derek turnbull

Well, that was a bit of a shock!

I've hardly run since last Sunday's 10k at sea level in London's Hyde Park, but today was Back to Schedule day. I met Bobby McGee, Marci and fellow milers Kyle and Frank for an early-morning training session on the Pearl Street Mile course.

Some people reckon Derek Turnbull was the greatest veteran runner of all time.
This is the guy who at 65 years old ran 2:41:57 in the London Marathon, still an age-group world's best.

That same year, 1992, he set six 65-69 age group records, among them a blistering 4:56.4 -- yes you read that right -- a sub 5-minute mile at age 65.

Turnbull, a sheep farmer from Tussock Creek, New Zealand, died in his sleep at home on his farm and Nature Reserve called Sherwood Forest, leaving a wife Pat and a grown-up family of six, 14 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.

He set 25 world records at distances including 800m, 1500m, 1 mile, 5000m and 10.000m and set best times for cross-country as well as the marathon. He won 28 gold medals at the World Masters Championships on the track – these included six golds at the championships in Durban in 1997 (at age 71). He ran 5:04 for 1500 meters at age 70. Yet he regarded his 58-year running career as just a hobby, and a way to relax and unwind from his "day job" as a sheep farmer.