Tracking Down the Oldest "Death Race" Champion
This 76-year-old ultramarathoner doesn’t need what society has to offer.
Dag Aabye is a 76-year-old 80-mile ultramarathon champion who lives in the mountains of Vernon, completely sequestered from the rest of society. The oldest winner of Alberta’s annual “death race,” Aabye has no phone or email address to contact him. So filmmakers Adam Maruniak and Justin Pelletier spent weeks scouring the area to find him. In the ensuing documentary, the two visited bars he’d been spotted at and went on a trek in the mountains to track him down.
Just as they were about to scrap the entire interview and ongoing documentary, Aabye reached them via payphone. When they finally met, the filmmakers were taken aback by his self-reliance, sage-like wisdom, and motivation to not succumb to his age.
“To me, there is no age. Age is something other people put on you. You put a person in an old folk’s home, and this person’s gonna die pretty quick because you tell them, ‘You’re old now — you’re ready to go,’” said Aabye.
