WOW…
http://www.macleans.ca/gallery/
Ed Whitlock, Marathon Man
I think this is actually the third or fourth time he’s done it. Some other over 70 guy challenged him to a race…needless to say Ed came out on top again. I just wanna be still able to run at 70 never mind going sub 3 in a marathon
This guy is my new senior citizen role model. He and Hugh Hefner.
Taking nothing away from Mr. Whitlock (because he’d kick my butt) Rotterdam is probably the fastest marathon around… pancake flat and cool weather…
He also did it at the Toronto Waterfront marathon last year. It’s flat too, but it’s still 26.2 freaking miles! Ed is absolutely inspiring, especially for those of us who took up endurance sports late in life.
Dawn
In addition to his race times being inspiring, his training is also inspiring. He is incredibly consistent and runs a hell of alot of miles per week. What is even more amazing is that he does all these miles in a graveyard. Where many people on this forum seem to be needing some added stimulus to get them out the door (i.e. ipods, speed/distance monitors, fancy hr monitors etc etc) - myself included - he manages by keeping it simple to the point where he has to do many many laps of the cemetary each day. Truly inspiring.
I believe he didn’t just nudge under 3 hours while over 70 years of age, I believe he was something like 2’57’. 3 minutes (in my book) is quite under 3 hours.
I too admire his ability. He is a fellow Canadian, so of course he is outstanding 
Message to the Americans - it really is the water we are drinking.
Paul’s feats are indeed striking - but for my money, the most amazing senior runner of all-time was Oregon’s Clive Davies. Though his running career was cut short (in his early 70’s) by serious illness, he still holds 11 national age group records (six in 65-69 and four more in 70-74) and several world records.
One world record that may NEVER be beaten was his effort at the Portland Marathon on September 13, 1981; then 66 years old, Davies covered the certified course in 2:42:49. Two weeks later, at Lake Oswego, he covered the half-marathon in 1:21:41 - which, though still a national record for 65-69, was slower than his AVERAGE for two consecutive halfs just 14 days prior.
I didn’t know much about the guy - but perhaps there is a slowtwitcher who can fill us in. I do remember that the transplanted Welshman passed away in 2001.
Wow! That is impressive. Thanks for the trivia. 2:42:49 at 66!!! I wonder what the equivalent is for a 30 year old after age grading it? Would it be a world record? Sub 2 hour marathon?
I just did a bit of research and found out that he did not take up running until his 50’s. Yikes! What am I worrying about…I can head to the couch and watch tv for another 20 years! Yipppeeee!!! Screw running…I am starting to smoke and drink tomorrow. In the year 2025 I will become a born-again runner. Who’s with me?
I am still wrapping my head around this…
I wonder how much Clives times would have slowed down with ideal training over a 4 year period. I imagine it would have been possible for him to break 2’50’ when he turned 70. That’s allowing for almost 2 minutes slower per year. What do you think?
I happen to have in my possession the “Age-Graded Tables” handbook from the World Association of Veteran Athletes. The book gives you two ways to look at Davies race:
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A 66-year-old man gets a age-grading factor of 0.7888 for the marathon. If you convert Davies time to seconds, you get 9769 - and if you then multiply by 0.7888, it means he ran the equivalent of a 2:08:26. In 1981, that would have been a world record (Salazar may have gone a few seconds faster at NYC, but I think they established later that the course that year was short).
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Alternatively, they predict that the ultimate world record for a 66-year-old man would be 2:40:47. So, I guess it’s possible someone, some day, will beat Davies’ record - but it won’t be easy.
The Age-Graded Tables say the world record for a 70-year-old man should ultimately be 2:48:11. So, if Davies would have stayed healthy, it looks like he would have been capable of about 2:50-2:51 at age 70.
The only thing that leaves me curious about those tables is how can they say what a world record should be for a 70 year old man when no 70 year old man has run that fast? Things that make you go hmmmmmmm.
The man is damn impressive.
A few weeks after he first broke 3 hours in the 70+ category, he ran in a 15k I was in. He did 59:54, a 6:27 per mile pace. I daydream of doing a 5k at that pace…
But I’ve only been around half as long as him…so there’s hope.