Halifax’s Ryan Keeping drops out of 274-km run across P.E.I.

On Monday, Sept. 2, Ryan Keeping of Halifax set out along the Confederation Trail in P.E.I., determined to take on Canada’s 10th province—the only one left out of his trans-Canada fundraising run earlier this year. He aimed to set a new Fastest Known Time (FKT) for the 274-kilometre trail, but announced on Wednesday that he would be discontinuing his attempt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Ryan Keeping (@ryan.keeping)

Keeping’s goal of setting a new FKT required him to maintain an honest pace, a challenge quite different from his cross-Canada run, where his focus was not on chasing records but on meeting people and raising money for a cause close to his heart. The current FKT for the P.E.I. run, set by Denver’s Jeremy Bradford in 2017, stands at 46 hours and 26 minutes.

“When we had about 80 km left, I knew I was close to the FKT, so I picked up my pace,” Keeping said in an Instagram video. “There’s probably about a one percent chance this is going to work, and a 99 percent chance I’m going to break myself trying to do this. I knew it was risky, but I was going for the FKT.”

Earlier this year, Keeping ran 7,325 km across Canada in 99 days. He began on April 1 in St. John’s and finished in Victoria on July 7, raising CAD $286,000 for the Heart & Stroke Foundation. P.E.I. was the only province left out of his run, due to time constraints.

Halifax man completes run across Canada in 99 days

The 26-year-old was 35 hours into the run when he reached the 212-km mark. In an Instagram story on Tuesday evening, he shared an image of himself pausing his run to receive athletic treatment on his leg.

He says he has never backed out of an event, but ultimately needed to make the decision with his physical health in mind. “Clearly I’m not a quitter–I ran across an entire country,” said Keeping. “I think this is a little different… it’s my first time ever going for an FKT.”

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Ryan Keeping (@ryan.keeping)

“I tried my best today–it wasn’t my day. I had a couple of issues with my body, but we’re going to keep moving forward,” Keeping said. “I will 100 per cent be coming back to P.E.I. and setting this FKT–just not today.”

Keeping has a GoFundMe page open to raise funds to cover the costs of lodging, food, gas and bridge fares during his run. The fundraiser is not associated with any charity.