Athlete
On September 30, 2001, at age 76, he set a world age record when he ran a 3:22:59 marathon in the Portland Marathon. This was after a comeback following an accident that may have ended his running career. On April 2, 2005, at age 80, he ran the 15k in 59:00. In 1996, at age 71, he barely missed becoming the only runner over age 70 to break 3 hours in the marathon, as he posted a 3:00:58 at the 1996 Twin Cities Marathon. At age 78 he set a world age record for 12-kilometers in the Bloomsday Run. At age 80, he set an American record in his division of the mile run at the USA Masters Indoor Track and Field Championship (Jacksons Track, Nampa, Idaho), running it in 6:48.02, to beat Paul Spangler's 1979 record of 7:04.20. In 2005, he ran times in two USA Track & Field events which are pending as world records (as of August 14).
On May 14, 2005, Keston became the oldest sub-7 miler in history by running the mile in 6:48:2 in the Fountain of Youth Masters Mile at Canby High School, Canby, Oregon. This beat by more than a minute the previous indoor record set by American Henry Sypniewski, who, at age 81, ran the mile in 7:51:9 in June 2000. This was reported in the May 15, 2005 issue of Runners World. At this event, he also set a world record for the 3000m, running it in 13:30:77. It is not known at the time of this writing whether these record have been officially certified, or whether the event is world-record qualifying.
He holds the half-marathon M80 world record, running it in 1:39:27 on April 15, 2005, at the sixth annual Earth Day Half Marathon in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
He often sings the American and Canadian national anthems at running events, at the starting line just before the race begins, and is a popular invitee to races nationwide. He also presents lectures at these events, speaking about his experiences and challenges as a Masters athlete.
He holds many other U.S. and world age records, and continues to compete in marathons and other track and field events. He began running at age 55 to combat mild hypertension.
The USA Track & Field inducted him into its Masters Hall of Fame in 2001.
Read more about this topic: John Keston
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