By Mark Squibb/September 30, 2022
O’ Donel High School principal Sheldon Marsh was a little sore Tuesday morning.
That’s understandable, given that on Sunday, Marsh ran a 42-kilometre marathon through the streets of Berlin in under three hours.
“A marathon is a different beast, that’s for sure,” agreed Marsh. “It’s daunting, even for runners who run every day.”
Marsh completed the 42-kilometre run in 2:58:45, setting a new personal best (PB) and beating his previous marathon record by 44 seconds.
“In New York in 2019, I was 2:59:29,” said Marsh. “My goal in Berlin was to beat that. I didn’t do it by a lot, I think I went the first 30 kms way too quick, and definitely paid the price for it, but in any case, I managed to get it in 2:58:45, so I had a 44 second PB, but I’ll take it.”
Marsh started running in 2008, having previously played hockey, soccer, and other sports as a youth, and soon joined the Athletics NorthEAST (ANE) running club, a group he is still involved in.
“I run with an extremely talented group of runners,” said Marsh. “And there are definitely runners who are better than me, runners that I look up to for sure.”
Marsh ran his first marathon, the Toronto Marathon, in 2014, the Boston Marathon in 2016, the Chicago Marathon in 2017, the 50 km East Coast Trail Ultra in 2018, and in 2019 completed the New York Marathon.
His goal is to complete all six World Marathon Majors: the Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, London Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon and New York City Marathon.
Having just completed the Berlin Marathon, he has only Tokyo and London left to complete.
Aside from international marathons, marsh competes in most local road races such as the Tely-10.
“Running hurts,” admitted Marsh. “It’s not necessarily fun until you get over that initial hump, and you start to experience what we call a ‘runner’s high.’ And I think, when you start experiencing that runner’s high, and your skeleton and your muscles adapt to the actual sport, it obviously gets easier and better.”
Aside from the physical benefits, Marsh said the sport can greatly benefit a person’s mental and emotional health.
“It really helps with your self-esteem and your confidence,” said Marsh. “You like what you see when you look in the mirror. For me, as a dad of three, I feel that after I run and exercise, I certainly am more patient. And from a high school administrators’ perspective, I think I’m a better principal because of my ability to exercise patience. I run every morning at 5 a.m., so most of my runs are done by 6:30 a.m., so once I come to school, I feel really good about my day, it sets my day up and sends me off on the right foot.”
It’s Marsh’s hope that his dedication to the sport will encourage others to pursue and excel in their own interests, athletic or not.
And if maybe after two-plus years of isolation you’re interested in giving the sport a shot, Marsh shared some pointers.
“Definitely start small,” he advised. “There are some programs that more or less get you off the couch and start running some 5 km distances and some walk/run sessions… I think it’s also important that you not do too much too soon. So, for a new runner starting out, you could start with two or three runs a week, max.”
Over 45,520 runners ran alongside Marsh through the streets of Berlin, including first place winner Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, who finished the Marathon in 2:01:09 — beating his own world record by 30 seconds.
