year, recovering the fountain of youth becomes a more daunting task. But as most who have scaled that mountain to some degree or another will attest, it begins with a starting point and moving forward from there.

“On Jan. 1, 2004, I decided I would make a lifestyle change,” Fessenden noted, recalling with ease the exact timing when his new journey of discovery began. “I started to get back into triathlons and realized that I liked running better than the swimming and biking.”

Despite hours of training logged diligently onto his body over the years, starting anew proved humbling. “I was about 30 pounds overweight, so I picked up a membership at the Dowling Leisure Centre since I lived right nearby.
“I remember my very first workout, going around the Dowling track, running for a bit, then stopping and walking, and running a bit, and stopping and walking, and thinking to myself: ‘I’ve got a long way to go.’”

Still, the three months it took to develop a routine and the dedication to that routine seems relatively insignificant looking back some six years later. A steady routine gave way to planning the upcoming race season and before long, even the most far-fetched dreams appeared closer than one could imagine.

“Running has taken me places I never even dreamed of,” said Fessenden, acknowledging that competing in the historical tradition that is the Boston Marathon, required a gradual transformation of his mindset.

“You don’t see ‘Joe Average’ running the Boston Marathon on television, because they focus on the winners … you don’t see the everyday age-groupers.”
By 2007, Fessenden had become one of the “Joe Average” Boston Marathoners.
This past April, Fessenden completed his third trek of the 26.2 mile course that has wound its way from Hopkinton to Copley Square each and every April for the past 113 years.

In time, the goals are moved forward in the sand. Fessenden looks to continue to attain his age group qualifying standard, hopefully for a few more decades.
After all, there will always be a new T-shirt on the line.

Randy Pascal is the voice of Eastlink Sports and the founder of SudburySports.com.