No holding back a winner

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/06/2010 (5818 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Not even a life-changing meeting with a drunk driver could slow down Ralph Egger.

Despite being injured in a motor-vehicle crash about nine years ago, Egger, a 54-year-old from Lethbridge, Alta., joined 13,685 other participants in the 2010 Manitoba Marathon on Sunday, breaking the tape as the winner of the wheelchair full marathon.

"It’s awesome," said an ebullient Egger after the race. "The whole (goal) was to come in under two hours and I exceeded that by a lot more than I expected."

He finished with a time of 1:49:34, despite sporting some significant road rash along his arm.

"I crashed and burned in Mile Two or Three. I went to take a turn and all of a sudden I spilled over, so I just jumped back in the chair and away I went."

For the third straight year, over 13,000 runners took part in six different marathon events.

Executive director Shirley Lumb said participation was down slightly from a year ago — the first time in 10 years the number didn’t rise.

But that didn’t dampen her enthusiasm in the least.

"I’m really happy, I still say this is so great for Manitoba. We are still the third-largest (marathon event of its kind) in Canada behind only Ottawa and Toronto Waterfront," Lumb said.

"I say ‘Wow’ and kudos to Manitoba because it’s mostly Manitobans who are here. We don’t draw as many people from away like the other big marathons do, so this is amazing."

Egger used to be an avid runner, participating in several 10-kilometre races. But the accident confined him to a wheelchair for 21/2 years, and forced him to retire from his job at the Lethbridge Airport.

"He’s got about seven pounds of metal in him from being put back together after the crash," said his wife, Irene. "His ankle’s been rebuilt with plates and screws in both sides; his patella has been rebuilt; he has a titanium rod running from his hip to his knee."

Through years of rehabilitation, Ralph is now able to walk again, although "his running days are done," said Irene. To keep active, Ralph connected with wheelchair racers in Calgary, found a coach and started training. Since then, he’s raced in marathons from Boston to New Orleans to Honolulu, all the while raising money for the Arthritis Society and Wheelchair Sports Alberta.

"In his marathoning days we’ve now raised about $47,000," said Irene.

And in case wheeling 26.2 miles wasn’t stressful enough on its own, Ralph decided a year ago to quit smoking.

"Ralph used to do all these marathons smoking," said Irene.

"He quit a year ago so I said, ‘You did so well smoking, so imagine what you can do now.’ "

On Sunday morning, the usual assortment of health issues kept volunteers in the medical bay busy, but there were no major problems, said marathon medical director Dr. Edward Pilat.

"There was a steady stream of people through the medical area, but we’re pleased this year at how things went," he said. "It’s a tribute to the runners — they were in good condition this year."

The most common problem was heat and dehydration, Pilat said.

"It was cool this morning, but the wind died down somewhat and that became a bit of a problem," said Pilat.

Last year, searing 30 C weather, combined with the humidex, forced marathon organizers to close the course early and pick up runners. Those conditions are known to marathon organizers as the "white" level.

This year, weather conditions briefly hit the ‘white’ level around 11 a.m. before dipping back down to ‘red,’ Pilat said.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca andrew.evans@freepress.mb.ca matt.preprost@freepress.mb.ca