

Running a marathon is a gruelling challenge at the best of times. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Chmee2

Ed Whitlock recently broke the world record by completing a marathon in just under four hours.

If you have been planning to start a new fitness regime this year but are worried that you won't be able to manage it, spare a thought for 85-year-old Ed Whitlock - a man who not only manages to keep fit but is even able to run entire marathons faster than people a fraction of his age.The octogenarian, who took up competitive running in his 40s, still holds the world record for running a marathon in under three hours at the age of 75 and now holds a similar record for completing the same distance in under four hours at the age of 85.What makes his incredible feats all the more remarkable is the fact that he hasn't done anything particularly noteworthy to achieve any of it - his diet and exercise regime are pretty standard.According to Dr Michael Joyner, a performance and aging researcher at Mayo Clinic, it appears that Whitlock's incredible athletic feats are down to what he calls 'minimal aging'.By testing the 85-year-old's VO2 max reading, which determines how much oxygen an athlete can use, Dr Joyner found that Whitlock has lungs equivalent in fitness to those of a teenager.The man himself however simply attributes his success to a willingness to try.