STRATFORD, P.E.I. — Nancy Ripley has always been up for a new challenge.
The 66-year-old Stratford resident took up running, later got into cycling and swimming and combined the love for the three sports into triathlons, duathlons and ironmen competitions.
“It’s a challenge, which is really good for me. I like to be physically active,” a humble Ripley said. “I don't think about having to prove myself. I’m just doing it for me.”
She has a zest for staying active and having fun with others.
“I really would dread not being able to do anything. I love to garden. I love to walk, hike,” she said, and “I want to keep doing that.”
She estimates she has run about eight marathons, but it’s more about self-improvement.
“I never go out saying I have to win this. I’m always pushing myself to do a little better than I did before.”
Born and raised in Scotland, Ripley moved to Canada in 1989 with her husband and three children. They originally settled in Manitoba but moved across the country to New Glasgow, P.E.I., two years later.
In 2002, she caught the running bug.
“I saw an advert to run a marathon in Dublin in aid of the diabetes association,” she recalled. “By this time, my children were a bit older, and I thought I need to do something for me.
“I walked every day, but I’d never run, so I delved right into it and did the marathon in Dublin. … That got me running.”
The family farmed in New Glasgow until 2004. Ripley and her husband divorced, and she moved to Stratford.
“I had to kind of find myself again, so I took up a little bit of running again,” Ripley said.
She soon bought a hybrid bike and enjoyed it for a couple of years. Kelley MacQueen suggested she try a road bike. She did and took part in a few duathlons.
“I was just out for the social (aspect) and to challenge myself,” she said.
Later, she learned Jamie Whynacht was putting on a swimming clinic with Triathlon P.E.I. and decided to give it a shot.
“Little by little, I just plugged away at it. I’m not fast, but I can survive,” she said.
Corena Hughes would soon connect with Ripley. They would meet at the pool and Hughes would bring the workouts.
“She always would stay in the water and finish the workout,” Hughes said. “She is the most determined woman you will ever meet.”
Ripley has been participating in triathlons for about seven years.
After completing a half ironman in 2017, a friend asked if she wanted to do an ironman, consisting of a 3.86-km swim, 180.25 kms on a bike and a 42.2-km run, in Lake Placid, N.Y. She slept on it for a night before deciding to give it a try. Unfortunately, her friend had to withdraw, but Ripley pushed on.
“I kept on training and so Lake Placid in 2018 was my first ironman and I just loved it,” she said. “I loved the endurance.”
Ripley finished third out of 18 in her age group of 60-64.
She hasn’t slowed down.
“She’s relentless, really,” MacQueen said. “She trains. If she’s not biking, she’s running or at the pool swimming.”
In 2019, she ran the Boston Marathon in April, and completed the Subaru Ironman in Mount Tremblant, Que., in August in 15:42:22 to win her age group and qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, seven weeks later.
“It was quite the year,” she said.
The day of the world championships, her children, Sally, Andrew and Ross, were in Hawaii supporting their mother.
“It meant the world to me,” Ripley said.
She completed the course in 15:14:11, placing 14th out of 29 in her age group. She also earned enough points to achieve bronze ironman world athlete status.
Ripley said she has been fortunate to be surrounded by great people in the sport who have helped her along the way.
“They’re the most supportive athletes.”
Hughes appreciates the drive Ripley shows but also her love of the sport and staying physically active.
“I kept saying to her that whole year … I am getting more out of this than you are,” she said of 2019. “It’s so motivating to work out with someone that is so focused and committed. …
“The big thing I learned from Nancy and getting to know her, swimming with her and cycling with her, she does not let her age, her sex, (anything) slow her down or interfere. They are not obstacles.”
After completing her training in the pool, Ripley would head to the Island Gymnastics Academy, where she has worked for 12 years. She is the registrar and director of the pre-school program.
“She’s an inspiration,” said MacQueen, who first met her about 20 years ago in a spin class. “Not just for me, but for my little girls. They took gymnastics from her.”
Lea Rand, a founding member of the academy who recently retired, said Ripley is a strong team player, who is always willing to pitch in with activities like the Prince Edward Classic or painting the office.
Having someone on staff who is so dedicated to fitness has been good for the academy.
“The sport of gymnastics is a discipline, and Nancy is extremely disciplined in her pursuit of her physical excellence,” Rand said. “(She has) set a great example for all of us – for the staff and the athletes and parents.”
She said everyone followed Ripley’s activities during 2019.
“We were all really, really proud of her,” Rand said. “When you think of her training for the ironman and working a full week as well, delivering a physical program, it’s pretty amazing.”
Every now and again, Ripley looks back at photos from the first marathon in Dublin and smiles.
“It is so important that people make time and challenge (themselves),” she said.
“I would just encourage anybody, if you want to do something, just try it,” she added, noting the ironmen motto of ‘anything is possible’. “You can do anything you want.”
Did you know?
– Nancy Ripley was awarded Triathlon P.E.I.'s ironwoman of the year award in 2019.
– Ripley earned the ADL masters athlete of the year award at Sport P.E.I.’s annual awards ceremony earlier this year.
