Ed Whitlock Has Died - Rest in Peace

Boy, I have to say I fall right in there. I was running the 2001 Crim 10 mile and this white haired bird flew by me! It was about mile 9, and I was feeling great. I was running the best race of my life, damn near 6 min miles for 10 miles at 43, I was very proud. I finished strong, and Ed just finished ahead of me, I guess just about 60 mins. I asked his age, he said 70, and I almost crapped my pants! I get the chance to tell about this often. Ed has actually changed my training too! Up until a few years ago, I used to just beat myself up running too fast. But I saw how slow he was training, and I thought, why not? For the last year I have run almost everyday, at what I use to think was a really slow pace, and I feel great. Yeh, he is an inspiration.

In case you missed it, Ed's son posted on the thread. Classy lad, like his father.

Neil Whitlock wrote:

Hi Everyone. This is Neil Whitlock, Ed's son.

Just want to thank everyone for their kind words about Dad.

Dad was a big fan of the Letsrun community. He loved reading through the message boards. He would often walk into the kitchen where Mom was watching the news. She would say "did you hear about ... some random world event" and he would reply "yes, that was posted on Letsrun hours ago."

In whatever way my father might have inspired some of you with your running, I hope you are able to hold onto that and wish everyone success and enjoyment in striving for your goals.

Neil

Hi Neil,

My condolences on the loss of your father. He truly was an inspiration and a Canadian running legend. I have many pictures of him that inspire me. Neil, were you the one that Ed spoke of when he said that one of his sons would accompany him on his runs in the cemetery from time to time, but would be a few paces in front of him asking why he is going so slow? Or was that your brother? All the best to the Whitlock family.

Montego wrote:

Hi Neil,

My condolences on the loss of your father. He truly was an inspiration and a Canadian running legend. I have many pictures of him that inspire me. Neil, were you the one that Ed spoke of when he said that one of his sons would accompany him on his runs in the cemetery from time to time, but would be a few paces in front of him asking why he is going so slow? Or was that your brother? All the best to the Whitlock family.

Ha ha, No! That was my brother!

O.K. Thanks. Best wishes.

Never forgotten.

Respectfully, your memory is off a tad. It couldn't have been 2001.

MALE AGE GROUP: 70 - 74

PLACE OALL NAME TOWN AG HALF time PACE

1 957 Jerry W Johncock Grand Rapids 73 36:47 1:14:30 7:27

2 1894 John G Kolmetz Warren 72 40:18 1:21:45 8:11

3 2283 Herman Graham Jr Flint 70 41:38 1:24:28 8:27

4 2947 Joseph Kalina Lake Orion 70 45:08 1:29:03 8:55

5 3081 Ed Kimmel Crystal 73 45:04 1:29:58 9:00

6 3357 William Hayes Davison 72 45:00 1:31:58 9:12

7 3721 Everett Luoma Adrian 70 45:29 1:34:27 9:27

8 3723 Sidney Bedrosian Canton 70 46:40 1:34:28 9:27

9 3943 Colin Barrett Kingsville 70 49:22 1:36:08 9:37

10 4579 James J Hurst Detroit 71 47:30 1:41:08 10:07

11 4885 Dick Young Lansing 73 53:03 1:44:38 10:28

12 5097 Bob Green Linden 70 52:05 1:47:12 10:44

13 5270 Bill Kelley Metamora 74 54:46 1:49:35 10:58

14 5404 Ed G Allen Northville 74 57:31 1:52:10 11:13

15 5471 Joe Yurich Wayne 73 54:28 1:53:47 11:23

16 5490 Daniel G Colwell Flint 70 54:24 1:54:11 11:26

17 5872 Robert Thomas Northville 72 1:00:52 2:05:39 12:34

18 5898 Spencer L Myers Grand Blanc 72 1:03:38 2:07:05 12:43

19 5944 Edward A Mclaughlin Davison 71 1:04:12 2:09:38 12:58

20 5945 Bob Kiess Gross Pt Frms 71 1:02:26 2:09:44 12:59

21 6008 Jack E Price Swartz Creek 70 1:07:13 2:13:57 13:24

22 6021 Durk James Flint 72 1:06:21 2:15:12 13:32

23 6179 William Wager Commerce Twp 70 1:16:59 2:48:41 16:53

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 70 - 74

PLACE OALL NAME TOWN AG HALF time PACE

1 5996 Belen M Dziwura Flint 73 1:06:02 2:13:27 13:21

2 6015 Betty Dunlap Goodrich 70 1:08:10 2:14:37 13:28

MALE AGE GROUP: 75 - 98

PLACE OALL NAME TOWN AG HALF time PACE

1 1148 Jim Forshee Ann Arbor 75 37:21 1:16:14 7:38

2 1722 John Cahill Salt Lake City 77 40:08 1:20:35 8:04

3 5913 Joe Thornburg Troy 84 1:00:31 2:08:13 12:50

4 6030 Clarence Shelton West Bloomfield 80 1:04:33 2:15:57 13:36

5 6168 Raymond Dziwura Flint 75 1:19:00 2:36:52 15:42

6 6190 James H Ramsey Detroit 93

Looks like it may have been 2000 though:

http://www.runmichigan.com/results/00/crim10mile082600_meno40.shtml

RIP Ed, you were the best!

Sorry Jack. I did some searching. You obviously meant 2000. Regardless, that was a very good run by you as well. Anywhere around 6 minute pace at age 43 is well above average. Ed stayed healthy and was simply in another stratosphere!

You're about 60 years old now. I'm just curious, how much have you slowed down since 2000?

Very, very sorry. I'm all messed up LOL! I meant Kurt Schneider, not Jack. My bad, sorry. Just curious how well you've held up compared to Ed who was 69 that day in 2000.

And Ed, you are still my inspiration at age 44.

Kevin52 wrote:

Looks like it may have been 2000 though:

http://www.runmichigan.com/results/00/crim10mile082600_meno40.shtml

RIP Ed, you were the best!

Wow, the first race I entered as a new runner was either a week before or a week after this one, and Ed was in it. That's where I met him. It was in Dundas, Ontario. He ran 17:29, I believe - within a couple seconds of that time, for sure, anyway. I was thinking, "Who is this old guy running such a fast time, and is this normal?" I was pretty new to the sport and really had no idea. It didn't take long to realize that it was NOT normal, and in fact very special. I believe he was 69 at the time - I had asked him his age. It seems even more special now knowing he seemed to be racing almost weekly during the summer.