The sub three-hour marathon is the holy grail of many marathon runners, with many aiming to break it before they pass their marathon 'peak' age. Perhaps after reading about Ed Whitlock, they might be inspired to extend that peak age a little further: at the age of 73, Ed ran a time of 2:54 in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. A year earlier in the same marathon, he had become the oldest person (and the first person over seventy) to break the sub-3 barrier, coming in at 2:59.

"People under-estimate what old people can accomplish," Ed said. "Old people are the worst in that respect. They let themselves be inhibited by age." After showing some promise in athletics as a teenager, Ed took time off to raise a family and only returned to the sport in his 40s, running an amazing 2:31 marathon in Ottawa at the age of 48. Ed's training program consists of a daily three hour run around his local cemetery - he prefers to keep the speedwork for the twenty or so races he runs each year.

Now Ed is trying to repeat the feat for the over-75 category, although he admits that advancing age makes the prospect less and less likely. However, having just run a 3:04 in the Rotterdam Marathon in April this year, one can't rule out anything....