Fighting nasty injury, Sault runner finishes Tokyo Marathon

Sault marathon runner Rick Fall — well-known for his exploits as a long-distance runner — is basking in a glow of satisfaction after completing the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday, March 3.

Fall is now one of just 736 Canadians to have completed all six Abbott World Marathon Majors held annually in Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, New York City and Tokyo and was awarded the prestigious Abbott World Marathon Major six-star medal.

While completing any marathon is a challenge — a marathon being 42 kilometres (26 miles) in length — Fall’s Tokyo Marathon experience was exceptionally difficult and painful.

While training for Tokyo in late January, he suffered a tear in his left Achilles tendon.

The Achilles tendon is a band of soft tissue that links the muscles from the calf to the heel.

Undaunted, Fall continued training while wearing a walking boot.

“I was determined to get to the starting line in Tokyo at least, injury or not, even though I didn’t know if I’d be able to finish,” Fall said in a recent phone interview with SooToday.

About seven kilometres into the Tokyo Marathon, he began to feel the pain increase.

“I slowed down. It got worse and at about the 10k mark I called my wife and friends who were travelling with us to bring my boot to me. At the 15k mark, the pain subsided a little bit so I decided ‘I’ll keep going without the boot.’ By the time I got to 32k I was in pain. At 32k I put the boot back on and I tried running with the boot but it just wasn’t working for the pain so I just walked really fast, as fast as I could for the last 10k to the finish line.”

Fall was able to finish the marathon ahead of the seven-hour cutoff time.

“It was the longest marathon I had ever done time-wise. It ended up being six hours, 18 minutes and 56 seconds. I’m proud I was able to finish it under those conditions. Had I not taken the boot off at the 15k mark I probably wouldn't have made it before the cutoff time.”

“It was like a knife going through my tendon,” Fall said, describing the pain he felt on the streets of Tokyo.

“I’d stop and start hobbling again. On a pain scale of one to 10, the pain at times was 10-and-a-half, most of the time it was about a six or seven. When I got finished it was still painful but the joy of finishing was overwhelming. It was a weight off my shoulders just to get it done. It brought tears to my eyes - but not from the pain - to finish it. To know that I’ve got the six world majors completed is outstanding for me.”

Fall’s first major was the Chicago Marathon in 2013.

He then ran in Boston in 2017, Berlin in 2018, New York City in 2019 and London in 2023.

“Tokyo’s one of the hardest marathons in the world to get into. It was the sixth of the world majors that I needed to complete all six. The trip was paid for and arranged and friends from BC were coming with me and my wife Colette so I definitely had to go and give it a try. I knew that a lot of people were cheering me on to get that sixth major marathon done,” Fall said.

Stating that fellow runners and spectators were supportive and cheered him on as he completed the Tokyo Marathon, Fall was greeted by wife Colette and friends Paul and Colleen Slade at the finish line.

The four spent two weeks in Japan after the marathon and enjoyed some sightseeing.

“Japan is a lovely place. It’s unbelievable. It’s way beyond what I thought. There’s the Tokyo Tower. It’s quite impressive. There’s the Emperor’s Palace where the marathon finished. That was quite cool. We went to Osaka, a number of different temples and shrines,” Fall recalled.

Now back home in the Sault, Fall said he will be continuing physiotherapy, going on five-kilometre walks while wearing a walking boot and hoping to be back into running by July.

Fall said he may take part in the Athens Marathon, an annual run from the Greek town of Marathon to the Greek capital city.

Legend states that marathons had their origin in 490 BC when a messenger named Philippides ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greeks were victorious over the invading Persians.

“I’m hoping to be able to train and get to that one in 2025. Sydney, Australia is supposed to be putting one on as a major. That would be the seventh world major. I think I’ll probably try to get there and do that one as well.”

“My body’s sometimes telling me to slow down. I’ll just take longer to do these marathons,” chuckled Fall, now 64.

Born and raised in Duncan BC, Fall moved to the Sault in 1988 to work as a pilot for NorOntair. He then started up his own furniture repair business before returning to school to become a teacher, working for both major English language school boards in the Sault and area.

He has enjoyed running since his high school days and started his long-distance running career in 1980.

Fall ran his first marathon in Vancouver in 1981.

While continuing to run shorter distances, he took a break from marathon running before lacing up his shoes to run a marathon in Sault Michigan in 2010.

Locally, Fall is well-known for his 2021 run from British Columbia to Sault Ste. Marie.

He ran for three-and-a-half months and 3,800 kilometres to raise funds for Make-A-Wish Canada and Childhood Cancer Canada. 

“I averaged almost a marathon a day for 100 running days with some days off in between and I was able to raise $100,000. Both Make-A-Wish Canada and Childhood Cancer Canada are still dear to my heart,” Fall said.

“It’s exhilarating to know I’ve done the six major marathons. I know of a lot of other people who have it on their radar to get them done but some just don’t have the chance to get to some of these places. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been able to combine running with a travel bug.”