When Rick Rayman competed in the first Blue Nose International Marathon in 2004, he had an incredible 130 marathons under his belt.
Now, the 61-year-old Toronto dentist is back in Halifax after completing his 190th race last week. After running the Blue Nose this Sunday he’ll be off to Buffalo for another race next week.
Astoundingly, Rayman has been running outdoors for at least 30 minutes — or three miles — per day for 29 years and five months. That’s over 10,000 consecutive days of running regardless of weather, injuries, or marathons the previous day.
Rayman says he’s still competitive, but not as much as he used to be. He used to be able to break two hours and fifty minutes regularly. For this Sunday he’s expecting more along the lines of four and a half hours.
The last time he was in Halifax was for the 2005 marathon, for which the weather was so bad the MacDonald Bridge was closed and the race rerouted.
“Of 190 marathons it was the worst weather conditions I’ve ever run in,” he said.
So it’s perhaps a bit surprising that he still lists Halifax as one of his favourite destinations, not just for the race but for the city.
