If you don’t know Patrick, he is an exceptional ENDURrunner.
Not only does his 11:14:19 Ultimate in 2014 at age 51 rank as the 15th fastest of all time, but all faster times are by men 32 or younger. However, since his life has been turned upside down the last few years, he has looked to some constants – including his daughters and the ENDURrun – for strength.
Here are Patrick Kelly’s thoughts during ENDURrun 2017, on the past, present and future.
It’s 2012, I’ve just been handed some pretty crushing defeats, and I’m sitting in my dorm room thinking about where to go next. I thought I was in good shape but I wasn’t in the same league as the boys who were hammering me Stage after Stage. It was time for a new plan.
This is when the idea of sub 2:50 at 50 started to take on a whole new meaning. I started to develop a plan that would get me to a sub 2:50 marathon early the next spring. Skip ahead two years to 2014: what a spectacular year. It started with a sub 2:45 in Boston, followed by a second place finish to Matt Leduc at the ENDURrun, then a 3rd in The County Marathon, and I finished off the year with the first place finish at the MEC marathon in the Gatineau Hills.
Skip ahead two more years, to 2016. It’s March and I’m starting to experience some strange medical issues. Then on July 5 I have a stroke in my sleep, it wakes me and my life as I knew it took a turn sideways.
I don’t take kindly to being held back, so on August 7, 2016, I toe the line for the first Stage of the 2016 ENDURrun with both my daughters, Hunter and Taylor. I am not able to run as hard as I would like because I am still waiting for testing and results for my medical mystery, which is still unfolding today. Watching Hunter and Taylor battle through the week could not have made me more proud.
Now it is 2017: Taylor is handcuffed by a concussion. Hunter takes the year off, and I am learning how my body is going to react to higher levels of stress. Personally, the ENDURrun has been a rebirth of my competitive racing in 2012 followed by a new chapter in my running career 2017.
The only thing I can say is watch out, in 2018, Hunter and I are back! We are relentless!
Thank you for sharing this, Patrick.
