➳ At age 70, you learn to pick your battles carefully. So when I decided to mark my 70th birthday with a 70-mile run, I spent months weighing my options—terrain, safety, logistics. I needed a challenge I could finish, but one worthy of the milestone. Late one January night, I found it: The Wall—a 70-mile ultramarathon from Car- lisle to Newcastle upon Tyne, tracing the route of Hadrian’s Wall across northern England. The race was scheduled for June 14, just a month before my birthday. Years earlier, I had hiked the same trail—rolling green hills, dramatic bluffs, mostly pasture- land. Tough, but not technical. I signed up on the spot. My wife Hiroko and I arrived in England a week early to enjoy the Cotswolds and shake off jet lag under blue skies and warm sun. But on race day, the British weather had other plans. I woke at 4:30 AM to the sound of pouring rain. Standing in the chill, soaked and shivering in my rain gear, I couldn’t help but think: Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea. At 6:00 AM sharp, 1,500 runners splashed out from Carlisle Castle. By mid-morning, we reached the Roman Fort and stepped onto the historic path of Hadrian’s Wall. Rain faded to mist, revealing sweeping views of the countryside. Running atop craggy bluffs, I marveled at the sheer scale of what Roman soldiers had built nearly 2,000 years ago—73 miles of stone wall in just six years. Some stretches were so steep they required stone stairs. It was brutal. And, literally, breathtaking. To spark conversation, I’d pinned a lam- inated sign to my pack: “Hawaii Bob – 70 @ 70,” complete with a Hawaiian flag. It worked like magic. Runners called out en- couragement. Aid station crews cheered, “Here comes Bob from Hawai‘i!” Strangers took selfies with me, shared laughs, and I found a welcoming sense of camaraderie on the muddy, windswept path. Seventy at Seventy: Conquering The Wall By Bob Dewitz
By mid-afternoon, the sun finally broke through. The forecast was clear and cool through the night. I hit the 44-mile aid station, Haxton, at 5:30 PM—half an hour ahead of schedule. Hiroko and our daughter Yuka were waiting with fresh shoes and dry socks— heavenly! The toughest terrain was behind me, with just 26 miles to go. How hard could it be? Hard! As daylight faded, so did my pace. With 15 miles left, I refilled my CamelBak—my seventh liter of fluid for the day. Night fell. I flicked on my headlamp just as the moon rose—huge and luminous, casting the path in silver light. A runner’s high took hold. That surreal, Zen-like state only reached after hours of motion and fatigue. I wasn’t just running anymore—I was gliding. The final 10 miles clicked by, one silent, moonlit mile at a time. At 2:20 AM, I crossed the finish line at Newcastle’s Millennium Bridge. 20 hours, 20 minutes. I missed my goal by 20 minutes—but who cares? I had no nausea, no cramps, no hypothermia. Just a sense of deep, quiet joy, and a grin that wouldn’t quit. I’d done it. 70 at 70. And The Wall didn’t stop me.
Bob Dewitz proudly holds his finisher’s medal after running 70 miles along Hadrian’s Wall—a milestone challenge to mark his 70th birthday.
november/december 2025 | AMA 27
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