Scott Radley: Burlington triathlete plans to ascend Sydenham Hill 86 times for charity this Saturday

A few years ago during one of her trips back to Dundas to spend a few years training for the Olympics, cyclist Clara Hughes got reminiscing about the Sydenham Hill. Specifically, how much of a killer it is.

The multiple medallist explained how 10 times a day she'd ride up the roughly kilometre-long route with the nasty 11 per cent incline and then barely crawl back home when she was done because she was so exhausted.

Not sure what she'd say about Patricia Pedersen's plan to pedal to the top 86 times on Saturday.

That's right, 86.

I'm going to have amazing legs after," the 52-year-old says. I may not be able to walk but my legs will be in great shape."

Yes, the Burlington native is serious. No, she isn't a masochist. No more than anyone who does Ironman triathlons. She tolerates pain but doesn't love it. But this is about something different.

Her friend has been battling pancreatic cancer. It's a tough disease that claims 92 per cent of patients within a year of diagnosis. Yet Lara Pawlowicz is apparently tougher than most because she's been taking it on for six years.

This summer, the pair - along with Pawlowicz's 18-year-old son - were planning to do a relay triathlon. Each would take one leg. It was through the sport that they'd met so it seemed appropriate.

But the health challenges have turned out to be just too great and her friend had to pull out. That hit Pedersen hard.

I was kind of sad and I decided I would do something crazy to honour her battle," she says.

But what? What could she do to attract attention to the illness while raising a bit of money to help fight it? What could be bold enough and massive enough? The answer came one day while she was surfing around online and came across a story about some folks who've Everested" a hill.

Everested?

Yup, they cycled up it again and again and again until they'd climbed the cumulative height of the world's tallest mountain. All 8,849 metres of it. Including Jacob Jamnicky, who did it on the Sydenham Hill two years ago.

Bingo.

It's at this point we should mention that Pedersen is an unlikely candidate for this. As a kid she played some sports but the one she hated? Running. It wasn't until she was 40 that she bought a pair of running shoes and did a 5K in Burlington.

I pulled a Forrest Gump," she says. I just kept running."

Eventually she tried a duathlon, which landed her on the couch for three days with dehydration. After she'd recovered, a friend said she should try a half-Ironman. Because, why not?

Just one small problem.

I could float but I did not swim."

No matter, Pedersen learned. Today she's finished eight Ironman triathlons (a four-kilometre swim, a 180-kilometre bike ride and a 42-kilometre run). So having done all that, she's confident she'll be able to do the 86 climbs.

She'll start at 4 a.m. on Saturday and go until she's done. She figures it'll take about 18 hours. Maybe longer, she's not sure. She's never done more than 10 climbs in a training exercise. But she'll do it, she says. She has to. There's no option.

She's got her fingers crossed for cloudy skies with no wind and temperatures around 20 or 21 degrees. Yet the forecast calls for it to be a scorcher with temperatures feeling like 37. Plus the chance of heavy thunderstorms and strong gusts. Just to make it that much tougher.

Doesn't matter. There's an end, she says. She just has to keep reminding herself that each climb is one closer to finishing. The next day she can rest. It's not forever.

Besides, it's not all tough.

I hate going up," she says. But I love coming down."

Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com