Celebrating the life of Peterborough marathon runner David McConkey

Celebration of life planned for Dec. 10 in Peterborough after death at age 67 following battle with multiple myeloma

Like he did while running marathons, David McConkey pushed way past most people’s limits until the end.

Diagnosed with incurable multiple myeloma and given two to three years to live in November 2010, McConkey squeezed 12 more years of living out of his body before he died Nov. 16 at his Change Islands home in Newfoundland.

A major force in Peterborough’s running community for decades, McConkey, 67, moved to Newfoundland shortly after his diagnosis because he could access treatment quicker than in Ontario, said his sister Sue Mason.

He was inducted into the Peterborough and District Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

“He wanted to prove the doctors wrong,” Mason said.

He underwent numerous treatments, a bone-marrow transplant and experimental treatments and managed to maintain an active lifestyle, she said. He was involved in the Newfoundland running community and she said there is a movement afoot to rename a trail in his honour.

In the spring, he abandoned further treatment when doctors informed him it wouldn’t help.

“The doctors gave him two weeks to live and we figured he wouldn’t see Father’s Day in June,” she said.

“My daughter and one of his daughters and one of my sisters went out to see him in August and he was still going. They hiked along the trails and they said they were trying to keep up with him. They put him in a kayak so he could go kayaking in the ocean. He used every day he had to the fullest.”

By October, he was noticeably fading.

“It was heart-breaking to see someone who did marathons having to shuffle and not get around. At least he’s not suffering,” she said.

McConkey, a retired counsellor at Five Counties Children’s Centre, had a tremendous influence on the Peterborough running scene.

Mason said he had a similar spirit to one of his inspirations, Terry Fox, and the family has been helping to organize the local Terry Fox Run for 27 years.

McConkey participated in the prestigious Boston Marathon eight times. He also finished 33rd in the Athens, Greece, Peace Run Marathon in 1988 where he was the first Canadian to cross the finish line.

He completed many marathons including the Dublin, Ireland, Marathon in 2000 and served as an Achilles Guide Runner in numerous marathon races, including the New York Marathon, where he helped runners with disabilities finish the course.

He also ran in the Gay Games in Australia in 2002 and in several ultra-marathons at distances of 50 and 100 miles (80 to 160 kilometres) and even a continuous 24-hour run.

Another high point in his running career was completing the Canadian Death Race in 2003 in Grande Cache, Alta., where he ran 125 kilometres, climbed three mountains and was still able to sprint to a second-place finish. Five weeks later, he finished first in the Haliburton Forest 100 Mile Trail Run.

He was a founding member of both the Peterborough Frontrunners Club and the local Achilles Track Club and was awarded a lifetime membership in the Peterborough Road Runners Club in 2002.

He was also the Canadian representative for the International Frontrunners and was the Canadian flag-bearer for the International Friendship Run in New York in 2003 and 2004. He was an advisory board member with the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association.

McConkey is survived by his daughters Crystal, Jade and Jasmine, foster daughter Amanda Drewes, former spouse Rose, life partner Tony Braithwaite, sisters Sue Mason, Nancy McConkey and brother Gord McConkey.

A celebration of his life will be held Dec. 10 at 506 Charlotte St. from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m. Friends are invited to drop by. They are also organizing a run for the same day at 7 a.m. starting at the Otonabee River rail bridge behind No Frills.

The family is asking that, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to Myeloma Canada.