Canadian Ed Whitlock dies aged 86

Over the last decade or so, Ed Whitlock from Canada set a multitude of age related records. In 2003 when he was 72 years old, he ran a marathon in 2h 59m 10s. In 2016, he became the first person aged 80 and over to break 4 hours for the marathon.

He passed away on Monday from Prostate cancer aged 86.

Previous posts...
82 year old Canadian Ed Whitlock runs record 3:41 Marathon
2010 Running Times interview with Ed Whitlock 
Canadian Ed Whitlock Breaks 80+ Half Marathon World Record
81 year old Ed Whitlock runs 3:30 Marathon...
85 year old Ed Whitlock sets new marathon record for age
81 year old sets new Half-Marathon record...
85 year old sets new M85 age record of 24:04 for 5k

85 year old Ed Whitlock sets new marathon record for age

At the Toronto marathon in Canada last Sunday, 85 year old Ed Whitlock set a new record for the 85-89 age group when he completed the 26.2 mile course in a time of 3h 56m 33s. This was over 30 minutes faster than the previous record of 4h 34m 55s which was set back in 2004.

This now adds to the multitude of age related records that he now holds over various distances. He is also no stranger to running fast times having completed a marathon in 2h 54m at the sprightly age of 73, a record which still stands to this day.

In an interview on Monday, he revealed a few interesting facts....

1) His running shoes are about 20 years old...."I wear them well past their due date. I'm not a fan of the current shoe design, and I have a small supply of this particular model of shoe."

2) Tough on the legs...."My legs are shot today. I seemed to be OK yesterday after the marathon, walking around and that sort of thing, but rigor mortis has set in now."

3) Planning for the next marathon...."It depends how my training goes. One never knows when one has run one's last race, and I'll keep running as long as I can."

85 year old sets new M85 age record of 24:04 for 5k

This one will be if interest to those of you trying to get under 25 minutes for 5k! :o)

In Canada recently, 85 year old Ed Whitlock set a new men's 85-89 age group record when he completed a 5k in 24m 04s (23:03.99). His time was almost 50 seconds better than the previous record.

He has a number of age related world record including a 3:31 marathon just 4 years ago when he was a sprightly 81. See previous post.

82 year old Canadian Ed Whitlock runs record 3:41 Marathon

A year ago, I had a post up about Ed Whitlock from Canada who ran a 3:30 Marathon in Toronto aged 81 years old, a new record for that age group. Now one year later, he is rewriting the record books again aged 82.

At the 2013 Toronto Waterfront Marathon last Sunday, Ed Whitlock ran 3:41:58 setting a new record for an 82 year old. The previous record of 3:48:35 was set by Ed Benham in 1989.

Having started the race initially just faster than 8 min/mile pace, his pace began to slow around 15 miles and then more so at 20 miles. For the last 3 miles, his pace had dropped to about 10 min/mile pace before finally getting to the finish line in 3:41.

A short article about how he train can be seen in this earlier post.

2010 Running Times interview with Ed Whitlock

A few days ago, I had a post up about 82 year old Ed Whitlock in Canada, how he had run 1:38:11 in a half-marathon and had set a world record for that age group. In response to that, someone mentioned an interview in the Running Times magazine back in 2010. After a quick search, I found it online and it makes for a good read.

Just as it is unusual for some aged 80 plus to be running those times for a Half-Marathon, some of his training techniques are also unconventional.

a) He does all of his training in a local cemetery. Everything is done on a loop that takes 5 minutes to complete....long runs, speed work, easy runs.
b) When training for a Marathon, he runs on that loop for 3 hours every day without taking any water.
c) He ran a 2:54 Marathon when he was 73 years old.
d) His fastest Marathon was 2:31 which he ran aged 48.
e) His weight is just 115 pounds (8st 3 lbs / 52 kgs) which might be the key to his success.

When asked his approach to running and training, he said......"I do what not to do to an extreme. I go out jogging. It's not fast running, just that I do it for a long time. I don't follow what typical coaches say about serious runners. No physios, ice baths, massages, tempo runs, heart rate monitors. I have no strong objection to any of that, but I'm not sufficiently organized or ambitious to do all the things you're supposed to do if you're serious. The more time you spend fiddlediddling with this and that, the less time there is to run or waste time in other ways."

You can see the full interview here...http://www.runnersworld.com/masters-profiles/ed-whitlock-and-age-simplicity?page=single

Acknowledgement......With thanks to Michael Dunne for the feedback on the original post.

Canadian Ed Whitlock Breaks 80+ Half Marathon World Record

Canadian Ed Whitlock has recently broken his own 80+ world record for the half marathon on Sunday in his hometown of Milton, Ontario by running 1:38:11. This broke his previous record by 48 seconds which he set at the same race last September.

In an interview, Whitlock said...."I thought off that I could run the half in 1:37. After a somewhat slow first 3-K I managed to get on pace at 7-K but then it gradually slipped away."

Whitlock holds the world marathon record for the 70-and-over age group (2:54:48) and 80-and-over age group (3:15:54).

81 year old Ed Whitlock runs 3:30 Marathon...

At the Toronto Marathon last Sunday, Canadian Ed Whitlock set a new 81 year old age-group world record by running the 26.2 mile course in 3:30:26. This was more than 16 minutes off the previous age-81 best.

Post race, he said..."Based on the weather forecast of rain and significant wind, my goal was 3:30. Conditions seemed better than forecast as the race progressed and, based on a false appreciation of my preparedness, my initial pace was more ambitious. I realised sometime before halfway that I had made a big mistake and things were going to be difficult, and that's how it turned out, as I ran the last 4K very slowly, nearly 9 minutes a mile against a stiffening breeze. On finishing I wasn't that fatigued; the problem was that my legs had prevented me running properly. I put this down to the fact that I didn't have a long enough period of high-mileage training before the race and the lack of race practice--it was only my third race this year because of my injury problems."

At last year's Toronto Marathon, Whitlock broke his own 80+ world record by running 3:15:53. The following month, he slipped on icy stairs outside his house and broke a rib. He wound up not being able to run for much of the first part of 2012.

81 year old sets new Half-Marathon record...

Canadian Ed Whitlock, 81, added to his collection of world records on Sunday by running 1:38:59 at a half marathon in his hometown of Milton, Ontario. Whitlock broke the old 80+ mark by 29 seconds, despite resuming regular running only in the weeks before the race.

Whitlock fell on ice last November and broke a rib, one month after lowering his 80+ marathon world record to 3:15:54. He missed months of training and didn't resume his famed routine of daily two- to three-hour runs in a nearby cemetery until mid-summer.

In a post race interview, he said...."I have had injury issues all this year and I am not in 100% shape.  I was relieved to beat the half record as I thought it would be touch and go considering my less than optimum training. The course was flat and weather conditions were very good, little wind and low temperatures."

His next race is the Toronto Marathon in October........."I am not 100% sure whether I will do the half or the full but I am leaning towards the full," Whitlock said. "My expectations for the marathon are not too high as there's not much time to improve my condition before then.