John Starbrook can’t be stopped.
The Brit known as “The Legend” has run 52 marathons and works out at the gym six days a week — at 93 years old.
“The spin classes get me moving,” Starbrook told The Guardian on Sunday. “And then, about 4 p.m. or 5 p.m., I go back to work on my upper body.”
He’s been an excellent swimmer for nearly 80 years — since he was a teen. He honed the skill while serving in the army medical corps.
To celebrate turning 80, he swam about a mile across the Gulf of Corryvreckan, between the Scottish islands of Jura and Scarba. He still swims three times a week — and plays water polo.
Starbrook also took up running at 53 — logging a personal marathon best of 4 hours, 14 minutes in North Wales around the turn of the century. He last completed a 26.2-mile race in 2019 when he was 88.
He was the oldest finisher of the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon, at 87.
The former egg deliveryman placed first in his age group — with a time of 8 hours, 21 minutes, and 44 seconds.
“About 10 or 15 years ago,” Starbrook told The Guardian, “the doctor said, ‘You’ve got to pack in that running.’ I said, ‘Yeah, all right’ — and I did about 15 marathons after that.”
The Staines, Middlesex resident credits his genes for his long-lasting athleticism.
“I don’t do anything special,” he confessed to The Guardian, “though I’ve never smoked and never drank much. My diet’s pretty normal. I have porridge in the morning and I eat a lot of veg, and not much fried food.”
He also said he’s “never bothered about anything.”
He does admit to some occasional health challenges, including a bit of arthritis in one knee and an irregular heartbeat, which he treats with a blood thinner.
“I thought I’d go on until about 70,” the nonagenarian confided to The Guardian. “When I was younger, I thought, ‘I wonder if I’ll still be alive in the year 2000.’ That was in 1945. I won’t make it to 3000, anyway.”
Starbrook serves as an ambassador for Age UK, raising tens of thousands of dollars for the charity and inspiring people over 50 to get active.
The father of three, who retired 28 years ago, recommends older people start easy by jogging a mile or two and walking when necessary.
They should use extra time they have in retirement to go to the gym — try to enjoy it, but don’t overdo it.
“A lot of people seem to think that when they hit 50, they’re ‘old,’” Starbrook told The Telegraph in 2022. “I hear that, and I don’t know what they’re talking about.”
Starbrook’s advice comes as a new study advises women to get active by 55 to enjoy health benefits as they grow older.
