Patrick Nero has a demanding job as the athletic director at the University of Maine.

When he needs to clear his head, Nero heads out on the road for a good run.

On Sunday, Nero and UMaine assistant AD for media relations Brent Williamson will have plenty of time to mull things over when they team up to run the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

Four years ago, the thought of running a marathon would never have crossed Nero’s mind. He took up running only to realize he hated it.

What motivated him was the goal of doing a marathon.

“Before I started training, I had never run more than a mile,” admitted Nero, who was 35 when he hit the road.

Williamson, a former cross country and track and field performer in his native South Carolina, will be running a marathon for the first time.

The two men have fed off each other during their training that began last spring. They ran 3-6 miles four times and week and then did a longer run on the weekend.

They worked up to a 20-mile circuit from Mahaney Diamond on the UMaine campus to The Sea Dog in downtown Bangor, and back again. That was the final test before Toronto.

Toronto will be the fourth marathon in three years for Nero. He cut his teeth on the Dublin Marathon in the fall of 2001, then ran the Rock ‘n Roll Marathon in San Diego in June 2002 and then bounced back for the New York Marathon five months later, when he ran a personal-best 4:09.

Williamson said Nero’s experience in preparing for a marathon helped him decide to attempt Toronto. Nero said he never could have gotten ready for this run without Williamson running alongside him.

“I’ve got to be honest, if it wasn’t for Brent doing this training as well, I probably wouldn’t have completed it,” Nero said. “Having Brent there kind of keeps you going because you need somebody there that you can train with and that you can count on, and they can count on you.”

For Nero, the training for Toronto was much more difficult. While at the University of Miami, he was able to run in warm temperatures year-round.

In Orono, his training schedule was halted by the winter weather.

“It was almost like starting over again,” said Nero, who has dealt with another new training obstacle. “This was the first time I had to train with hills.”

Williamson has been bothered by a nagging injury of late, but said Wednesday he’s not giving up on the quest.

Nero said running also has benefits that go beyond the physical aspects.

“It’s a great mind-clearer,” Nero said. “We always run out and back, so what I try to do on the way out is think about what happened the week before and on the way back to try to organize my next week in my mind.”

Nero is expected to set the pace in Sunday’s race and Williamson is likely to follow his lead. Both hope they can make it all 26.2 miles.