85-year-old Ed Whitlock breaks 50 minutes for 10K at Toronto Island Run

Ed  Whitlock ran 10K in under 50 minutes for the first time since turning 85 at Sunday’s Toronto Island Run. The 85-year-old Canadian running icon covered the distance in 49:50, more than two minutes faster than his 10,000m world record for M85 that he set earlier this summer.

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According to the Association of Road Racing Statisticians, Whitlock took more than three minutes off the previous M85 road 10K world record held by Luciano Acquarone. The Italian ran 52:53 in October 2015. Separate records are kept for the road 10K and 10,000m on the track.

Whitlock is a regular at the Toronto Island 10K. In 2015, he set the single age world record for 84-year-olds (49:08) on Toronto Island and also has the record for 82-year-olds from his 2013 performance (44:22). Runners take the ferry from downtown Toronto to the island for the annual race.

The Milton, Ont. resident, who holds age group world records from the 1,500m up to the marathon, has been a regular on the racing scene this summer. He turned 85 in March and breaks a world record nearly every time he steps to the starting line.

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The English-born runner who moved to Canada after completing college is famous for his training routine of running loops at a local cemetery. He’s the only person over 70 to have broken three hours for a marathon.

Earlier this summer, Whitlock competed in the 10,000m at the Ontario masters athletics championships at York University in Toronto. There he ran 51:07.53 to break the previous M85 10,000m record by two minutes.

The Toronto Island Run is hosted annually by the Longboat Roadrunners, a Toronto-based running club named after Canadian Tom Longboat. There were more than 1,000 runners and walkers who started the 10K on Sunday with others participating in the kid’s one-mile and 5K. Pan Am Games medallist Rachel Hannah and Eric Bang were the 10K winners on Sunday.