Naples Half Marathon: Jeannie Rice, Gene Fykes show age isn't an obstacle

Jeannie Rice and Gene Dykes are proof positive you can get better – and faster – with age.

Rice, 71, a part-time Bonita Springs resident who holds the world records in her age group for both the marathon and half-marathon, will be back at the Naples Half Marathon on Sunday looking to again trim her time.

Dykes, a 71-year-old from Philadelphia, holds more than 10 American records and would love to break his American age-group record of 1:25:06, set at the 2018 Philadelphia Half Marathon. The record of 1:22:43 held by Ed Whitlock has stood since 2001.

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“It looks like it’s going to be hot, so it might not happen,” Dykes said. “But this will be a good training race for the ones I’ve got coming up.”

The record Dykes really covets is the world marathon mark for his 70-74 age group. He actually already broke the record time with a 2:54:23 at the Jacksonville Marathon last year, but that wasn’t an USA Track and Field-sanctioned event. He’ll try again for the world record at the London Marathon on April 26. Six days before that race, he’ll use the Boston Marathon as a warm-up.

“I’ve done marathons on back-to-back days before, so six days rest will be fine,” he said. “The Boston Marathon is a pretty tough course, so I’ll just go for winning my age group there and hopefully get the record in London.”

Running races and breaking records are nothing new for Rice. Last month, she competed in a Thailand marathon – the 120th she’s completed. By her estimation, she’s participated in more than 600 half-marathons across the world and holds several American age-group records in six events – from the one-mile to the marathon. She now holds the three fastest times in the half marathon 70-74 division.

“I’m a competitor, so of course you set goals every race you run,” she said. “I always want to lower my world records, make it tougher for the people that come behind me, give them something to shoot for. When I broke the marathon record, it had stood for five years. I’d love to see mine last that long, hopefully more.”

Rice was named the USATF Master Athlete of the Year, flying last month to Reno, Nevada, to accept her award. She was also voted the Road Runner of the Year in the female 70-74 division and Overall Female Road Runner of the Year by the Masters LDR committee of USATF.

“It was such an honor to get that award,” she said about the Athlete of the Year honor. “I had to make a speech and you see all these Olympians in the audience. It was a special night.”

At this point, Rice said she doesn’t really get nervous for a big race.

“What would I be nervous for?” she said. “I’m not doing this for my job, it’s just something I love to do. I go into each race pretty relaxed and ready to do my best. If I run well, great. If not, there’s always another race around the corner.”

Dykes started running competitively again 13 years ago. He ran track in both high school and college but got away from it to pursue golf and bowling as his main recreational hobbies. He said he turned to running when his golf game began to slip and he couldn’t find a quality group to bowl with.

“I kind of fell into the wrong crowd of friends who convinced me to start racing again,” Dykes joked. “Then I found out how fun it was and that I was actually good at it. Each year, I’ve gotten better. I’ve always enjoyed that element of competition and runners are really great people. I look forward to meeting people at each race.”

One of the people he met in his travels is Rice, who convinced him to run the Naples race for the first time.

“He’s a phenomenal runner for his age division, breaking the world (marathon) record time, but his race wasn’t sanctioned,” she said. “I hope he gets the record later this year. He’s another runner who has gotten faster as he’s gotten older. I’m sure he’ll do well here.”