FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ed Whitlock, age 75, runs 18:45 to steal show at Nissan Foundation 5K;
takes aim at 3 hour mark for Toronto Waterfront Marathon
TORONTO. July 14th. On a warm evening [27 celcius at 7pm start time],
Danny Kassap of University of Toronto Track Club had a strong outing to
trounce his arch-rival Giitah Macharia of St.Catharines by 15 seconds, to
win the Nissan Foundation 5K at The Docks tonight. After battling back and
forth for the first 3km, Kassap broke away decisively, to claim his second
victory in the past 5 years on the flat, fast course and signal a timely
return to form. Newcomer to the Canada Running Series, Emily Tallon of
Kingston, took a great scalp in coming home first-woman ahead of Olympian
Emilie Mondor of Montreal, 16:40 to 17:05.
But it was Ed Whitlock, "The Master", who stole the show with an
electrifying 18:45 performance at aged 75. Gunning for Maurice Tarrant's
Canadian M75 record of 20:42, Whitlock destroyed the old mark. Running a
6:02 per mile pace, Ed placed 74th overall in a field of 1,114 finishers.
That is correct--6:02 mile pace at aged 75, on a course re-certified just
last year by an AIMS/IAAF 'Class A' measurer.
Over the past 3 years, Mr. Whitlock has received extensive global media
praise and innumerable accolades from his peers in the running community
for his distance running exploits. Last November, he was honoured at
ceremonies at the New York City Marathon as a "Runner's World Hero of the
Year", and labelled "The Master". He received this alongside such running
legends as Norway's Grete Waitz (9 time NYC Marathon winner) and young
Olympic stars Justin Gatlin and Lauryn Williams. (for story see
www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/en/news/Nov_14_05.htm)
Why all the excitement? Mr.Whitlock is the only person on the planet over
70 years of age to have run a marathon in under the magical 3 hour barrier.
He has done this now on three occasions—twice at the Scotiabank Toronto
Waterfront Marathon, where he set the Men's 70+ world record of 2:54:49 in
2004, and once in Rotterdam. It has been claimed that on recognized scales
of comparative, age-graded performances, Ed's 2:54 ranks as a greater
performance than superstar Paula Radcliffe's remarkable women's world
record of 2:15:25.
"I surprised myself a bit tonight with the 18:45," said the typically
modest "Master".
"I wasn't expecting to do quite this well. Since late February I have had
various problems which caused me to withdraw from the Rotterdam Marathon,
and miss several other races and a fair bit of training. I have no major
concerns at the moment and just this week, I have managed to get up to 3
hours of continuous running for the first time since February.
"My training could be described as simple, non scientific and unmeasured.
It basically consists of trying to run every day for as long as I can,
considering my current physical condition. When I feel ok and have enough
background, I run for 3 hours a day every day not taking note of the pace
or the distance run.
"I have followed this daily regime for several years now, not making any
allowance for age, but since I don't measure my pace I do not know how much
I have slowed down in training. When I was in my 40's my training was
different with more emphasis on quality, but then I was concentrating on
middle distance and I only dabble in that now.
"I am hopeful things will continue to go well until the Waterfront
[Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, September 24th]."
On September 24th, The Master will take a run at becoming the only person
on the planet over 75, to go under 3 hours. In 2004, Whitlock ran 18:22 at
the Nissan 5K, then his 2:54 at the Waterfront. Last year, his Nissan run
was only 19:06, and his Waterfront performance was a 3:02:41. Tonight's
18:45 would signal that the "sub 3" is a real possibility this Fall.
Elsewhere at the Nissan 5K, Michal Kapral, aka "The Joggler", had a great
time of 17:50, running and juggling 3 balls, but came up short of eclipsing
the 20-year old Guinness World Record of 16:55, that was set on the track,
without 1100 other runners to contend with. Undaunted, The Joggler claims
he'll be ready for the Toronto Waterfront Marathon also, where he is
preparing for a re-match with Zach Warren, "The Boston Joggler", after
their battle in Boston this spring, where Warren set the marathon joggling
World Record of 2:58:23!
Kassap is also confirmed for the Waterfront, and hopes to return to his
winning form of 2004.
Entries for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon & Half, on what is
shaping up to be an historic weekend, can be made online at
www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com) This will be the next Canada Running
Series event, and the penultimate race of the 2006 circuit.
Nissan Foundation 5K
Overall Male - 5km Awards
Place Time Number Lname Fname City
===== ======= ====== ============================ ============
1 14:18.2 2 KASSAP, DANNY TORONTO, ON {$300}
2 14:33.8 1 MACHARIA, GIITAH ST. CATHARINES, ON {$200}
3 15:14.2 18 CALDWELL, TREVOR TORONTO, ON {$100}
Overall Female - 5km Awards
Place Time Number Lname Fname City
===== ======= ====== ============================ ============
1 16:39.6 27 TALLEN, EMILY KINGSTON, ON {$300}
2 17:04.7 25 MONDOR, EMILIE MONTREAL , QC {$200}
3 17:05.8 26 ABOUNGONO, JOSIANE MILTON, ON {$100}
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