Ed Whitlock

Ed Whitlock was an English-born Canadian long-distance runner, born on March 6, 1931 and died on March 13, 2017. He was 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. He had run as a teenager and took up the sport again in his forties. In 2000, at the age of 69, he first became the oldest person to run a marathon in under three hours, with a time of 2:52:47, and he later ran 2:58:40 at the age of 74. At 73 he set a world record in the marathon for men 70 to 74 with 2:54:48, his fastest time after turning 70. In October 2016, aged 85, he became the oldest person to run a marathon in less than four hours, finishing the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 3:56:34.