Dispatches from the middle

A list of recent world records that warrant particular mention:

1. On September 25th, Patrick Makau of Kenya set a new world record at the Berlin marathon. He ran the 42.2 km in 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 38 seconds, knocking 21 seconds off Haile Gebrselassie’s 2008 record of 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 59 seconds.

2. At the Toronto Marathon this past weekend, 100-year-old Fauja Singh – now the oldest person to have completed a full marathon – finished in 8 hours. I’m having trouble snagging photos of this guy, so here is a link to a selection of photos from the Toronto Marathon:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/10/16/photos-scotiabank-toronto-waterfront-marathon/

This was Singh’s 8th marathon, his first being run at the age of 89. In 2003, he set the record for the over-90 age category, finishing in a time of 5 hours, 40 minutes, and 1 second. None too shabby.

3. Last, but certainly not least, Ed Whitlock (80) shattered his own age-group record by 10 minutes to finish in 3 hours, 15 minutes, and 54 seconds. Insane. I want to be like this guy when I’m 80!