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On Sunday, at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, 82-year-old Ed Whitlock broke another world record as he astounded the running world, but his only regret afterwards was that he could have timed it better.
Whitlock broke the age-82 world marathon record when he ran the Toronto marathon in a time 3:41:58, in the process breaking Ed Benham’s record of 3:48:35, which was set in 1989.
Last year, at the same marathon, Whitlock set the record for age-81 world best when he clocked 3:30:28. He tried to repeat it this year, hitting the half-way in 1:44:31, however he was far from confident before or during the early phase’s of the race, which cost him.
“I had a higher degree of uncertainty than usual about what I would run, largely because of the cold issue which came on two weeks before the marathon and was slow recovery,” Whitlock said.
“It’s still hanging on now.
“Weather conditions were good and I decide to go out at 5 minutes per [kilometer] pace, see how things were going, potentially slow up a bit if that seemed appropriate and drop out at halfway if things were tough then,” he added.
“I felt OK as the race got under way and I was running a little less than 5 minutes per [kilometer] until halfway, so I kept going but I was beginning to realize that holding on was going to be difficult.
“The wheels started to fall off just after 25K, but not seriously until about 32K, when things became ridiculous and I was just surviving,” Whitlock said.
“I don’t think the 3:30 pace bunny passed me for a couple of Ks after that. I was running 6+ mins per K for the last 5K.”
Although, Whitlock said that he wasn’t bothered much during the race due to the cold, “but I suppose it had some effect and I hope it was a good excuse.”
The 82-year-old is hoping that he recovers in time, as he plans to run two November races in the United States, first the Stockade-athon 15K in Schenectady, New York on the 10th of November, followed by the Run for the Diamonds, which is a nine-miler on Thanksgiving Day in Berwick, Pennsylvania.
Whitlock will be spending a lot of this week’s time on recovering along with taking questions from fans during an Ask Me Anything session.
Whitlock is an inspiration for everyone not only because he is breaking records after records each year at such an age, but for his undying spirit to compete and excel at the age of 82.
Whitlock when he was 70 used to complete the marathon in less than 3 hours, while at the age of 80 he ran the marathon in 3:15, another world record. Though age has taken it’s toll on the ageing Ed, who has slowed down in recent years, but what makes him stand out, that despite of the odd’s this man is still going strong.
Fun Fact: The fastest marathon ever run by a man in his 80s whose name does not have Ed in it is by Robert Horman in 1998, when he completed the marathon in 3:39:18 at the age of 80.
