Michiharu Shimojo wears a medal around his neck indicating that he completed the Boston Marathon, and holds up another one that one of Japan's Boston Marathon winners, Keizo Yamada, gave to him. (Mainichi)

TOKYO -- Japanese runner Michiharu Shimojo completed his 12th Boston Marathon this year, and once again received the honor of being the oldest to finish the race -- this time at the age of 83.

It was the second year in a row for Shimojo, a resident of the Tokyo suburban city of Hachioji, to be the oldest to complete the marathon -- and there are no signs he is about to stop anytime soon.

Shimojo, who participated in the 80-plus category in April, was introduced on the marathon's official guide with a photo as the oldest runner in a field of 30,000 entrants. The guide noted that last year, despite the cold and rain, he had finished the marathon in a time of 5 hours, 47 minutes and 30 seconds.

As Shimojo made his way along the course wearing a "M80+" bib denoting his age category, onlookers gave him the thumbs-up. Other runners patted him on the back and shoulder in encouragement, he said. Of the nine runners aged 80 or over, Shimojo came eighth with a time this year of 5:25:58.

Shimojo was born in the southwestern Japan city of Kumamoto, and in 1953, when he was in high school, he saw Japanese runner Keizo Yamada win the Boston Marathon, a feat that inspired him decades before his own participation in the race. After retiring as a member of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force at the age of 55, Shimojo began full-fledged marathon training. On his first attempt at the Boston Marathon in 2004, he pulled out shortly after the 40-kilometer mark. But from the year after that, he went on to complete the race for 11 years in a row.

In 2005, Shimojo participated in a marathon in the southwestern Japan city of Miyazaki in which his hero Yamada took part. Shortly afterward, Yamada sent him a medal praising his performance. The medal contained the phrase "physical strength, drive and effort" -- words made famous by Japan's first Olympic marathon runner, Shiso Kanakuri. Kanakuri was also from Kumamoto Prefecture, and Shimojo was acquainted with him.

Michiharu Shimojo's name and photo appear in an official guide for the Boston Marathon. (Mainichi)

"After the age of 80, my physical strength declines each year," Shimojo admits. Still this year in February, he managed to complete the Kumamoto Castle Marathon in his home prefecture, followed by the Tokyo Marathon in March, in spite of the rain.

Shimojo didn't manage to qualify for next year's Boston Marathon, but he hopes to take a shot at the Kobe Marathon in western Japan in November and aims to qualify for the Boston Marathon the year after that.

In the meantime, he volunteers at a home for the elderly on night duty once a week, and continues to run every day.

"I want my daily practice to take form, and to keep trying to run marathons, which give me a sense of achievement," he said.

(Japanese original by Megumi Nokura, Hachioji Bureau)