Seven-year-old William Tullis ran a 21:21 5K at Saturday’s Roman Rumble in Rome, Georgia, to set a pending single-age world record by 53 seconds. The previous record of 22:14, as recognized by the Association of Road Racing Statisticians, was set last month by Adrian Gandara of West Palm Beach, Florida.

William started racing 5Ks earlier this year, but he began racing triathlons when he was 4 years old. His father, Josh Tullis, wrote in a message to Runner’s World Newswire of William’s first race, “His hands were not strong enough to unclasp his helmet after the bike. Never mind, he did the run with the helmet on.”

Over the past three years, William has become an accomplished triathlete. In August, he won his age division at the Hy-Vee Kids Triathlon National Championship in Iowa and finished second in his division at the USA Triathlon Youth National Championship in Ohio.

Tullis says that his son’s two “secrets” are friendships and cross training. “He really doesn’t ‘train,’ instead he goes to various practices where he ‘hangs out’ with friends and they happen to work out,’ wrote Tullis.

William runs only once a week, attending a local club’s Family Track Night. He swims several days per week and bikes once a week.

Becoming a triathlete was a logical step for William, who comes from a family of triathletes. His mother, Jennifer Tullis, is an accomplished triathlete who will take part in her second full Ironman triathlon this weekend. William’s brother Sam, 10, also won his division at the Hy-Vee Kids Triathlon National Championship in August. His sister Jane, 13, is a member of the Southeast Junior High Performance Triathlon Team and has run a 19:32 5K.

William fell into running after tagging along to watch Sam run a 5K in March.

“William was nervous and reluctant to run his first 5K, so he didn't bring his running clothes or shoes,” wrote Tullis. “When we arrived, he got excited and changed his mind. We quickly registered him last minute, but there was no time to get his shorts or shoes, so on a hot early spring day he ran his first 5K in sweat pants and old tennis shoes. His mom tagged along to keep an eye on him, but he quickly dropped her.”

In that race, William ran 22:10, faster than the single-age world record, but the course was uncertified.

William turns 8 in December. He plans to run more 5Ks in the coming months before turning his focus to base training for 2015, which will involve a greater focus on swimming.

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