A 93-year-old man who has run 52 marathons revealed his doctor told him to stop, but he still goes to the gym six days a week.
John Starbrook, from Staines, Surrey, who has been nicknamed ‘The Legend’ by his friends, joined Cat Deeley and Ben Sheppard on This Morning to talk about his passion for keeping fit on Thursday.
John revealed he started running at age 53 after his wife joked that he would never be able to do a marathon because he “doesn’t even like walking.”
‘When I was 53 I did my first marathon, I saw them all running the London Marathon, so I told my wife I was going to do that, and she just laughed and said ‘you don’t even like walking’.’ , so it became a challenge.’
However, he didn’t get the running bug immediately and after his first marathon he thought he wouldn’t do another one.
John Starbrook, 93, from Staines, Surrey, who has run 52 marathons, reveals his doctor told him to stop, but he still goes to the gym six days a week.
He said, ‘After the first thought, I won’t do that again, it’s too hard.’ He had done a little (training) but not enough. I didn’t want to train too much.’
John said the New York Marathon, which he did seven times, is his favorite and the Boudreaux race, which he did twice, was also a highlight.
He added: “On the second day there is a fun run of just six miles and only wine is offered, we don’t need water.”
At the North Wales Marathon he clocked a personal best of 4 hours, 14 minutes and last completed a 26.2 mile race in 2019, when he was 88 years old.
He was the oldest finisher of the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon, aged 87, taking first place in his age group with a time of 8 hours, 21 minutes and 44 seconds.
After his tenth marathon, John’s doctor advised him to stop running when he developed arthritis in his knees.
He said: “I didn’t realize, I was already signed up for the next marathon, so I didn’t stop at all.”
The father of three, who retired 28 years ago, still does spinning classes every morning six days a week and then lifts weights at the gym in the evening.
He was the oldest finisher of the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon, aged 87, taking first place in his age group with a time of 8 hours, 21 minutes and 44 seconds.
John, nicknamed ‘The Legend’, joined Cat Deeley and Ben Sheppard on This Morning to talk about his passion for staying fit on Thursday.
After his tenth marathon, John’s doctor advised him to stop running when he developed arthritis in his knees.
When asked why he trains so much, he joked: “Well, it’s either that or sit down and talk to his wife.”
When asked if he had any advice for older people who want to exercise, John joked: “Don’t do it, it’s too painful, you have to really want to do it and not overdo it.”
However, he acknowledged that he himself would not follow that advice because he has never been “sensible.”
John serves as an ambassador for Age UK, raising tens of thousands of pounds for the charity and inspiring people over 50 to get active.
speaking to The Telegraph In 2023, John said: “A lot of people seem to think that when they reach 50, they’re ‘old’, I heard that and I don’t know what they’re talking about.”
‘A lot of this is in the mind. I’ve had people tell me they couldn’t do this or that because they’re too old, but they’re younger than my son.
“When I tell people what I’ve done, they start jogging and then even run marathons.”