It was probably more running around, but from a very young age Pardeep enjoyed running. In fact, Pardeep was only seven and in grade 2 when he received the Marvin Heights Marathon award for running eighteen (18) kilometers that year during school. Then in grade six Pardeep participated in the Brandon Gate Marathon and finished second in Peel.
He kept up his running in middle school and had a best time of 3:23 for the kilometer and continued to run cross country. In high school, Pardeep was part of the Golden Mile club and ran a 5:02 mile.
Running was a great way for Pardeep to keep in great conditioning for the various sports he played. It even came into use when he had to apply to Peel Regional Police for the applicant fitness test when Pardeep ran a class best of 7:51 for the 1 ½ mile, and he went on to receive the Ontario Police Fitness Award for every year.
The running bug never left Pardeep and he used it to raise money for various causes and do some fun activities such as the world’s highest stair race/climb – the CN Tower for both the United Way Toronto and the World Wildlife Fund.
The ultimate combination for Pardeep of running and charity came in the form of a marathon! Pardeep’s first marathon was the Walt Disney World Marathon in Florida where he participated for the Joints in Motion team in support of the Canadian Arthritis Society.
Pardeep could never shake off the running as he pursued his ultimate personal fitness goal and achievement…to race in the only marathon in the world that requires a qualification – the Boston Marathon.
This pinnacle had many ups and downs for Pardeep. This included running a personal best of 1h23min for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront 1/2 Marathon and hitting the marathon wall on three separate attempts. Pardeep eventually gave up on his attempt to qualify for the Boston. Fortunately for Pardeep, the Adidas poster boy, Fauja Singh was not done or satisfied breaking world marathon records in his 90’s and he had one marathon race when he turned 100. Having the opportunity to join Fauja’s team during the marathon inspired Pardeep to reignite his Boston dream.
Pardeep finally qualified for the Boston Marathon with a time of 3h09min, and he competed in the 2016 Boston Marathon.
Pardeep’s love for running helped him excel in many other sports including soccer, tennis, badminton, wrestling, boxing, track and ball hockey.