Bob Durrwachter completes first marathon at 65 years old

By John Burbridge
sports@charlescitypress.com
CHARLES CITY — Sometimes you don’t want to hit above the “Mendoza Line”.

Just ask Bob Durrwachter.

“I went to get a medical check-up, and when the results came back I told my wife that the only category where I wasn’t over 200 was my IQ,” Durrwachter said.

So the Cambrex chemist decided to get smart.

“I allowed myself to get a little heavy when I got into my 40s, so I joined WeightWatchers,” Durrwachter said. “But the program doesn’t stress diet only … it also encourages you to exercise. So I started running.”

Durrwachter ran track in high school, but mainly as a sprinter. After hitting the road at a long-distance pace to improve his health, Durrwachter eventually began to compete in 5Ks and half-marathons.

“But every time I would finish a half-marathon,” Durrwachter said of the 13.1-mile race, “I would always say to myself, ‘There’s no way I could keep going to do another one of these’.”

Recently, Durrwachter managed to stretch his limits. On Oct. 20, the 65-year-old Charles City resident ran and completed his first 26.2-mile race at the IMT Des Moines Marathon.

“And I ran the whole way,” said Durrwachter, whose time was 4 hours, 41 minutes and 54 seconds, which placed him fifth in his age-group division.

Durrwachter’s time at the 20-mile mark was 3:31:36, but the final stage of the race proved to be the toughest.

“You always hear that term ‘hitting the wall’ when it comes to running marathons,” Durrwachter said. “I hit it after 22 miles. My legs were getting tired and losing energy. I could feel myself slowing down.”

Running nearly on empty, Durrwachter was able to reach the finish line. To his surprise, it didn’t take him too long to bounce back.

“I was a little wobbly after the finish, but after 20 minutes I was feeling pretty good,” he said.

Durrwachter trained all summer for the Des Moines Marathon. He leaned on the advice of several Cambrex co-workers, who are experienced marathon runners.

“You need to put in about 50 miles a week when training for a marathon,” Durrwachter said, “but you’re not supposed to do a 26-mile trial run before a marathon.

“But I did one, anyway. I just wanted to see if I could do it.”

Durrwachter regularly runs after work. With daylight hours getting shorter, Durrwachter relies on a head-lamp to illuminate the path he’s treading on.

“I can’t wait until they put the new (Charley Western Trial) bridge in,” Durrwachter said. “It’s a great, smooth course, but it’s not lighted.”

Durrwachter, who ran the Charles City YMCA Spook 5K Run the day before the marathon, plans to remain an active road racer in the years to come. But it will likely be a couple of years before he runs another full-length marathon.

“I’m still working, and it’s hard to find time to train for a marathon while you’re still working,” Durrwachter said. “When I retire, maybe I’ll run them more often.”