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Profile of Ralph Westgarth by Kevin Dunbar Ralph Westgarth is heading off to Boston next weekend to attempt to complete the 60th marathon of his running career. He is a teacher at Elginburg Public School who coaches the Cross-Country and Track programs. The halls of Elginburg Public are lined with his framed T-shirts from every running of the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope. Last year he was proud to host the family of Terry Fox as part of the annual Terry Fox Run at Elginburg. Terry’s mother told the touching story of seeing her son head out the door to try to run across Canada to raise awareness and money for cancer research. Ralph is one of many Canadian runners who continue to build on Terry’s dream today. He took time away from last minute Boston Marathon preparation this weekend to tell us the story of how he will approach the starting line in Hopkinton on Patriot’s Day, Monday, April 16, with 59 marathons under his belt. He continues to run fast times in many marathons around the world year after year with incredible age group performances. What did you do today (or yesterday) for training ? 11 days before Race Day in Boston, I did an average paced single loop - 10 km loop from my house on Main St. in Barriefield to R.M.C. Arch, around Point Frederick, out to the R.M.C. gatehouse, up the Fort Henry Hill, through the Base along Lundy's Lane to the Vimy Entrance at Hwy. 2, along Hwy. 2 to Hwy. 15, on Hwy. 15 to St. Mark's Church and back into Barriefield. This is where I always run, though I usually like to do a double so that I get 20km completed per day. The double is the meat and potatoes of my unorthodox training mode. How did you get into the sport of running races ? I started running so that I could complete the 1st Terry Fox Marathon of Hope. Before that I was a hockey/baseball kind of athlete. I carried 30 pounds more than I do since extending my marathon training all year long. At that time I knew I could not run 10 km to complete Terry's Run, so I began jogging around the cinder track behind La Salle Secondary. Then a teacher at the school where I was teaching in Verona died of cancer. Her name was Doreen Conboy, and she also happened to be the parent of one of my students. That started my habit of doing 2 Terry Fox Runs. A short time later, one of the Kindergarten children in my class underwent chemotherapy treatment. Timmy Reynolds wore a baseball cap in school before they were popular. It still hurts deeply to say that Timmy died. I didn't know how to deal with that ~ still don't ~ so I ran harder, longer. I began running the track 40 times a day (1/4 mile track x 40 = 10 miles). This was to enable me to do 3 Terry Fox Runs each year (1 for Terry, 1 for Doreen, 1 for Timmy). That's why I still do 3 Terry Fox Runs on Terry Fox Day some 20 years later. Anyway, after doing a couple of triple loops at the Terry Fox Run in Bath, Ont., I foolishly thought that I was marathon ready. After all, I was able to complete 30 km without stopping. Of course, I now realize that the real race begins at 30 km, that at Boston when you look around as you come into the 1st of 4 Newton Hills, these are the people who were at the start line in your same corral because they qualified within a couple of minutes of you. And so it's at that point that it all begins: 18 miles in. How did your last competitive season end up ? Last season ended on a high note in Baltimore with perfect conditions for marathoning. It was my 59th marathon. I had run Baltimore 2 years earlier and had experienced a positive race. This time, I placed 1st in my age group by 11 minutes (3:12:47). It's an undulating course the whole way, but I like it and I still felt strong coming into Camden Yards near the end. This Boston is to be your 60th marathon. Where was your first ? What have been some of the highlights in your marathon career? 1st Marathon: 1986 Metro Toronto Wang Marathon: 3:26:42 (age: 36) Why is running so important to you ? Or, how has being involved in the sport made a difference in your life ? Terry Fox changed my life and continues to inspire me. Running marathons has given me the confidence that I can persevere through stressful situations in other parts of my life. My daily running regime brings a freshness to each day: I can put in a busy day in my Grade 1 classroom, come home for a 20 km run and feel rejuvenated for the rest of my evening. I realize that when I'm race-ready, I'm more energized and capable of teaching better. My clothes fit better, and there is a spring in my step. I think teaching and running are interconnected for me, and that I will likely continue to teach as long as I am marathoning. Immediately following a marathon, I always have an intense reaction and my system fights back. But then my recovery is very quick, and I crave the feeling when the endorphins kick in. I seem to enjoy the positive effects for many weeks, often right on into the next marathon which I normally begin anticipating immediately. I suspect that I have acquired an addiction to these sensations and this would account in part for my answer to the question once posed to me by a physiotherapist: why do you overtrain? It is also why when people inquire about my unusual training habits that I start with a disclaimer: I do not recommend a single thing that I do in the running part of my life. Who are some of the important supportive groups and people in your running life ? Most of the time, I'm a solitary runner. By times, I have been joined by other runners on my loop (introduced to me in 1990 by Tony Jenkins who insisted that I continue to train through the winter). He introduced me as well to the concept of racing the Tour Train and picking up the pace on Fort Henry Hill if anyone else was on "his hill"! He never was able to get me to acquire his habit of hurdling the road barriers at RMC. Though I do recall shortly after 9/11, doing a long run with Dave Ruggles and straddling the roll of barbed wire blocking the exit from Base Kingston. My most regular training partner over the years has been Mark Ryan, particularly when he was training for Ironman. We ran so many streaks together that personnel on the Base including the Military Police and Commissionaires who keep a look out for me would ask when Mark was taking a rest day, "Hey, where's your buddy?" Some of my most cherished moments in running have been shared with Mark. Another frequent flier on the loop who has influenced my attitude, though I don't blame her for it, is Suzanne Dostaler. If Jeff Taggart is out for a long, slow run, he lets me tag along. Jeff does not give me advice, though I do remember his asking at one point, "Do you run tangents during races?" I think he was just making sure that I didn't race like I trained. At one time, Jeff and I were joined regularly by Dan Kimmerer and Mike Kellar who had little patience with my erratic running behaviour. To watch that trio accelerate through a column of gears seemingly at will was wondrous in the eyes of a one-gear marathoner. And certainly I have long admired the accomplishments of Graham Sly who has raced Boston for almost 20 years, and with pace. It is the Boston royalty who have motivated me to make the annual pilgrimage and to prepare through the trials of winter to be ready for an early spring marathon. To shake hands with Johnny Kelley, Boston Billy Rodgers, Cosmas Ndeti and Moses Tanui was unforgettable. And who could not be inspired by the Olympic run by Kingston's own Simon Whitfield? I remember being so impressed when I saw Sharon Donnelly doing a speed workout in front of my house in Barriefield. As I leaned on my truck, I asked in total amazement:"Who is that?" Not long after, she helped us to establish TEAM ANDY. Any random running thoughts you had during today’s run that you would like to share? My top 10 running highlights: 1) running 3 times with Darrell Thanks, Ralph, and good luck in Boston on Monday.
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