David Walters of Illinois, a 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials marathoner who began running as a child living in Tanzania in the 1960s, won the Chicago Marathon 60–64 division by 20 minutes in 2:45:26 on October 11. The day after the race, Walters, an airline pilot for United, captained a Boeing 777 from Chicago to Brussels with some precious cargo on board. Moments before departure, Walters, who turned 60 in August, noticed the Chicago men’s champion, Dickson Chumba, waiting to board the same Brussels flight. Walters introduced himself, speaking in Swahili. “He was blown away,” said Walters, who bumped Chumba to first class and gave him a tour of the cockpit.
Flying High: Walters, whose work schedule often puts him in the air soon after marathons, had a more challenging recovery than Chumba, whose winning Chicago time was 2:09:50. Walters said that Chumba, 28, slept the eight hours all the way to Brussels and then took a connecting flight to Nairobi. Walters, in his typical six-day work schedule, captained three more flights back and forth across the Atlantic before settling back home in Chicago the following Saturday, October 17.
Fall Double: A Part of Hearst Digital Mediath career marathon at New York City on November 1. This will be the third Chicago-New York double for Walters, who usually gets four or five days off between six-day flight trips. Walters said that even with the tougher New York course and a mere three weeks between the two marathons, he hopes to run another 2:45. Last year, Walters placed second in the 55–59 age group at New York in 2:48:50.
First Strides: Walters’s parents were teachers who went to Tanzania on a Lutheran mission in the 1960s to work at a college in the shadows of Mount Kilimanjaro. Walters attended a boarding school in fifth through eighth grade near the Serengeti plain. Young Dave not only learned Swahili but also running. He would go out for three-mile runs at 6 a.m. with his parents’ students, aspiring teachers.
American Way: Returning to the U.S., to live in New Lenox, Illinois, outside Chicago, Walters “experienced huge culture shock.” As he put it, “We had no TV in Tanzania, and barely a telephone. Welcome to earth.” At Lincoln-Way High School, Walters’s haven became the track and cross-country teams. He came under the tutelage of a renowned coach, Al Logsdon, who had developed Dave Merrick into a national star. Walters followed Merrick as a state champion in cross country and track, running a 9:02 two-mile in 1974.
Virgin Territory: At the time, and for long after, Illinois running was defined by Craig Virgin, who would become a two-time world cross-country champion. Both Walters and Virgin ran for the University of Illinois and at one point were roommates. While Virgin was an NCAA champion, Walters was an all-American but often injured. Walters got his degree in aviation (while also taking four years of Swahili) but left college feeling his running was unfulfilled.
Distance Development: Walters’s post-collegiate goal was to qualify for the Olympic Marathon Trials. Building his distance training, Walters ran what he called “the race of a lifetime” in 1985—a 1:03:22 at the Orange Bowl Half-Marathon in Miami. Conditions were ideal—38 degrees, no wind, flat course—as Walters went through the 10-mile mark in 47:45. After that, he felt ready to crack the 2:20 men’s qualifying standard for the 1988 marathon trials.
Olympic Trials: In 1986, Walters got his ’88 qualifier with four seconds to spare. He ran the Columbus Marathon in Ohio in 2:19:56. At the trials, Walters placed 36th in the field of 115 starters in 2:24:20. It was not his best race—he said he was running while ill—but that landmark achievement of feeling part of the Olympic atmosphere spurred him on to make the marathon his running priority.
Comfort Level: “I like the fact that you can go out in the marathon and be comfortable for the first hour or hour and a half and slowly get down to business,” Walters said. “After two hours it’s all business when you enter that dark place and gut it out to the end.”
High Intensity: Walters runs 55 to 85 miles a week, much of it, he says, “seeing how far I can push the edge.” He includes 15 to 20 “miles” of elliptical work in that total. Walters says that for him, 45 minutes on the elliptical machine equates to six miles of running. For a marathon, he alternates weekly 18- to 20-mile runs with 14-milers that include 3 x 2-mile intervals at close to all-out effort. For those 2-mile segments, Walters aims for splits of 11:30, 11:15 and 11:00, remarkable for a 60-year-old. “I’m redlining,” he said. “Vomiting at the end.”
Running the World: While making flights as long as 16 hours nonstop, Walters cherishes the opportunity to run in beautiful spots—one week along Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, another in Hyde Park near Buckingham Palace in London, yet another around the canals in Amsterdam. In Hong Kong, Walters will run in the middle of the night if he awakens due to the time difference.
Healthy Traveler: On his long trips, Walters’s good health sustains him. He abstains from alcohol, eats plenty of salads and high-quality protein, manages to get his sleep and is able to finesse jet lag. No airline snacks for Walters (“I won’t eat crap,” he said), who at 5’ 6 ½” is proud to weigh the same as he did in high school: 127 pounds.
Voice Overs: Walters credits Logsdon, his high school coach, for giving him the work ethic to push himself. “I was taught that this is how you run—flat out,” said Walters. “I’m often haunted by hearing my coach’s voice saying, ‘Dave, are you really running hard enough? Are you actually going 100 percent, or just trying to convince yourself of that?’”
Athlete: David Walters
Age: 60
Residence: Lisle, IL
Family: What You Need to Know About the Sydney Marathon
Career: Airline pilot
Lifetime PRs:
5,000m: 14:05
10,000m: 29:18
Half marathon: 1:03:22
Marathon: 2:19:56
Nutrition - Weight Loss:
5K: 16:12
10K: 33:22
Half-marathon: 1:14:35
Marathon: 2:37:58
Key Workout:
• Half-hour stretching and foam roller.
• 14 miles, with five-mile warm-up at 6:45 to 7:00 per mile, 2 miles hard, 1 mile easy, 2miles hard, 1 mile easy, 2 miles hard, 1 mile easy. All 2-mile segments are at sub-6:00 mile pace.
• Half-hour stretching and foam roller.
Marc Bloom’s high school cross-country rankings have played an influential role in the sport for more than 20 years and led to the creation of many major events, including Nike Cross Nationals and the Great American Cross Country Festival. He published his cross-country journal, Harrier, for more than two decades.
