Halifax ultra-marathoner hopes to break tip-to-tip P.E.I. run record Monday
Victoria Walton | CBC News | Posted: September 1, 2024 4:56 PM | Last Updated: September 1
Ryan Keeping hopes to run from Elmira to Tignish in less than 46 hours
A Halifax man will set off Monday in an attempt to break a P.E.I. record.
Ryan Keeping is hoping to run the length of the Island in less than 46 hours, 26 minutes. Keeping says that's the fastest known time, set in 2017.
"Anything below that is what I'm going for," Keeping told CBC News Network's Marianne Dimain in an interview Sunday. "I'd like to say probably 44, 45 hours is what I'm thinking to do this in."
Keeping is no stranger to ultra-marathons, having run across Canada earlier this year. He did about 75 kilometres per day, making it from St. John's to Victoria in 99 days.
But he didn't make it to P.E.I. on that expedition because of scheduling limitations.
"The whole time I was doing it, I had people message me saying, 'Hey, you gotta come to P.E.I., you gotta come to P.E.I.,'" he said.
So, just a few months later, Keeping is planning to do just that, leaving from Elmira at the eastern tip of the Island, and running to Tignish at the western tip — 274 kilometres in total.
"I'm gonna be on the Confederation Trail the whole time, so it's basically just like a nice bike path," Keeping said. "There's not too much elevation, which is nice."
He'll start at 8 a.m. Monday morning.
Inspired by his family
Keeping's run across Canada wasn't "just for fun," like the P.E.I. run will be. He says he's always been inspired by Terry Fox's journey.
"I believe Terry Fox is the greatest Canadian of all time," he said. "What he did at such a young age, all the adversity and how he just kept moving forward, that's so much inspiration to me."
While Fox ran to raise money for cancer research, Keeping wanted his own cause as a reason to run.
"I decided to raise money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation," he said. "My dad's the person who I was thinking about the most. He has a couple heart conditions."
Keeping's father actually drove the van that accompanied him across Canada.
In the end, the run raised $286,000 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Will document for social media
"It was absolutely incredible," Keeping said. "And the support I saw from people running with me and donating and people bringing me meals when I was on the road, it was incredible."
While Keeping's dad won't be with him on the P.E.I. run, he will have a friend driving a car to provide food and water. A videographer will document the whole thing for social media.
He welcomes more company on the trail, too.
"I'd love people to come run a couple kilometres with me," he said. "It really helps pass the time to have someone to chat to."
Just keep going
Trying to beat the record means there isn't much time for breaks. Keeping said he won't be sleeping, and will only take 10-minute stops to refuel.
"I just drink a lot of caffeine and I have to eat a lot of food when I'm doing it," he said. "I've got pretty good at staying up for multiple days to do events like this."
Keeping said the more he runs, the more prepared he is for whatever may happen while out on the trail.
When he gets really tired, he tries to think back to Fox, about his father, and about the reason he's doing this in the first place — to show people that they can reach their own goals.
"I think the best way to motivate and inspire someone is to just chase your passion, and chase it as hard as you possibly can."