Ed Whitlock breaks another masters record

Most people aged 82 could hardly imagine finishing a marathon. Ed Whitlock is still breaking records.

On Sunday the 82-year-old Milton, Ont. runner broke the world masters marathon record for his age, running 3:41:58 at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, bettering the previous mark by almost seven minutes.

“The main emphasis for me is to set a record so hopefully I’m going to be around when I’m 85 too and I’ll be able to set the 85-year-old record,” Whitlock told AM680.

Whitlock holds many age-category distance running records and is the only person over 70 to have run a sub-3:00 marathon.

Yoshihisa Hosaka, a Japanese masters athlete, was also in Toronto to race and meet Whitlock. Hosaka holds the world masters record in the marathon for athletes 60 and over. His time of 2:36:30 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon stands as the record.

Hosaka was looking to break the age-64 record of 2:42:44 in Toronto but fell short with a time of 2:50:44.

Hosaka was excited to meet Whitlock, both well-known names amongst masters athletes, as he will soon be looking to break many of the records Whitlock holds. Hosaka told the Canada Running Series he was excited to ask Whitlock about his secrets to longevity in sport and training.