Jasdeep Singh took up running in his early 40s, in the scenic area of Riverside, after first trying other ways to get healthy and strong.
Now, the Windsor, Ont., man, who will turn 50 this weekend, has run several marathons — including ones on each of the world's seven continents.
And, according to Ice MarathonThis is an achievement not many can claim.
The program lists around 450 runners worldwide who have completed it.
Singh had a seventh place finish under his belt in Antarctica last month.
“Unbelievable … just amazing,” said the retail worker.
“There's no airport. We literally landed on ice. They actually turned the temperature down on the plane. We had all the coats, all the layers because they wanted us to get used to the cold before we got out. The plane.”
Her training for the marathon begins three months ahead of time with interval training.
“Run, walk, run, walk so I can cover the distance, and then I gradually increase the distance,” he said.
A cold snap this past fall helped prepare her.
“I was really lucky because the week before I left for Antarctica it got really cold in Windsor. Right before I flew out, I did the only half marathon locally … wearing lots of layers.”
When he first started running, Singh says he couldn't complete the five-kilometer race, but he eventually worked his way up to 10 kilometers. Then, he completed his first marathon in Detroit – since then the races have been piling up around the world.
“The marathon became an excuse to take my kids, travel with my family,” he said. “My wife is very supportive. I'm very lucky that she lets me do it. And then we get to travel the world.”
'He has created an incredible story for himself'
David Stewart, from Essex, has been training the Lions in Windsor since he made contact with them at the gym.
“He liked the way I worked with other clients,” Stewart said.
Being middle-aged and having young children at the time, Stewart says Singh was determined to improve his quality of life.
“He tried a few different strength activities, and then when he stumbled upon running, he fell in love with it,” Stewart said.
“He's built an incredible story for himself by following this for so long.”
Specifically for marathon training, he says they focus on improving tempo and stamina.
“A lot of people have a tendency to start setting a very high bar for themselves for what they want to hit,” he said. “Start by being able to get it done and work on getting better where you are.”
Stewart says Leo has a passion for everything he's interested in: family, travel and running.
“(He's) a guy who kept trying a lot of different things until he found what he was passionate about,” Stewart said. “And when a person finds that passion, hard work isn't so hard anymore—because it fulfills other needs in a person's life.”
According to Singh, his inspiration for running came from Terry Fox and a US Marine he met while running in Germany who lost both his legs in Afghanistan – and still runs marathons.
“I want to inspire my kids,” he said. “I want them to live a healthy lifestyle. And at the same time, I want to get my kids involved and in the community. We can run some of these efforts … fundraisers.”
But Singh says that even with that feat, he has other goals: running the Boston Marathon and climbing some of the world's biggest mountains, like Mount Everest, remain on his bucket list.
