Running puts disease on defensive

LACOMBE — Bill Nielsen has run across Canada the equivalent of 10 times.

And those are just the kilometres he’s kept track of. Countless more kilometres have gone unrecorded.

“I’ve kept a record of 67,000 km,” chuckled the Lacombe resident during a break from a family get together on Boxing Day.

Perhaps the most amazing achievement is that Nielsen has run thousands of kilometres since he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2000.

One of the founding members of the Woody’s RV World Marathon, Nielsen plans to run his 100th marathon in the 10th annual race on May 18.

Nielsen, 67, has invited about 150 friends to join him for the race and he’s already received about 50 replies.

The disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's motor skills and speech.

It is characterized by muscle rigidity, tremors, a slowing of physical movement and, in extreme cases, a loss of physical movement.

He faced the news with strength and determination.

“You hear of so many people who feel it’s doom and gloom.

“Me, I just say it’s a little setback.

“I encourage people who have it to do exercise and keep the mind strong.

“Sure, physical exercise is harder and it’s a great challenge but it steadily progresses.

“You can have a greater quality of life if you exercise and keep at it.

“I’ve had it for more than six years and I’ve run 35 marathons in that time.”

Nielsen said he’s even convinced his Edmonton neurologist to start running.

“A positive mental attitude will go a long way.”

The 2008 Woody’s race committee has selected the Parkinson’s Society of Southern Alberta as its charitable organization for the year.

Nielsen used to run an average of 100 km a week before he developed Parkinson’s, which has curtailed his running to 60 or 70 km a week.

He chose Lacombe to settle because of all the “green space.”

During his time in town, Nielsen has taken running to a new level.

He personally developed about 25 km of trails. Most stretches he carved out of the bush with a Swede saw and an axe.

Nielsen, who grew up in Montreal, said he started running when it wasn’t popular.

A retired lab technician and risk management employee at the Lacombe Agricultural Research Centre, Nielsen said he was a “closet runner” when he first started.

“No adults ran in the ’60s and ’70s, so I ran at night.

“People thought you were crazy if you ran around streets,” he laughed.

His son Bill Jr. ran in high school and convinced his dad to help coach him and a few other runners.

Now Nielsen has coached runners from all over the province.

He tried his first marathon in 1981 but found it pretty difficult.

He didn’t run another for five years but has kept up a pretty steady pace since, running about five a year in all parts of North America.

He has run the famous Boston Marathon three times and the New York marathon, which had 38,000 runners, in November.

One of his most memorable marathons was in Canada’s far north. In 1995, he ran the Nanisiuk, N.W.T., marathon at the northern end of Baffin Island.

Nielsen said he tried that Thanksgiving to get a flight but they were overbooked so the airline told him he could take a flight to anywhere he wanted.

“I saw this ad for the race up there so I went. The race was in July and it was snowing. We ended up going over three mountain passes and I actually won the race.”

His 99th race will be in Arizona in mid-February. Bill and his wife Linda will spend about three months in Arizona this winter.

He says a key to preparation to run a marathon is to run one long stretch for two to three hours once a week.

His personal best marathon is two hours and 48 minutes.

He ran one under four hours this year.

“The disease affects my left gait,” says Nielsen, who is member of the Lacombe Parks and Recreation Board.

He says when running a marathon, it helps to remain positive.

He enjoys chatting and joking around with fellow runners.

“It changes your mindset and it takes away from the pain,” he says.

Contact Jack Wilson at jwilson@reddeeradvocate.com