Most Canadians probably don’t know this, but the record for the fastest marathon ever belongs to a 29-year-old from Ottawa.

Wheelchair racer Josh Cassidy earned that title with a blistering time of one hour, 18 minutes and 25 seconds at the 2012 Boston Marathon.

It’s a really cool title, but Cassidy has never sat back to relax and enjoy it.

After a disappointing London Summer Games, he’s training harder than ever, looking for success at the 2015 Toronto Parapan Am Games, on his way to the Rio Paralympics.

He’s getting stronger, but so is the competition, and in wheelchair racing nothing is ever guaranteed.

David Weir showed that most recently. He beat the world-record holders to win four gold medals — 800-metre, 1,500-metre, 5,000-metre and marathon — for Britain at the 2012 London Games.

“No one would have predicted one person to come away with four and they were all by just a little bit,” said Cassidy, who races those distances.

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An elite runner wouldn’t be competitive in such vastly different distances — 800-metre up to a marathon — but wheelchair racing is different.

It’s a power and endurance sport that’s more comparable to speed skating or rowing than running.

“In a final sprint in a marathon you hit almost the same speed you would in a final sprint in a 1,500-metre,” Cassidy said.

Developing the ability to kick into an extra final gear in the final metres of the race is what Cassidy has been working on since the 2008 Beijing Games.

His strengths have always been his endurance and ability to maintain a high-end average speed. But he wants a stronger final sprint to complete the “full package” needed to win at the world’s biggest events.

Working on his speed has also netted him a national team spot for the 4 x 400-metre relay team heading to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games this summer. At those games in 2010 Cassidy won a bronze medal in the 1,500m.

Para athletes have always struggled to get the same attention as their able-bodied counterparts, and Cassidy is hoping that the combination of the wildly successful London Paralympics, which drew record crowds and TV viewership, and having the Parapan Ams in Toronto will help change that.

“Paralympic or Olympic? Call it what you want. I’m an athlete,” is the tag line on his website.

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Parapan Am spectators will get to see 15 sports from athletics to wheelchair rugby that most people have never even see on television.

Competing in Toronto also gives Cassidy something he’s never had before. He travels the world to compete but rarely races in front of a crowd full of family, friends and supporters.

“This will be the biggest games I’ve ever competed in on home soil. I’m really looking forward to that,” he said, grinning.

“I’ve always been a little jealous of hometown athletes having a whole stadium screaming for them. It’ll be really cool to experience that.”

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