Running Mania

I'm sad to say that I have just heard that Ed Whitlock has died.

He passed away at Princess Margaret Hospital of prostate cancer. He was an inspiration to a lot of us and will be greatly missed.

The motivation, the inspiration that I take from Mr. Whitlock is not the literal - you can run marathons into your 80s or beyond. But instead that do what you want to do and for as long as you can do it and the possibilities may be endless. From everything I read, he just loved doing the same route in the same manner and did not need nor care for over complicating it. We can get to a point where we HAVE to run a tempo because it is Tuesday and the time, distance and pace are all carefully measured and prescribed. Then on Wednesday it is ... But again, my impression of Ed was his philosophy was go out and run and let that be your guide to what races to do and not the other way around.

Crud. I think that this weekend's long run is going to be a lot of loops without a hint of ego or self-pity.

ian wrote:Crud. I think that this weekend's long run is going to be a lot of loops without a hint of ego or self-pity.

A few loops of the local cemetery are in order.

Sorry. A legend.....

Such an inspiration!

.

Shreck wrote:Sorry for going off topic

Way out of line, in my opinion. An 86 year-old dying of cancer is hardly an unnatural tragedy that warrants proselytizations about how best to eat and exercise. There are other places on this board for you to post that. Hopefully the mods will remove these posts so that this thread can return to being a respectful tribute.

ian wrote:

Shreck wrote:Sorry for going off topic

Way out of line, in my opinion. An 86 year-old dying of cancer is hardly an unnatural tragedy that warrants proselytizations about how best to eat and exercise. There are other places on this board for you to post that. Hopefully the mods will remove these posts so that this thread can return to being a respectful tribute.

+1

(Also statitiscally ALL men will get prostate cancer if they live long enough.)

Sad to see Ed go. He was a true inspiration.

I would love to live and run to 86, setting records right up to the end.

I couldn't possibly hold any runner in higher esteem. The way he handled his success and notoriety was such a breath of fresh air. He got famous for doing something special... and then just kept doing it. No "Marathon Grandpa" gimmicks, no run selfies, no "raising awareness" scams, no pretending he had a secret formula. Ed Whitlock was the genuine article and I feel lucky to have witnessed a part of his life.

very sad news.

I was in the starting chute for the Robbie Burns Run this past January, only a few feet away from Ed Whitlock, when he acted as the race starter. I remember thinking he looked quite frail, but never having seen him in person, I didn't suspect that he was not well. I looked for him after the race but did not see him.

I regret that I never had the chance to actually meet and speak with him. He was a real gentleman and will be missed.

I never met him, but what an inspiration!

Definitely a legend due to his age group records but also for the way he conducted himself. He just loved to run and you never saw any "look at me" type behaviour from him. A real sad loss.

RIP Ed.

5km wrote:I was in the starting chute for the Robbie Burns Run this past January, only a few feet away from Ed Whitlock, when he acted as the race starter. I remember thinking he looked quite frail, but never having seen him in person, I didn't suspect that he was not well. I looked for him after the race but did not see him.

He was a very slight man to begin with.

I always just expected that he would keep running and setting records forever. Very sad loss to the running community.

La wrote:
I always just expected that he would keep running and setting records forever. Very sad loss to the running community.

+1

Was patiently waiting for him to start obliterating those 90-94 records. What a sad loss to (Canadian) running.

When I go to run loops of the nearby cemetery, I tell my husband that I'm 'going to get my Ed Whitlock on'. He knows where I'll be.

Loops will probably happen this weekend.

+ 1

May his soul rest in peace!

dgrant wrote:I couldn't possibly hold any runner in higher esteem. The way he handled his success and notoriety was such a breath of fresh air. He got famous for doing something special... and then just kept doing it. No "Marathon Grandpa" gimmicks, no run selfies, no "raising awareness" scams, no pretending he had a secret formula. Ed Whitlock was the genuine article and I feel lucky to have witnessed a part of his life.

Many excellent tributes here. I was lucky to meet and chat with him at the Calgary Marathon a couple of years ago. He and I discussed the course and the difficulties of running different types of marathon routes. He was and is a definite inspirations for me!

A true runner in the "old school" mould. Some of his running shoes were almost as old as he was. I remember running alongside him many years ago in a night stage of the Cabot Trail Relay. We ran for about a kilometer and then he changed gears and quietly disappeared into the night. He will be sorely missed.

Very sad. Spoke to him a couple of times and he was always so humble and gracious. It was amazing to watch him run too. Incredible. He was still so fast, even while he was battling cancer. Super impressive.

Jwolf wrote:Sad to see Ed go. He was a true inspiration.

I would love to live and run to 86, setting records right up to the end.

An incredible man, inspiring many Canadians and runners around the world to continue running for as long as we can!

dgrant wrote:I couldn't possibly hold any runner in higher esteem. The way he handled his success and notoriety was such a breath of fresh air. He got famous for doing something special... and then just kept doing it. No "Marathon Grandpa" gimmicks, no run selfies, no "raising awareness" scams, no pretending he had a secret formula. Ed Whitlock was the genuine article and I feel lucky to have witnessed a part of his life.

Well said David!

Doonst wrote:

dgrant wrote:I couldn't possibly hold any runner in higher esteem. The way he handled his success and notoriety was such a breath of fresh air. He got famous for doing something special... and then just kept doing it. No "Marathon Grandpa" gimmicks, no run selfies, no "raising awareness" scams, no pretending he had a secret formula. Ed Whitlock was the genuine article and I feel lucky to have witnessed a part of his life.

Well said David!

Indeed. I hope everything is going well, Sheldon!