B.C. Runner Completes Six Major Marathon Quest at 71
Cowichan Valley resident David Sykes earns Abbott World Marathon Majors medal, joining roughly 1,200 Canadians with the feat.
David Sykes crossed the finish line at Boston Marathon on April 20 as one of roughly 1,200 Canadians to ever complete a very specific dream: running all six Abbott World Marathon Majors. At 71, the Cowichan Valley resident earned his Six Star Medal—a recognition reserved for runners who've tackled Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York, the circuit established in 2016.
The medal itself is understated, a small piece of hardware that belies the months of training, aching joints, and pure stubbornness required to line up at six of the world's most prestigious marathons and actually finish them. For Sykes, it wasn't about speed records or beating younger competitors. It was about the goal itself—the structure, the training, the crossing of finish lines thousands of miles apart.
What makes Sykes' achievement worth noting is the simplicity of his motivation. When asked why he runs, he said it plainly: "because it's a goal to achieve. I enjoy running. You feel pretty good after." No elaborate philosophy about pushing limits or discovering himself. Just the honest acknowledgment that marathons give him something to work toward, a framework for days and weeks and months that otherwise might blur together.
At an age when many people are winding down, Sykes is proof that determination and decent knees can take you almost anywhere on the planet. His story circulated through running communities across B.C. this week—a reminder that the marathon majors aren't exclusively the domain of elite athletes or thirty-somethings chasing personal records. Sometimes they're for people in their seventies who simply refuse to stop moving.