Ed Whitlock was born on March 6, 1931, and died on March 13, 2017.

He was an English-born Canadian long-distance runner, and the first person over 70 years old to run a marathon in less than three hours with a time of 2:59:10 in 2003.

Ed ran as a teenager and took up the sport again in his forties, first became the oldest person to run a marathon in less than 3 hours in 2000, at the age of 69, with a time of 2:52:47.

Later, Ed extended this record, running a time of 2:58:40 at the age of 74.

Whitlock had set a world record in the marathon for men 70 to 74, running a 2:54:48, his fastest time after turning 70.

Reportedly, in an article in The New York Times, if age-graded, this time would be equivalent to a 20-year-old running 2:03:57 and which would have been the fastest marathon ever run in 2010.

As an explanation of age-graded tables, see masters athletics.

When he died, Whitlock was known to be the only person over 70 to run a marathon in less than three hours.

At age 85, Whitlock became the oldest person to run a marathon in less than four hours at 3 hours, 56 minutes 34 seconds at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in October 2016.

Ed Whitlock passed away at 86 years old.