Ed Whitlock the Fearless Competitor: 800 was his first in many years

Ed during 10K WR at nationals. Photo by Doug Smith

Ed during 10K WR.

Who runs marathons at world-class levels and then challenges the world-record holder at 800 meters? Insane question, right? Well, it’s just another day at the office for M85 superhuman Ed Whitlock. In response to queries after his double WR weekend, Ed graciously satisfied my shameless curiosity on his half-mile: “It was my first 800m race in many years,” he said. “I did run a 800m leg of a 4X800m relay two or three years ago in around 3 minutes. For Sunday’s race, I was hoping to stay close to Earl Fee and have a good race with him on the finishing straight, but he gained a substantial gap on me in the first 100, which then remained substantially the same for the remainder of the race. He won by about 6 seconds in 3:21.”

Other exchanges in a quickie Q&A:

Masterstrack.com: Which is better — your 1500 mark this weekend or your recent mile WR?

Ed Whitlock: The 1500 was 5 to 10 seconds better, making allowance for distance.

Were you surprised by the 10K, which lowered the old WR by close to 2 minutes? How did you pace yourself? Any help from younger runners?

Very tough long-distance running conditions for the 10,000 on Friday, very hot and humid with a troublesome breeze. My seed time was 50 minutes, but I only

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held on to that ventolin online pace for about 4 laps, then gradually lost time and ended up just over a minute slower.

I ran by myself after the first few laps, The runner in front of me was 3 1/2 minutes ahead and the runner behind was 2 1/2 minutes adrift. The various photos on the CMA website show I was having a tough time.

Any more record attempts this year on the track? Any road races coming up? What distances?

I think that’s it for the track. Probably a 5K and 10K on the road. Maybe something longer as well, depending.

At the end of this season, you’ll have 21 listed world track records indoors and out. Which track WR means the most to you?

I think the most significant is my M70 marathon record of 2:54:49 at age 73. I wish I could get as relatively fit again as I was early that fall.

How are you feeling today physically — any aches, pains, injuries? Overcome any issues over weekend?

My training for the past three years has been sporadic with repeated time off for various aches and pains. I am currently dealing with a sore shoulder and neck, which has been around for over a month now. Apart from that, my legs are OK, if a little stiff from the weekend’s exertions.

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August 16, 2016

2 Responses

  1. Duncan Greenshields - August 18, 2016

    Ed’s previous 800 was the M80 4×800 World Record at Varsity Centre in Toronto in 2013. Here’s a clip of the handoff to anchor Earl Fee

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYi_2opXp3g

  2. Manuel Alonso - August 25, 2016

    El dia 9 de Julio en Castellón (España) hice récord del Mundo de 1.500m. M80 con una marca de 5:47.35
    Estaba en 5:48.93 y lo tenia desde el año 2011
    Ed Whitlock.
    Mi nombre es Manuel Alonso
    Nacido en Madrid (España) el dia 21/03/1936

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