Remarks given by Esmond Mah at the dedication ceremony of the Sy Mah memorial statue, Olander Park, Sylvania OH, September 13, 2002

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Good evening everybody and a special greeting to my fellow ultrarunners. I am Esmond Mah of Toronto, Sy's nephew.

Sy and I are both from the small town of Bashaw, Alberta where my grandfather settled early in the 20th century. I didn't see much of Sy in my early years because when I was growing up there, he was living in Toronto.

But I did hear the stories about him: he had a reputation of being very active, energetic and fun-loving. At University he would party all night, get a couple of hours sleep and write an exam in the morning.

In 1980, I was living in Toronto and Sy was living here in Toledo. I drove a Volkswagen Beetle back then and Sy had a Volkswagen van. By chance we both happened to be at a VW repair place in Toronto on the Easter weekend of 1980. I wasn't running then, but in the back of my mind had a desire to run ONE marathon. So Sy easily persuaded me to start training for a relay race that was to take place later in the summer.

So that was how Sy got me started running. I would often join him, his running friends and his students to travel far and wide to marathons in places like Rockford IL, Iowa City, Boston, and Ottawa.

Part of the fun in traveling with Sy was the eating adventures. He would find these all-you-can-eat buffet restaurants where he’d amaze everybody with his enormous appetite. Very impressive for a guy who was only 5’7 and 117 lbs.

In the 14 years since he died, I have carried on in Sy’s spirit by doing a lot of running events. Many have involved travel on this continent and Europe. But no matter where I go, be it Saskatchewan, France or California, usually somebody comes up to me and tells me that he or she once ran with Sy and what a great experience it was to meet him.

He would love to get everyone involved. He’d get people, especially kids, out skiing, swimming, cycling and canoeing. Putting some life into their lives.

Sy did 524 marathons and ultras in his lifetime. But one of his most memorable and significant events was one he did not finish. That was the Spartathlon in Greece, a very difficult race of 152 miles. Sy was invited to participate in this event in recognition of his role in promoting the sport of distance running. The Greeks publicly honored him for his love of competition. Sy knew that competition was a vehicle to bring out the best in all the participants and not just a way to determine a winner.

And so it is with much fondness, admiration and pride that we remember Sy. I want to express, on behalf of Sy's family, our appreciation to John Simon and the Toledo Road Runners for persevering with the Sy statue project and bringing this fitting monument to completion. It took a long time. But we distance runners know that some things do take a long time. And that they are worth it.

Thank you.