In this file photo, Durward Higgins of Chattanooga climbs a hill in West Virginia as part of the 2012 RAAM United 4 Health Race Team.To best understand Durward Higgins’ recent accomplishment, you have to do some number-crunching.
The Chattanooga resident joined three comrades to break a record for bicycling coast to coast, or 3,000 miles, in Race Across America.
They broke records in the 60-and-older and 70-and-older categories by four hours and more than a day, respectively. Overall, they traversed the United States in six days, 13 hours and 13 minutes.
But the most important number is 70 — the age at which Higgins accomplished the feats.
A retired field engineer with General Electric, Higgins was approached by New York native Michael Patterson at the 2010 Hunstman Senior Games in Utah.