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.

7 Year old runs new Half-Marathon record for his age

Last week at the Park to Park Half-Marathon in Waterloo, Iowa, seven year old Jaden Merrick ran a new age record when he finished in a time of 1h 43m 34s.

Jaden starting running when he was 5 years old and set a 5k record of 22:26 as a 6 year old.

These are the various half-marathon records for children according to the Association of Road Racing Statisticians.

Boys
6 Year olds...2:19:48...Cael Schwartz in Surprise, Arizona, on February 1, 2014
7 Year olds...1:43:34...Jaden Merrick in Waterloo, Iowa, on September 12, 2015
8 Year olds...1:43:08...Dallas Stricker in Gulf Shores, Alabama, on March 1, 2015
9 Year olds...1:34:59...Liam Ballard in St. Pete Beach, Florida, on March 22, 2015
10 Year olds...1:29:14...Elliott Daniels in Oakland, California, on March 22, 2015
11 Year olds...1:24:10...Hunter Perez in Houston, Texas, on January 19, 2014

GIRLS
6 Year olds...2:40:22...Rosie Dunham in Columbia, South Carolina, on November 9, 2013
7 Year olds...1:40:59...Makenzie Kolvoord in Carderock, Maryland, on November 16, 2014
8 Year olds...1:35:25...Tabitha Francks in New York, New York, on September 24, 1983
9 Year olds...1:28:31...Tabitha Francks in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 16, 1984
10 Year olds...1:25:42...Stephanie Paparelli in The Woodlands, Texas, on January 29, 1983
11 Year olds...1:31:23...Heather Welsch in Houston, Texas, on January 19, 2014