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Pretty fast in his own right at age 50, University of Delaware professor and CRR Bill Farquhar has followed his kinesiology and applied physiology research into the realm of a world-class septuagenarian runner.
On April 15, Gene Dykes, at age 71, became a record-breaker in his age group at the Boston Marathon again this year, clocking an absurd 2:58:50. Back in December, he had ran an even faster marathon—2:54 and change.
CRR Bill Farquhar (left) observes Gene Dykes pushing himself to exhaustion on the treadmill during a research session (UD photo).
Funded with grants from NIH and the American Heart Association, Farquhar and his colleagues at UD and the Mayo Clinic began physically investigating Dykes to find out how he’s managing to run this fast at his age. Their findings were recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
One basic assessment from treadmill sessions is that Dykes has an abnormally high VO2 max, a measure of the facility with which the body processes oxygen during exercise. “Most people get to 75, 80, 85 percent of that physiological ceiling. He seems to be chugging along 90 percent the whole way,” Farquhar said. “He is able to get closer to and hold his max. Most people get closer and fatigue.”
Farquhar now has a good personal target goal for a couple decades down the road.
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> For the technical stuff, see NEJM article
Speedster CRR Andrew Weber, who will turn 40 next year, had been chipping away at the goal of running a marathon in under three hours. This past weekend, he accomplished that feat in the City of Brotherly Love, completing the Philadelphia Marathon in 2:59:15. He placed 337th overall out of the 9,509 finishers and 36th in the 35-39 age group.
CRR Keith Crispin was not too far behind, placing fourth in the same age group in a 32:48.
In the ultra-windy Philly Marathon, CRR Andrew Weber clocked in at 3:27:39, placing 1,000th overall out of 7,761 participants.
An honorable mention goes to one of the newest of our crew, CRR Flora Poindexter, who completed her 26.2-mile journey in 6:09:01. This was her first marathon.
In the 26.2-mile race, CRR Andrew Weber finished 2nd in the 35-39 age group and 15th overall (out of 345 finishers), covering the marathon distance in a stellar 3:02:47 (under 7 minutes/mile)! Weber was the third Delaware resident to finish. CRR Barret Michalec finished 10th among the 35-39s and 46th overall in 3:27:19.
In the half-marathon, CRR Dan Weile took 3rd in the 40-44 age group and finished 41st overall (out of 892 finishers) in a fast 1:35:04. CRR Tripp Shenton finished 2nd among his peers in the 55-59 age group and 83rd overall in 1:43:25.
On Saturday in the Delaware Marathon Running Festival 5K, CRR Diane Kukich won the 60-69 age group, coming in 15th overall (out of 115 finishers) in 23:55. This was Kukich’s best 5K time in five years.
Three Creek Road Runners competed in last Sunday’s Philadelphia Marathon. Leading the way for our group was CRR Andrew Weber, who was aiming for three hours but “hit the wall” and faded to a still-respectable 3:31:13.
CRR Brian Bahnson completed the course in 3:47:02, and CRR Shawn Alexander finished in 4:26:27. CRR Michelle Parent did the Philly Half Marathon, finishing in 2:5:54.