Ten men have run all 39 London marathons.
After being forced to cancel a mass event in central London this year by a corona virus infection, racing players will not be as much as they would have expected in their 40s by choosing their own route.
Here’s how they plan to reach their 40th medal.
– Ken Jones, 87, who is always older, runs around his hometown of Straben, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
He aims to finish the marathon with his daughter Heather.
Mr Jones said the training went well “I feel good”.
– Dr. Malcolm “Mac” Speak, 78, a retired GP from Ipswich.
He is a qualified course surveyor and plans his own 26.2 mile run.
He said it was difficult to train for the original April date and then train again until October: “I was looking forward to it, but I look forward to getting it.
– Charles “Len” Cousins, 78, of Suffolk, Loloftop, retired from barbering during the lockout.
He said it’s hard to be excited about the virtual marathon in his local area: “It’s not going to be the same, is it?”
Mr Cousins said he did not know when the mass event could return to central London: “I think the virus will be with us for years to come.”
– Roger Lowe, 76, of Camden Town, north London, works part-time in investor relations.
He will run in London on his way to Hyde Park and Regents Park.
“I can say I have run every London marathon for 40 years, it was an achievement,” he said.
– Bill O’Connor, 75, runs near his home in North Pinchley, north London.
He expects family and friends from Queens Park Harriers to support him: “I want to enjoy that day and hope it’s good for us and we all get it safely. I look forward to it. “
He raises money for the BSP Association after a neighbor dies after being diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a neurological condition caused by the premature loss of nerve cells in certain areas of the brain.
– David Walker, 75, hopes his four grandchildren, Rosie, 11, Sam, eight, Olive, seven, and Flora, three, will cross the finish line with him near his home in Sesham, Buckinghamshire.
Mr Walker’s wife, Lynn, will be in charge of organizing his supporters, including his children Jamie, John and Hannah: “He’s been my rock, who has supported me for 40 years.”
Mr Walker raises money for Mesothelioma Britain after the death of his friend Lynn Bowen: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/david-walker1135
– Terry Macy, 72, a lawyer, owns a home and office near the start line of the regular London Marathon in Blackheath, southeast London.
He plans to run to Woolwich and Greenwich, finishing in the lap of Greenwich Park.
“It will be different. It will not be the same motivation, but it will be even better,” said Mr Macy, who raises money for NSBCC.
– Jeffrey Austen, 72, of Cardiff, is a retired IT consultant.
He plans to run the last two miles of a friend’s flat, and will end his run at City Hospice in Cardiff: “Unfinished is not an option. I have to do what I can. ”
Mr Aston maintained his late wife Wall for City Hospice in Cardiff before dying of cancer in 2016: https://justgiving.com/fundraising/jeffaston2020
– Mike Piece, 70, is a retired headmaster from Lastley, near Exodus, Devon.
He plans to run in Dartmoor: “I really can not think of this as the 40th London Marathon, which is by no means identical in shape and form.”
Mr. Peace raises money for Rockraft Hospice in Torquay: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Mikepeace
– Younger and faster – Ever Present, Chris Finn of Surrey’s Granley, 61, scored 37 off 39 in three hours.
Mr Finn holds the world record for most consecutive three-hour marathons, with a hamstring injury slowing him down with 33 runs in London from 1981-2013. He fell after about three and a half miles in 2018, but finished the race with a sling in his right hand in three hours and 54 minutes.
At Dunsbold Aerodrome he will run the loops, which are mostly used by Top Gear, and he is credited by the Rutland Group, but he is not sure if he will finish in three hours: “Predict that I can run in these races as usual. “
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