Study of a European Male Champion in 10-Km Road Races in the Age Group >85 Years

Abstract

An 86-year-old man became a double champion in the European championship for road running in 2009. He won the 10-km road run with a time of 58:01 minutes, setting a new European record for men aged 85 and older. Two days later, he became a European champion in the same age group for the half-marathon, with a time of 2:17 hours. He started his running career at the age of 64 years and has trained for about an hour three times a week every year since. During these 22 years, he has performed several road runs each year, ranging from 2.5 to 10 km, and also completed a number of half-marathons. Although his running speeds had progressively slowed since the age of 64, there was an increased rate of decline at the age of 82. This man's outstanding performance should encourage other master runners to continue running and competing past the age of 85.