During every good man's successful journey, beside him is a good partner. Okotoks runner David Proctor won the 150km ultramarathon at the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon with his wife Sharon biking beside him for the final 50km Sunday morning.
During every good man's successful journey, beside him is a good partner.
Okotoks runner David Proctor won the 150km ultramarathon at the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon with his wife Sharon biking beside him for the final 50km Sunday morning.
“Her support is unwavering — it's ridiculous,” said Proctor, after completing the 150km in just over 12 hours. “I wanted to share this with her and it was great. It was perfect.”
Proctor, 36, started the run at 10 p.m. Saturday night. He completed 100km and started his final 50km with the other runners in the traditional 42.2km marathon at 7 a.m. Sunday.
He had about a 40 minute-break before starting his final 50km.
“This was really a test,” Proctor said after the race. “It went perfectly according to plan throughout the night and my pace and my mindset throughout the day, I am overly happy. I felt really strong and held it together.”
Proctor had a few bathroom breaks throughout the run and fuelled himself with bananas and some much appreciated treats during the heat of Sunday morning.
“I don't do well in the heat,” said Proctor, a graduate of Highwood High in High River. “There was a group from the Running Room handing out popsicles along Memorial Drive — and that was perfect.”
The Calgary 150 ultramarathon was ideal preparation for the 24-hour world championships July 1-2 in Belfast.
“I wanted to go out at the exact pace and run the 150 in the exact pace for my first 150 for the 24-hour race,” Proctor said. “I ran a little bit quicker today, because I was excited. Feeling how I feel right now, I could run another 120 km.”
Proctor's goal is to run 270km for his country at the world championships in Belfast.
He is the Canadian record holder at 257km over 24 hours, establishing that mark when he finished sixth at the world championships at the 2015 world championships in Turino, Italy.
As for why a guy would run 150km, it's not nut's, it's all relative.
“Why not?” Proctor said. “It's all a mindset. When someone says that is too far, I say: “why not?' If someone would have said that to Einstein he would have never done what he did. If someone said that to Michael Phelps, he would have never swam the way he swam.”
He is also inspired by his son Sam, a special needs child attending St. Mary's School.
“He uses a walker and when you have a son who has balance issues, it makes you really think,” Proctor said.
While Sharon has done plenty of the behind the scenes things in supporting her husband — feeding the kids, helping to run the home, as well support work at races — this is the first time she has been able to ride beside him in an official run.
“It was really exciting, such a fun thing to do,” Sharon said. “It was a great way of supporting him. I was so happy for him.”
The 150km ultramarathon was a special run in celebration of Canada's sesquicentennial.
Sharon along with the couple's three children will also be cheering Dave on in Northern Ireland.
Numbers man
An Okotoks ultramarathoner isn’t getting long in the tooth, he’s just running longer.
Wayne Gaudet ran his 60th race of 50km or more when he finished sixth overall at the Calgary 150km run at the age of 60.
“That’s crazy,” Gaudet said. “I am pretty pumped about it. I consider it a pretty significant feat.
“To share the podium with quality guys like Dave Proctor and John Hubbard, when you are 60… well, that’s great.”
His time was 15:59:36. Proctor called Gaudet an inspiration.
“He’s my mentor – he’s almost like my running dad,” Proctor said.
Gaudet has another chance to inspire Proctor.
His 61st ultra will be the 24-hour worlds with Proctor.
