On Sunday on the historic Athens Marathon, 88-year-old Ploutarchos Pourliakas turned the oldest finisher at this yr’s race, crossing the road in six hours and 31 minutes—a full 20 minutes quicker than his 2023 end.
Defying each age and limits, Pourliakas accomplished his twelfth Athens Marathon as a part of the occasion’s forty first version. Generally known as “The Genuine Marathon,” this race traces what’s believed to be the unique path taken by Athenian messenger Pheidippides, who ran to announce the Greek victory over the Persians within the Battle of Marathon, almost 2,500 years in the past.
Pourliakas reached the end line on the Panathenaic Stadium, the venue of the primary fashionable Olympics in 1896, surrounded by his household and grandchildren. “I achieved to complete and even improved on final yr,” he advised Reuters in an interview. “I really feel youthful than my 88 years.”
His philosophy for longevity in operating is straightforward: moderation and consistency. “I’ve by no means smoked. I don’t drink, and I eat in a balanced method,” mentioned Pourliakas. He revealed that he does take pleasure in a each day sip of tsipouro, a conventional Greek brandy, saying he considers it extra as a well being tonic than as a drink.
In accordance with Reuters, Pourliakas started operating at age 73, impressed by his son, who’s an ultramarathoner. Now, Pourliakas follows a devoted coaching routine in his hometown of Kastoria, logging 5 kilometres on weekdays and 15 to twenty kilometres on weekends.
@themanilatimes 88-year-old runner completes world’s oldest marathon race At 88, Ploutarchos Pourliakas proved that age is not any barrier to willpower, by finishing the forty first version of the ‘Genuine Marathon of Athens’ in 6 hours and 31 minutes. “I achieved to complete and even improved on final yr,” Pourliakas mentioned, moments after the ending line, as his household and grandchildren cheered and congratulated him. This yr he accomplished the race 18 minutes quicker than final yr. “I really feel youthful than my 88 years” he mentioned, reflecting on his achievement. Impressed by his son, an ultramarathoner, he took up operating in his hometown, Kastoria, in northern Greece, on the age of 73. This marks his twelfth time finishing the enduring 42.195 kilometer race (26.21 mile) from the Tomb of Marathon to the Panathenaic Stadium. As he says, individuals usually don’t consider his age once they see him operating a marathon, however he responds with, “Why wouldn’t you consider it? All of us can do it. So long as we need to.” REUTERS VIDEO #TheManilaTimes #sportstiktok #fyp
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Pourliakas’s story echoes that of Canadian masters operating legend Ed Whitlock, who additionally began operating later in life. In 2000, Whitlock turned the oldest individual to finish a sub-three-hour marathon at age 69 and later set the boys’s 85+ world document, with a time of three:56:38, on the 2016 Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Like Whitlock, Pourliakas’s dedication and self-discipline encourage runners of all ages to maintain pushing their limits.
“Why wouldn’t you consider it? All of us can do it. So long as we need to,” Pourliakas mentioned.
