Into the Record Books

When Ernst Van Dyk won the Boston Marathon men’s wheelchair division for a historic ninth time in April, it was a culmination of months of planning and preparation. After training for 300 miles a week, grueling gym workouts and weekly visits to a physiotherapist, it finally came down to a mere four-second margin of victory as Van Dyk edged ahead of Team Invacare teammate Krige Schabort and into the history books as the winningest Boston Marathon competitor of all time in any division.

“I approach Boston the same way I approach every race I prioritize as important,” says Van Dyk, a 37-year-old South African who was born with congenital absence of both legs. “The preparation is clinical and very thorough, and the planning is very detailed. I approach the event as a project with set milestones and targets. I know what my job as an athlete is, and I take it very seriously. I know my sponsors and family expect me to do my best. If you have that in the back of your mind, the motivation comes naturally.”

Multiple victories at high-profile sporting events make winning seem likely to become a habit, but not for Van Dyk. “The pressure on me to win in Boston is immense,” he says. “I’ve done it so many times before that fans start thinking that winning there is automatic for me. The key for me is to use that pressure to motivate myself and to go out there and leave nothing behind. There will soon come a day when a younger or hungrier racer will beat me in Boston. I am very content with what I have achieved there, and I achieved the goal I set for myself 10 years ago.”

Van Dyk’s time of 1:26:53 in this year’s Boston Marathon — and his best-ever, record-setting time of 1:18:27 (in 2004) — sets the bar high.

Van Dyk contends that equipment is the most important single factor in competing successfully. The equipment must fit the racer and the purpose 100 percent. The racer also needs to believe he or she has the right equipment for the task. “After that,” he says, “the hard work becomes fun and the training gets easier.”

He uses a custom-designed Eliminator OSR by Invacare Top End with carbon fiber disk wheels. He travels to Tampa, Fla., to work with Chris Peterson, Top End’s founder and designer, to develop and manufacture his chair for the season. “We always look for ways to make it more aerodynamic, lighter but still stronger,” he says. When he travels, Van Dyk uses the Top End Terminator titanium model.

Team Invacare’s other members also had impressive showings at this year’s Boston Marathon. In addition to Van Dyk and Schabort taking first and second in the men’s wheelchair race, Diane Roy placed second and Amanda McGrory placed third in the women’s wheelchair race.

Van Dyk’s success also emanates from a steadfast belief in himself and his abilities. “I’m a born competitor. Some sportsmen are just like that. They don’t know when to surrender or give up. I love being fit, and as I see my wheelchair racing career coming to a close, I have found handcycling and it has opened a whole new world and horizon for me.”

Van Dyk says his success suggests a message for anyone: “Never let anybody tell you what you can or can’t do. Discover it for yourself and believe in yourself. Never give up. Accept change as a part of life. Value balance in life and the support you get from others. Accept that sacrifice will be part of the process, and never live a life of regret.”