Gene Dykes attempts a 100-miler, five weeks after breaking his shoulder blade
The #ultrageezer, who broke Ed Whitlock's M70 marathon record on an unsanctioned course in January, will likely try for the official record in Toronto at STWM in October
Gene Dykes, the guy with the best chance of beating the late Ed Whitlock’s M70 marathon record, attempted the Maah Daah Hey 100-miler in the North Dakota Badlands on the weekend, five weeks after breaking his scapula when he fell during a 10K trail race in June. He DNF’d his latest race with “untamable nausea,” but not until he’d run 95 miles. And he pronounced it a “wonderful course.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0ZEhsLHM4F/
“Do as I say, not as I do,” wrote Dykes, who lives near Philadelphia, on his Facebook page a few days before the race. “Listen to your doctor, listen to your family, listen to those pockets of wisdom on Facebook. When your doc tells you that you won’t be able to train for six to 10 weeks (preferably 10) after fracturing your shoulder blade, don’t run a 100-mile trail race five weeks after the injury. But, that’s what I’m going to do anyway. The Maah Daah Hey Trail 100 in North Dakota. Because I’m an idiot.”
RELATED: RECORD ALERT: Gene Dykes breaks US 100-mile and 24-hour M70 records
Most of Dykes’s numerous fans would hardly agree with the last sentiment. Few doubt that it’s all the long, slow ultra-distance running that contributes to his speed in the road marathon, whatever they may think about 70-plus-year-olds running 100-milers. (Dykes is now 71.) He says the shoulder blade didn’t bother him at all during the race, other than when he swerved to avoid stepping on a rattlesnake.
RELATED: Kilian Jornet wins Hardrock 100 with arm in sling after dislocating shoulder mid-race
Dykes came to wide attention after narrowly missing Whitlock’s record (by 34 seconds) at Scotiabank Toronto last fall, but he was still the only 70-year-old besides Whitlock ever to run a sub-3 marathon. He then clocked 2:54:23 at the Jacksonville Marathon in December, thinking he’d broken the record by 25 seconds, only to discover that the race isn’t USATF-sanctioned. In April, he broke his own age-group course record at the Boston Marathon by almost 20 minutes, with a 2:58:50. He raced Big Sur two weeks later, and set a new age-group course record there as well, in 3:18.
Dykes plans to race the US 100K national ultra trail championships in Rock Springs, Texas three weeks before he tries for the record a third time at STWM on October 20. The time he has to beat is 2:54:48.
RELATED: Meet Gene Dykes, the 70-year-old who ran sub-3 at STWM 2018
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
