Man who started running to lose weight becomes UK's oldest person to complete 100 marathons
A man who began running in his mid-50s to lose weight has become the oldest person in the UK to complete 100 marathons.
Martin Ward, 64, completed his century of 26-mile runs in just eight years after he took up running following numerous health scares.
The father of two has previously suffered from two collapsed lungs and a slipped disc and was warned by doctors to "keep fit but never run - certainly not a marathon".
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Ward’s remarkable feat included nine 33-mile ultra marathons, two of which he won three days apart. He’s averaged 12 and a half marathons a year since completing his first in 2015.
"At school I was told I was rubbish at PE and if you tell a kid something they believe it so I just didn't exercise," Ward says. "Then in my 20s I suffered two collapsed lungs, once while running for a bus and then one day quite inexplicably when I was cooking bacon.
"I was left in intensive care, they thought I had a heart attack at first, but eventually that was all sorted before I had terrible back problems in my 30s.
"At that point I was registered as disabled and had a green card, so exercising was never on my mind until I got a bit older into my 50s. I was generally not in a very good condition but after having a cancer scare too I knew I had to do something."
Ward adds that seeing his son run a half marathon is what inspired him to take up running.
"I watched my son running the Conwy half marathon along the beautiful Welsh coastlines and I turned to my wife Irena and said I'd love to do that," he continues.
"She just laughed at me to start with but I thought it might be a good way to start losing the pounds. I began by just jogging around the block, to start with just between lampposts, then eventually on to my allotment.
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"I built up to park runs and then did a 3k and then I started doing 10ks. I started to really believe I could run then. It was like a revelation, as you can imagine. For 55 years I'd been told not to run and that I can't run. Then I find out I can."
When Ward began running, he weighed 15 stone. Eight years later he’s down to 11 stone.
"I'm absolutely elated. It's an amazing achievement," Ward says of completing his 100th marathon. "There's only 500 people in the UK and Ireland out of 72 million people who have done it."
He adds that the London Marathon is “the best for atmosphere” but that his favourite was the Edinburgh Marathon which he ran in 4 hours and 18 minutes.
"I'm not the fastest runner but I'm a prolific runner. When my son did 52 marathons in 52 days I thought I'd keep him busy and ended up doing 34,” he continues. "It was at that point I thought I could get to 100.
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"It was just down to sheer bloody-mindedness and absolute determination that I did it. I get through the barrier by composing music in my head. It's something to focus on when I run.
"What I'm proud of most of all is flying the flag for older people. People say that at a certain age you can no longer compete in sport or no longer win a race. Well, I've smashed that glass ceiling. You're told you're too old to do this and that you can't. You can."
Additional reporting by SWNS.
