85-year-old Man Breaks Marathon Record
Ed Whitlock, 85, is a new world record holder after the English-born Canadian finished the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in under four hours last Sunday. He ran the fastest in the 85-90 years age category.
Whitlock ran the marathon in 3 hours, 56 minutes — smashing the previous record of 4 hours, 34 minutes. Whitlock is known as “The Master,” and certainly lives up to his name.
The singlet he ran in is 30 years old, while his sneakers are 15 years old. “They’re well-aged,” he joked in a post-race press conference.
He did not race last year due to problems with his knees. “Somehow on occasion I get running in a long groove and they flare up and start to hurt,” he said. “The only thing I can do that seems to get rid of it is to take a rest.”
Whether he’ll be able to break his own record, Whitlock is uncertain. “I don’t want to disgrace myself, I suppose,” he said, laughing. Seeing as he currently holds 36 world records, disgrace is not at all likely.
