BY HIS OWN QUICK estimate, Ed Eyestone has run about 75,000 miles during his running career, or three times around the earth's equator. That's two training runs a day, 90 or more miles a week, for more than two decades, with a few weeks off here and there for rest and two years for a church mission.
National championships, records, Olympic berths, a good living, he has reaped all those things, and, if the victories are getting fewer and farther between these days, he's still running strong even if he can see the end of the road."I don't want to be one of those guys who, when the music stops, they're still out on the dance floor," says Eyestone. "But just because the song is getting close to the end, doesn't mean you can't enjoy the last notes of the song."
Eyestone, who will run in the July 24 Deseret News 10K, remains one of the country's premier distance runners. At 36, he can still be counted on to finish among the top Americans. Eyestone has become, in the words of one long-time observer, an institution in U.S. distance running.
Since his days at Ogden's Bonneville High and BYU, he has competed in two Olympic Games and numerous world cross country championships, won more national track and road championships than he can count, earned Road Racer of the Year honors a handful of times and pulled down an annual six-figure income doing it.
Even aside from such credentials, there is his remarkable durability to consider. American rivals have come and gone; he has outlasted them all. As for the new kids who are coming along, about it. Other than Bob Kennedy, American distance runners are not getting faster, they're getting slower. On the all-time top 10 lists for the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and marathon, only seven of those 30 times have been recorded in this decade.
On the other hand, Eyestone has seen the world get faster. When he graduated from BYU in 1985, the world record for 10,000 meters was a sensational 27:13, and no one had broken 13 minutes in the 5,000. Now a half-dozen men have run under 27 minutes in the 10K, and 10 men have run 12-minute 5Ks.
"When I watched replays of Haile Gebrselassie's world record (26:31), I was glad I wasn't starting my career now," says Eyestone. "It's just gotten so out of hand. On the other hand, a 2:11 marathon will still place you very well in most of the marathons."
Foreigners - namely, Africans; specifically, Kenyans - have become so fast and so numerous that Eyestone doesn't even concern himself with them. "It's gotten to the point where you are just going for the top American spot," he says. "You almost concede the victory and the top 10 spots (to Kenyans). It's just gotten extremely competitive and fast. At the Peach Tree (road race in Atlanta this month), I was looking at the Americans from the start."
Eyestone was the third American in that race, but only 21st overall. He notes that his winning time in the 1991 Peach Tree wouldn't have placed him in the top 10 this year.
Whether it's age or just bad luck, Eyestone has met disappointment the last couple of years. He was assured of victory with 500 meters to go in a major 10K road race in New Orleans when he staggered and then collapsed in a park. The same thing happened in last summer's Olympic trials 10,000-meter race, in which he was running in second place, 150 meters ahead of third place, with three laps to go. That cost him a spot on his third Olympic team. In the sub-freezing temperatures of last year's Olympic marathon trials, he faded to 15th, after missing significant training with chronic hamstring problems.
On the other hand, this spring Eyestone placed second in the U.S. Marathon championships and was third in last winter's Jacksonville River Run.
"I think I have a couple of years left," he says. "In terms of 10,000 meters, I admit I don't think I'll run 27:41 again (his American collegiate record set in 1985 and still the sixth fastest ever by an American)."
When asked about the $500 bonus the Deseret News has offered to the man who can break Eyestone's 11-year-old course record of 27:39, Eyestone says, "I'm not going to get it. I ran that when I was really fast. I'm not in the same condition for the 10,000. And I was sore for three weeks after that. I think I can still run sub-28 minutes. Unfortunately, you need to be low 27 to compete internationally."
With the end in mind, Eyestone has been exploring second-career possibilities for years. He is an assistant coach at Weber State and does private coaching on the side. He has been doing color commentary for ESPN for years. Along with Paul Cummings and Paul Pilkington, he has owned and operated a popular summer running camp for 10 years.
"When the time comes that I can no longer earn a living running, I'll have few options," he says. "I realize running is not really a career, but a sabbatical from real life."
When exactly will the sabbatical end? "Let's go with the music theme again," he says. "I don't know when the song is going to end."