Okotoks resident Dave Proctor ran his way to breaking a pair of world records late last month.

Proctor supported the Rare Disease Foundation at the Outrun Rare Scotiabank Calgary Marathon Expo by breaking the longest distance ran on a treadmill over 12 hours at 153.8 km, and setting the fastest time covering 100 miles on a treadmill at 12 hours and 32 minutes.

Three years ago Proctor also broke the 24 hour World Record for running on a treadmill by putting in a distance of 260 km.

He says gearing up for an event of this magnitude includes a great deal of mental preparation.

"My mileage going in was really quite good, I think I was running 200- 230 kilometres a week. I was running more interval training, so a lot more speed work than I've ever done before. I knew that this was going to 10 per cent physical and 90 per cent physical, so I needed to be in a very, very good space, so really a lot of it was having breakfast with my family and laughing."

Aside from psychical recovery, a person's mental state also takes a hit.

"You get mentally blown out," says Proctor. "Because your endocrine system is completely in shambles. Whatever was up is now down, whatever was right is now left, and you're trying to make sense of things that don't make sense, so understand that this too shall pass, get you sleep, eat your food, don't forget to laugh, and be close to your friends."

His 10-year-old son Sam has a rare disease and Proctor says he has been a huge inspiration.

"He saw all throughout the day the ups and downs, so to be able to share that moment with him, I said 'Sam, I love you' and all I remember was him saying 'Dad, I love you more', and then I just turned to him and I said 'that's impossible.' It's just one of those moments that I'll never ever forget. Any dad listening loves their children more than anything in the world and we will do anything, and unfortunately in my circumstance I do have to do something because we need to create some change for RARE in Canada."

Proctor adds he is grateful for the support from his family and friends, coach, and physiotherapist.

 

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