On Sunday on the historic Athens Marathon, 88-year-old Ploutarchos Pourliakas grew to become 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. Often called “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 instructed Reuters in an interview. “I really feel youthful than my 88 years.”
His philosophy for longevity in operating is easy: moderation and consistency. “I’ve by no means smoked. I don’t drink, and I eat in a balanced means,” mentioned Pourliakas. He revealed that he does take pleasure in a every day sip of tsipouro, a conventional Greek brandy, saying he considers it extra as a well being tonic than as a drink.
Based on 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.
Pourliakas’s story echoes that of Canadian masters operating legend Ed Whitlock, who additionally began operating later in life. In 2000, Whitlock grew to become the oldest particular person to finish a sub-three-hour marathon at age 69 and later set the lads’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 imagine it? All of us can do it. So long as we wish to,” Pourliakas mentioned.