When Winston Fisher was approached by a coworker about a “crazy race” that fit his character, he lunged at an opportunity that would take him all over the world.

The 44-year-old Syracuse University graduate went online to learn more about the World Marathon Challenge, which features seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. He was sold and signed up. He ultimately raised $60,000 for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

“I believe the best races I’ve ever done, you hear something that stimulates you and sounds scary,” Fisher said. “Then you sign up for it and figure out how to do it after.”

In this year’s World Marathon Challenge, Fisher placed 13 out of 22 finishers with an average time of 4:31:54, but that didn’t come without hurdles. With the sun blazing overhead and his calf cramping up, he struggled in Dubai, the sixth marathon. He came in with a time of 5:31:29, his worst finish of the series.

He bounced back well and had his best finish in the final leg in Sydney, Australia, where he finished in 3:50:51.

“It’s not a race that holds your hand,” Fisher said. “They expect you to take care of yourself. It’s not a luxury tour. This is not for weak people.”

While Fisher said there was no way to help jet lag, he was able to prepare for temperature differences to a certain degree. In some of the hotter locations, he had to run slower and take in more electrolytes because of increased sweat in hot temperatures.

Fisher wasn’t into running when he was a student at SU, but instead developed an affinity for endurance sports about four years ago. Since then, he participated in two bicycle races from San Diego to Annapolis, Maryland, which included a first-place finish in the eight-person team category. He also took part in a 24-hour bike ride in Central Park and multiple Ironman triathlons. Through it all, Fisher has represented TeamExtreme and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

Doing the challenge was not totally crazy like some people might assume, Fisher said, and he prides himself on aiming high. He added that the races were in controlled environments, so it didn’t pose much risk. He said jumping out of an airplane without a parachute would be out of control, but doing seven marathons in seven days wasn’t so bad.

Courtesy of Winston Fisher

“My question to people is, ‘Why aren’t you doing more of that?’” Fisher said. “Isn’t life something you’re supposed to grab by the veins, go full speed ahead, feel it, enjoy it and push it? I am not content doing boring stuff — I want to do cool stuff.”

The backbone of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund is TeamExtreme, which supports the foundation through fundraising, donations and volunteer work. Dave Winters, president of the Fund, said the more than 20-person team initially competed in events in large groups — as they did with the bike race across the country — but they decided it would be better to compete separately or in smaller groups for year-round publicity.

Team Extreme also champions the construction of treatment centers for military personnel suffering from traumatic brain injury. Five have opened so far nationwide and one more is under construction.

The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund was set up in honor of Fisher’s great uncle Zachary Fisher, who couldn’t serve in World War II because of a leg injury. Zachary, along with two of his brothers, formed Fisher Brothers real estate firm. Winston Fisher now serves as executive vice chairman of the firm. The Fisher family was ranked No. 157 on Forbes’ list of America’s richest families in 2015.

Fisher models his philanthropy after his family, including his great-uncle and parents, who have always taught him to give back whenever possible. Fisher serves on the board of the nonprofit, and also provides philanthropy to SU — which was used for the Fisher Center, an academic campus in New York City.

“We’ve always believed that it’s important to give back to the people who were at the front lines,” Fisher said. “There are people who usually have young kids, and who have risked their life for us. It’s important that they’re taken care of.”

As much as Fisher loves taking care of others with his philanthropy, he certainly took care of himself before the races. In preparation, Fisher ran about one to two hours per day during the week. He supplemented that with biking multiple times each week for about two or three hours and built up muscle and joint strength through strength training about 3 times per week. On weekends, he would do three long runs: a 13-mile run, a marathon and an 18-mile run, for example, over a three-day span.

Fisher enjoyed running outdoors and avoided the treadmill. He said he loved running in Central Park, and although its hilly terrain helped him build endurance, all of the courses in the challenge were flat.

“It’s great people watching. It’s a cool place,” Fisher said about training in Central Park. “As much as it’s the same run each time, it’s always changing.”

Fisher relays his love of fitness to his employees at Fisher Brothers and encourages physical fitness by providing a full gym at the office. There are also fitness classes three times each week, led by outside instructors.

Trainer Jimmy Riccitello, a former professional triathlete, is impressed by Fisher’s commitment to fitness. Riccitello said that some athletes he works with are not fully engaged, but Fisher, on the other hand, pushes himself in all events whether it’s biking, running or a triathlon.

Due to travel constraints, Fisher wasn’t able bring Riccitello with him around the world.

“I had to watch from afar — seven days in a row of shaking my head,” Riccitello said. “As well as I know him and as much as I know what he’s capable of, the guy still amazes me.”

The coach added that he told Fisher he may not get the sleep he wants, but shouldn’t dwell on it. Riccitello told Fisher he must be able to say, “Hey, I got what I got, and when the gun goes off, I have a job to do.” Fisher did just that before the race in Dubai, when he was running on extreme lack of sleep.

Fisher signed up for his first Ironman on a whim after reading a book about the race. Now, he completed seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. What’s next for Fisher is unclear, but he is always looking for a challenge.

“I have a belief that the only thing that stop you from doing something is your mind,” Fisher said. “If you say you can do something, you can do it. If you say you can’t do it, you can’t. You have to have a desire and belief that you can accomplish things.”

Graphic by Kiran Ramsey | Design Editor

Published on February 12, 2017 at 10:18 pm

Contact Kenneth: kmintz@syr.edu