On Saturday, November 12, the Pacific Grove Lighthouse 5K was held at Lovers Point Park in Pacific Grove, CA. As a 22-year-old young runner, I participated in this race. Finishing this race was not easy for me. After continuous self-encouragement, I finished the race in 00:28:02. At the awards ceremony, the host read out the name of the oldest runner in the women’s division—Carolyn Maclane, who came in first place in F 85-98 with a time of 00:48:20. Everyone cheered and applauded for her and I felt proud of her and gained a lot of strength from her.

In fact, senior marathon runners always show admirable perseverance and performance. The 71-year-old from Maastricht started running in his 30s. He is now the fastest septuagenarian marathon runner in history. At an age when many of his contemporaries are winding down, the man they call the Grey Kenyan is somehow speeding up. On Sunday, May 8th, 2022, Jo Schoonbroodt, a 71-year-old from Maastricht, ran a marathon in a staggering 2hr 54min 19sec to become the fastest septuagenarian in history. A few days later, when the Guardian catches up with him, his achievement is still sinking in. “I only started jogging at 36 because my doctor told me I had high cholesterol,” he says, chuckling. “But last year I ran 7,242 kilometers [4,450 miles], which is more than double what I did in my car.”

Incredibly it was Schoonbroodt’s 75th sub-three-hour marathon, and it came only four weeks after his 74th at the Rotterdam marathon. For good measure, the flying Dutchman also holds a number of ultra-running records. He is clearly no ordinary Jo. But the secrets of his success might surprise you. “Most runners train too hard. I do a lot of my training with groups that run very slowly. And then I build on these basics with some faster interval training. But I don’t do the same stupid distance 10 or 20 times – I prefer to have a lot of fun with my running.” He said. He also dismisses the idea that runners need to do anything special with their diets. “Diet? No, no,” he scoffs. “No diet! I eat double portions, of course, with all these calories I burn. I love pasta and potatoes. But whatever is on the table, I eat it.” He has a similarly relaxed attitude when it comes to alcohol. “I prefer French wine and Belgian beer. Not too much, and mostly on weekends. Wine is just a grape drink, so it’s made from nature. And Belgian beer is special. And if you do all this with your body,” he adds, referring to the 85 miles he still runs each week, “you need to give it something back. And this is what I give back to the body!” Being a late bloomer, he believes, has actually helped him because his ego never had to worry about chasing faster times of his youth. “Because I started so late, I missed my best years. But that’s no problem. Everything is still new to me.”

From Carolyn and Jo’s story, I feel the love of life and the reverence for life. Age is not a barrier, enjoying life and spending your life on what you love is the most worthwhile thing you can do.

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