The boys’s 80-plus age-group bracket ultimately weekend’s 2023 USATF 100-Mile Street Nationwide Championships provided precisely the thrill and inspiration that all of us want: an in depth end with 4 of the 5 octogenarian runners crossing the end line. The race was a part of Aravaipa Operating’s 2023 Jackpot Ultrarunning Competition.
David Blaylock, age 80, staged a comeback on the Hendersonville, Nevada, race, passing Edward Rousseau, age 83, within the last 5 miles to lock in a time of 29 hours, 47 minutes, and 29 seconds. Rousseau stayed robust and adopted up with a second-place age-group end in 30:09:08, simply over 20 minutes behind the winner.
A video posted on Aravaipa Operating’s Twitter account confirmed Blaylock doffing his cap and pointing a finger up into the blue Nevada sky as he entered the ending chute earlier than touchdown within the arms of his household.
David Blaylock is the 2023 @usatf 100 Mile 80+ Nationwide Champion in 29:47:29 @usatf_mut pic.twitter.com/eSjMlgL0no
— Aravaipa Operating (@AravaipaRunning) March 4, 2023
Additionally racing within the bracket had been Ian Maddieson, age 80, Denis Trafectanty, additionally age 80, and Todd Leigh, age 81. Maddieson and Trafectanty crossed the end line within the thirty eighth hour, whereas Leigh pulled out of the race with a heartbreaking seven miles remaining. All 5 runners are extremely skilled ultrarunners. Earlier than the occasion, it was reported that the lads’s 80-plus age-group bracket is likely to be the “most intriguing race of the weekend,” which rang true.
Over on the elite aspect, Jonah Backstrom was first of the lads at 14:11:03, with Sierre DeGroff sealing victory within the girls’s race in 15:59. Our March 6, 2023, This Week In Operating article covers the Jackpot Ultrarunning Competition’s front-of-the-pack finishes in additional depth.