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Tommy Hughes breaks M60 marathon world record in 2:30:02

The 60-year-old runner shattered the previous record by six minutes

Tommy Hughes of Ireland has cemented himself as a running legend. The 60-year-old 1992 Olympian (who will be 61 in January) has now set both the M60 half and full marathon world records in 2020. Over the weekend, he ran a marathon at the Lisburn Festival of Running in Ireland, which was only open to a handful of elites due to COVID-19. 

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Despite the significant wind, Hughes ran a 1:14:32 thorough halfway and closed just slower than that to set the new world record. The previous mark was held by Japan’s Yoshinisa Hosaka in 2:36:30. Hughes won the event and reportedly ran most of it alone. His goal is to run sub 2:30 while in his 60s, a mark he came painfully close to breaking on Sunday. 

RELATED: Tommy Hughes breaks M60 half-marathon world record, runs 1:11:09

Hughes competed in the marathon at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, where he finished 72nd. His lifetime personal best is 2:13:15 from the Marrakech Marathon. He also went on to set the Guinness World Record for the fastest father-son marathon in 2019 with his son, Eoin Hughes. Tommy ran a blazing 2:27:52 and Eoin ran 2:31:30 for a combined time of 4:59:22, two minutes and 50 seconds better than the previous record of 5:02:12, set in 2015 by Graham and Ben Green. 

Hughes has clocked impressive times this year in every event from the 5,000m to the marathon. He is showing no sign of slowing down, and is setting impressive records that will likely stand for years to come. 

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