George Etzweiler couldn’t think of an excuse to sidestep his son’s suggestion that, at age 69, he run New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington Road Race, a 7.6-mile climb with a 12% grade that more often than not involves battling wind, fog and rain. So he pinned on a bib number and ascended into the clouds.



Twenty-four years later, Etzweiler, now 93, is still at it. The retired Penn State professor finished his ninth edition of the "one-hill" race Saturday, defending his title as the event’s oldest competitor.



“I was wobbling near the top, it was definitely the windiest conditions I’ve ever done it in,” Etzweiler said by phone this morning just before boarding Mt. Washington’s cog railway for an easier trip up New England’s highest peak.



Wind speeds for the race’s 53rd edition neared 30 miles per hour, with gusts hitting 56 MPH near the summit. As Etzweiler fought to remain upright over the last half mile—which includes the race’s steepest pitch, a 22% grade—family friend Katie Loomis-Adams, age 10, appeared by his side. She ran the race in 2:23, then swooped back down the mountain to accompany Etzweiler across the finish.



Though the three-hour cutoff time had passed, race timer Bob Teschek kept the clock running and said Etzweiler, in typical fashion, smiled and kicked it in over the last 100 yards, clocking 3:15.



With the finish, Etzweiler clinched his third “90 and up” age-group win, a category the race created in 2011 when Etzweiler was 91. Previously, the oldest age-group category was “85 and up.”



Etzweiler also notched age-group titles at 75 (2:33) and 89 (2:57). When he was 91, he ran the race, which climbs 4,727 feet, faster (2:48) than he did when he was 89 (2:57).



“I’m just fascinated by it all,” Etzweiler said of the race that follows the Mt. Washington Auto Road, America’s “oldest manmade tourist attraction." He likes racing it, he said, because the all-uphill route means he doesn’t need to worry about trashing his knees on descents.

A longtime member of the Nittany Relay Track Club in State College, Pennsylvania, Etzweiler competes in about four races every summer, including the Tussey mOUntaiNBACK 50-mile Relay and Ultramarathon. He tackles the relay with members of the “Old Men of the Mountains,” a running team he founded.



The Tussey Mountain course serves as Etzweiler’s training ground for Mt. Washington. Three times a week, he and his teammates meet for a five-miler on the relay’s hilly first leg.



Etzweiler has joked that his long-term plan is to cross Mt. Washington’s finish line at 100 and drop dead. He seemed more philosophical this year.



“It seems I’ve lost some stamina,” he said of his finishing time.



And next year? “I keep that option open,” Etzweiler said. “But I certainly hope so. Definitely hope so.”

Related:

Mike Fremont, 91, Finishes Knoxville Half Marathon

Sublime Climbs

michelle hamilton wordpress import

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io