 At the Milton Half-Marathon 2012 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Edward Whitlock |
| Nationality | British & Canadian |
| Born | March 6, 1931 London, England |
| Died | March 13, 2017 (aged 86) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Engineer, Runner |
| Years active | 1948–2017 |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
| Weight | 112 lb (51 kg) |
| Spouse | Brenda |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and Field |
| Event(s) | 800 m, 1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m, 10,000 m, Half marathon, Marathon |
| University team | University of London |
| Club | Ranelagh Harriers |
Ed Whitlock (March 6, 1931 – March 13, 2017) was an English-born Canadian long-distance runner, and the first person over 70 years old to run a marathon in less than three hours, with a time of 2:59:10 in 2003.
Whitlock, who ran as a teenager and took up the sport again in his forties, first became the oldest person to run a marathon in less than three hours in 2000, at the age of 69, with a time of 2:52:47. He later extended this record, running a time of 2:58:40 at the age of 74. At 73, he set a world record in the marathon for men 70 to 74, running a 2:54:48, his fastest time after turning 70. According to an article in The New York Times, if age-graded, this time would be equivalent to a 20-year-old running 2:03:57 and which would have been the fastest marathon ever run in 2010.[1] For an explanation of age-graded tables, see masters athletics. At the time of his death, Whitlock was known to be the only person over 70 to run a marathon in less than three hours,[2] although Gene Dykes has subsequently done so several times, as has Jo Schoonbroodt.[3][4] At age 85, he became the oldest person to run a marathon in less than four hours at 3 hours, 56 minutes 34 seconds at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in October 2016.
- ^ "Bruce Grierson, The Incredible Flying Nonagenarian". The New York Times. 28 November 2010.
- ^ "SA_Mara". Arrs.run. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- ^ Frances, Anne (22 September 2019). "Gene Dykes bows out of Scotiabank Toronto record attempt". Running Magazine. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ Ingle, Sean (12 May 2022). "Age no barrier: how Jo Schoonbroodt smashed the 70+ marathon record". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2022.