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HENDERSON, Nev. — With four miles to go at the USA Track and Field 100-mile Championships, 80-year-old David Blaylock, of Salt Lake City, passed the leader of his age division and was on his way to a championship win on March 3. The final six miles were a nail-biter for spectators, who watched Blaylock inch away from the competition to win the title in a time of 29 hours, 47 minutes and 29 seconds.
Not only did the octogenarian win in Henderson, Nevada, he finished the distance faster than he had in years, snagging a new age group record for the championship race. His accomplishment has garnered national attention and accolades from runners and nonrunners alike.
If you were to ask Blaylock, though, he would say he was just doing what he loves alongside people he highly respects.
David Blaylock is the 2023 @usatf 100 Mile 80+ National Champion in 29:47:29 @usatf_mutpic.twitter.com/eSjMlgL0no
— Aravaipa Running (@AravaipaRunning) March 4, 2023
"It didn't seem like much to me with all those people in front of me," he joked. "There were five of us in our age group who started the race. We were all just plugging along, and we were all facing issues. It was our goal for everyone to get to the end, and four of us did. The reason I was able to finish as fast as I did was because I was chasing 'Fast Eddie.'"
"Fast Eddie" is 83-year-old Edward Rousseau, of Minnesota, of whom Blaylock speaks extremely highly. Blaylock said that he didn't think that he had a chance of beating Rousseau, but when he learned that he was within reach, he decided to pick up the pace.
"With 80 miles left, my crew told me that Fast Eddie was 1.5 miles ahead," he recalled. "The race was on, but I had to pick up the pace. If we were close at the end, I knew Fast Eddie was going to win."
The course is 85 laps of a 1.17-mile loop around a park that consists mostly of pavement and some flat dirt. Due to the nature of the course, it allows for runners to have a crew nearby during the whole race who can see where they are in comparison to other runners. Blaylock explained that while it was helpful to have his crew let him know how close he was to Rousseau, it really came down to grit and willpower.
"My crew tried to coach me a little bit, but at that point it's just a death match," Blaylock said. "It's man against man, person against person. Somebody's going to grit it out. There's no real strategy; we just gutted it, to see who came out on top.
"At the end of those last 5 miles, I didn't care who won," he said. "I knew it would be one of us, and I really didn't care who. When I got in sight of the finish line, I stopped and started looking back. I had it in my mind that maybe we could finish together. You just get kind of a comradery when you suffer together."
Blaylock said that it was a surprise to him when he beat Rousseau because he has never really seen himself as much of a runner.
A late start in life
Blaylock grew up in Orem, and graduated from Orem High School, but said he never ran on the school's track or cross country teams. In fact, it was after he raised his seven children and was well into grandparenthood that he began running.
"I have absolutely no talent for running," he said. "Nobody wanted me on their track team, ever. I was about 50 years old, and I went to see the Wasatch 100. I thought what an amazing challenge that was, and I got into it after that. I have no talent. I'm still in it because everyone else quit."
Blaylock said that even with his late start in life, it hasn't stopped him from finding a new passion and reaching new goals.
"I did my first Wasatch 100 in 1990, and I did it for a lot of years," he said. "I have run 60 100-mile races, and when you get to my age, you're just kind of hanging on, hoping that this won't be the last one. I really am one fall away from being put in a rest home."
Humbly working toward a goal
Blaylock takes it all in stride, putting in upwards of 70 miles a week. According to those who know him, however, he isn't one to talk about his accomplishments.
Fellow runner and friend Craig Lloyd said he is inspired by Blaylock — both as a runner and a person.
"My first memory of David was passing him at mile 55 at the Bryce 100," Lloyd said. "He was coming down the hill in his usual hunched ultra shuffle. I remember telling my friends that if I could be running 100s at that guy's age, that would be a dream. A week later he came up to me at church and I realized he lived a block away. We've been friends ever since.
"We talk about running a lot, and he shares very little about himself and his accomplishments. He's always complimenting others on what they are doing. Always positive, never a negative word about anyone. I don't know how he does it."
The shirt Blaylock was wearing on race day may very well give people a clue into his driving force and goals. Printed on the back of his shirt is "Ecclesiastes 9:11," from the Bible, which says, "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, … nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."
Blaylock may not see himself as fast or skilled, but on March 3, at the USA Track and Field 100-mile Championships, "time and chance" most definitely happeneth to him.
