Ed Whitlock is no stranger to breaking world records. Over a decade ago, at 72 years old, he became the oldest man to ever break three hours in the marathon.
Now 85, the Canadian runner claimed another one. At the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon last weekend, he became the oldest to run the distance in under four hours.
With a time of three hours, 56 minutes and 33 seconds, Whitlock smashed the previous world record by 40 minutes. And, did we mention he hasn’t run a marathon in three years?
“This one even was in doubt until a couple of weeks ago,” Ed says. “The training I did was less than ideal. I am sure I could have finished a lot faster if I had been better prepared.”
He complains that he ran too quickly at the start, and that took its toll on him by the time he was a little past the halfway mark.
“I was having serious doubts about the situation,” he says. “I was very despondent. I thought the finish was going to be very ugly, if I got to it. Fortunately, things didn’t go downhill as much as I anticipated.” (Globe and Mail)
Whitlock, who was an engineer in the mining industry, began running as a child. He gave it up in his 20’s and didn’t resume running again until he was 41 when his wife encouraged him to get out of the house more.
He runs every day, but doesn’t follow a strict training regimen.
The defending #STWM champion and 85-year-old Ed Whitlock! #canadianrunning
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