Age is nothing but a number as proven by Ed Whitlock

Eighty-five years old Ed Whitlock, an English-born Canadian long-distance runner, has proved that age is nothing but a number.

The 85 years old man has set another record by taking part in a 4-hour marathon race held on Sunday, 16 October 2016.

In the marathon, held in Canada at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Whitlock reportedly not only participated in the race but also completed it in only 3 hours and 56 minutes, breaking the previous world record.

He has followed popular American actor George Burns' famous saying "You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old."

Whitlock, the first person above 70 years old to complete a marathon race in less than three hours in 2003, is no doubt giving an inspiration to entire elderly people who use their older age as an excuse for not doing many things, not even trying easiest of tasks.

Whitlock, who lives in Milton, Ontario, has shattered the former world record created in 2004 in the men's 85-89 age group as he took around 40 minutes less to reach the finish line.

In a video released by Canadian Running magazine, it is visible that Whitlock was running faster, leaving behind comparatively younger people.

In an interview, he told the Canadian Running that he thought he went off too fast at the starting and went through a bad scrap at 25K, however, forged on with heavy legs to shatter the four-hour barrier.

He still seems to have better performance and a broad smile stretched from ear-to-ear when he achieved the target earlier than many others.

Whitlock has been creating records for decades. At the age of 73, he finished a marathon in 2 hours 54 minutes.

Whitlock, who ran in his younger days till his 20s, started again in his 40s.

In 2010, he informed Runner's World that he did not follow instructions of typical coaches. No ice baths, physios, massages, heart rate monitors, tempo runs, he added.

He, however, noted that he had not strong objections to any of that, but he was not amply organized or ambitious to execute all the things one is supposed to do if he is serious.