Record down! Dave Proctor hit his first goal by bettering the Canadian Men’s 48 record which was previously 221.1 miles with 223 miles (unofficial) – Dave did hit the back timing mats which are officially measured to 844.75 meters from the main timing point so this is included in this calculation. Next up for Dave is the Canadian 72-hour record which has stood (this is not a type-o) since 1881! Canada seems to be one of the few record-keeping countries that tracks the 72-hour but nothing like having a 130+ year old record. The record stands at 308.5 miles set by Richard Lacouse of Quebec on December 26-28, 1881 in New York. Dave currently has 22 more hours to go 78 more miles.
Dave Proctor
With Dave’s push this morning to get to the record, he’s gapped the field by 40 miles. Ed Ettinghausen who still hasn’t rested for more than an hour and 20 minutes is second with 190 miles. Iso Yucra is 6 laps back of Ed for 3rd. Keeping in mind that the top three men in the 6-day have all posted more miles in 48-hours than anyone in the actual 48-hour event (so far – there are still a few days of 48-hour racers to go).
Should also mention that 4th place right now is 71-year-old Bill Heldenbrand with 150 miles. It’s really too early to start talking about 6-day totals and records, but who cares. World Best Performance Watch: Australia’s Cliff Young holds the 70-74 record with 406 miles. That is no small feat, but you’ll want to keep an eye on Bill. The American record for 70-74 is 336 miles and seems like he currently has that one tracked pretty well.
Annabel Hepworth continuing to lead the 6-day women with 155 miles but Yolanda Holder has closed the gap. At our last report Yolanda was 15 miles behind Annabel but is now only 7 miles back and is taking shorter breaks. Juli Asters has moved back up into podium position (she was last in the top 3 in the first 12 hours) but consistency and shorter breaks has put her ahead of both German women, Edda Bauer and Martina Hausmann with 128 miles. However, Martina and Edda are only 2 and 3 laps back respectively.
The 70-74 age group for both men and women is not one to mess with – the records are incredible but it seems that Across the Years is playing host to two people going after those big numbers anyway. Edda Bauer at 73-years-old would need to better legendary Helen Klein for the World Best Performance in the 6-day at 373 miles. She is hanging on by a thread but with so many ups and downs in the 6-day, as mentioned before, this is a terrible time to predict final outcomes. Edda Bauer does hold the German national 70-74 best with 357 miles which also puts her top 12 all-time for German women in the 6-day.
In the 24-hour Adela Salt finished with 129 miles – currently putting her first overall – which was a personal best by 13 miles and she lowered her 100-mile PR with a split of 16:21.
Adela Salt
Top 4 women in the 48-hour all stopped once hitting 100-miles. For the men, Mark Dangerfield finished with 146.96 miles and Davy Crockett with 135.4 miles putting them as the current top 2 competitors. A lot of starters today in the 48-hour so the top could certainly shuffle.
The 72-hour still has Melissa Soper well in the lead with 164.8 miles in 50 hours. Her next closest competitor at the moment is Brian Recore with 121.7 miles. Look for Karen Bonnett-Natraj, Scott Thompson and Jeremy Mayberry to put up some large numbers. They are all 24 hours behind Melissa and Brian. Geoffrey Foote also started today and was 2nd in last year’s Across the Years 72-hour with 209 miles.
Photos by: Jubilee Paige