Ed Whitlock

Ed Whitlock (March 6, 1931 – March 13, 2017) was an English-born Canadian long-distance runner. He is 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.

Early life
Whitlock was born in a suburb of London, England, and later moved to Canada. He wanted to study for an engineering career. He graduated from Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, England. 

Running  career
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 3 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, when he was 73, and 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.Bruce Grierson, The Incredible Flying Nonagenarian, The New York Times, November 28, 2010 For an explanation of age-graded tables, see masters athletics. At the time of his death, Whitlock he was still the only person over 70 to run a marathon in less than three hours. 

Record
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.

Death
Whitlock died of prostate cancer on March 13, 2017 in Milton, Ontario, aged 86.

References

Other websites
 , "Michael McGowan" (film director), 2001 The prime of the ancient marathoner
 Mike Tymn,Running Times, April 2004, Age Group Ace
 RunnersWeb, September 27, 2004, Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon
  , "Amby Burfoot", 2005, Runners World interview
 , "Marc Bloom", New York Times, February 2005, At73, Marathoner runs as if he has stopped the clock
  , "Lawrence Hill", Walrus magazine, April 2005, Marathon man

Category:1931 births
Category:2017 deaths
Category:Long-distance runners
Category:Canadian sportspeople
Category:Sportspeople from London