Rookie runner en route to Boston

BY LAUREL MYERS

Naughton resident Peter Ledingham pushed his body to its limit recently. He competed in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon - a taxing 42.2-kilometre stretch of extreme physical exertion, with unrelenting mind-over-body control, and a drive for one of the greatest feelings of accomplishment.

At 7:30 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 28, Ledingham began his trek through the downtown core of Toronto, joined by 14,000 other eager runners and walkers in the five kilometres, half-marathon and full marathon races.

For the 33-year-old man, the marathon was his first ever attempt and he had his sights set high.

"I definitely wanted to qualify for the Boston Marathon, that was it," he said.

And he did just that. The first-time marathoner crossed the finish line in 3:09:52.9, qualifying him for the coveted competition by just seven seconds for his age group.

"My goal overall is to run the Boston Marathon in under three hours," he added. "I just needed this race to get me there."

Surprisingly, Ledingham never considered himself a runner before completing this race.

"I ran a little bit on the treadmill at the gym, just as a bit of a warm-up before lifting weights, and it just kind of escalated from there," he said. "I did the marathon as a test for myself. I like to push myself and see what I can complete."

After joining a new gym, Ledingham went through a series of testing offered for new members. One of the tests showed he had a natural predisposition for endurance sports, like cycling and running.

"I guess it was after that that the idea came into my head (to run a marathon), something to test exactly what I can do."

He began training in October 2007 and entered the Sudbury Rocks!! half marathon in May, where he placed 15th overall with a time of 1:34:38. His training for the marathon ramped up over 18 weeks, with Ledingham logging about 89 kilometres (55 miles) a week by the end of it.

Not wanting to leave the big test until race day, he pushed himself to run further than the distance that would be required of him in the marathon.

"I wanted to do something even longer than a marathon, just for the psychological benefit of knowing I could run that distance, so I did 27 miles (43.4 km) as my longest run."

But 28 kilometres into the run, Ledingham said he "hit the wall."

"I was crushed. I still had 14 kilometres to go and my body just kept telling me to stop," he said. "I didn't stop, I fought through it."

As the finish line inched nearer - only five kilometres to go - Ledingham glanced at his watch and saw time was quickly running out.

"I really thought I wasn't going to make it. I tried to put in a bit of a kick on the final stretch but there was just nothing there.

"...Just the thought of telling everybody that I'd failed essentially, and the thought of running another marathon to try to do it, and going through everything I'd endured that day to try again."

In the final 300 metres, he finally had the courage to look at his watch again and saw he had 46 seconds to make it to the finish line.

"I just thought, 'oh man, I'm going for it,' and I just ran as fast as I could," he said, recalling afterward that he didn't think he was even breathing anymore. "Up to that point I was breathing pretty hard and I thought I just had no energy left. When I saw I had a few seconds to make it, I don't recall breathing or anything."

When Ledingham came around the final bend and saw there was still time on the official clock above the finish line, he said he was ecstatic.

"Knowing I only had that far to go, and if I collapsed, or whatever happened after that, it was over."

Marathons take a serious toll on a runner's body, but the runner said, "miraculously," there were no pains nagging at him throughout the race.

"I got a rock in my sock and I had to stop and take it out, but aside from that, I felt really good - not counting the total exhaustion that I ran into."

As for the Boston Marathon, Ledingham has already put the wheels in motion to knock that extra 10 minutes off his final time. He said he plans to incorporate more speed training into his program, as well as greater distances.

"I really want to push my threshold up so I can continue to run at a quick pace, even when my body's hurting," he said.

The Boston Marathon, which will be held on April 20, 2009, has been running for 113 years. With about 500,000 spectators, it is ranked the second largest single day sporting event, after the Super Bowl.