Marathon hopeful, 101-year-old , training hardReuters Mar 5, 11:47 am EST
LONDON - Already Britain’s oldest employee, 101-year-old Buster Martin now aims to become the world’s oldest marathon runner by completing the London Marathon and celebrating with a pint of beer and a cigarette.
Sprightly and bearded, he completed a half marathon at the weekend in five hours 13 minutes. The former Army physical training instructor works three days a week for a London plumbing firm and says he has trained for the April 13th race in his spare time.
“I’ve said I’ll attempt it,” he told Reuters by telephone from his workplace at Pimlico Plumbers. “I haven’t said I’ll complete it. If I do make it, all the better. I hadn’t thought of doing it before but someone asked me and the money goes to charity so why not?”
His sponsorship money will go to the Rhys Daniels Trust, which provides temporary accommodation for families of patients in specialist children’s hospitals.
Martin, who had 17 children and returned to work at the age of 99 saying he was bored after two years of retirement, would beat the previous record for world’s oldest marathon runner by eight years.
“If I finish, I’ll do what I always do and have a pint and a fag,” he said. “People ask what is my secret but I haven’t got one. They say fags and booze are bad for you—but I’m still here, aren’t I?”
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5 comments:
After the Houston 1/2 marathon, I was eatign in the runner's area and an older man sat down across from me. I saw onhis runner's bib that he was a marathon veteran so I asked him how many times he had run the Houston Marathon & he moved his arm to show it was his TWENTY SIXTH time!
We talked some more & I found out he was an overweight accountant who was going to have to have heart surgery so took up running (it was a tough call for him) at age 50 & ran his first marathon that year.
Now, I was a bit slow after running 13.1 miles & he saw my confused look, so he did the math for me - he's SEVENTY-SIX!
WOW!
I would have never guessed he was that old. He said people always had thought he was older (before he started running) and now think he's younger than his real age.
annabanana: OK. I haven't had my coffee today and I was trying to figure out how old he was too! I can't even imagine 26 marathons. I'm not even 1/2way there.
My dad actually ran his first marathon when he was in his 50s. To look at him you would never know he is going to be 78 in a couple of months.
I firmly believe that running and drinking a bunch of water makes you look younger. :-) (It's the damn vodka martinis straight up with a twist that will age you.)
After 17 children, I am sure he is running !!!!
I would be eating danish and coffee while watching PR 35 and Price is Right LOL!
tommy: LOL I can only imagine what he might be running from.
viv: lord help us all if we're still talking, texting and emailing about Project Runway 35.
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