MARATHON RECORD TOPPLED

The official record is still pending approval from USA Track and Field, but it appears American Gene Dykes has topped a 14-year-old record held by late Canadian marathoner Ed Whitlock (pictured).

The 70-year-old Dykes beat Whitlock’s record for the fastest marathon in the 7074 age category when he completed the Ameris Bank Jacksonville Marathon in two hours, 54 minutes and 23 seconds on Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla. Whitlock, who died last year at the age of 86, set the record of 2:54.48 at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2004.

Dykes just missed the record in Toronto in October, finishing in 2:55.18. A retired computer programmer, Dykes didn’t take up running seriously until he was 58.

Whitlock, born in London, England, was the first person over 70 to run a marathon in less than three hours in 2003.