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Derby man told he was “rubbish” at school becomes oldest in country to complete 100 marathons
Ten years ago, Martin Ward weighed 15 stone and never did any exercise. At school, he was “written off” by PE teachers because he didn’t take to mammoth cross country runs.
In young adulthood, he twice suffered from a collapsed lung – the second occasion leaving him in hospital. His doctor told him to keep fit but to never run – and to “certainly never do a marathon.”
Cut to now and you might not even believe Martin, from Allestree, is the same person. His ascent to become the oldest person in the whole of the UK & Ireland to join the elite 100 Marathon Club at the age of 64 is remarkable.
“I’m absolutely elated,” he said. “It’s not really sinking in, to be honest, yet. It’s an amazing achievement. I’ve had about 1000 congratulations online. Some of the comments have been really quite moving.”
READ MORE: Derby student with cerebral palsy set to take part in third marathon
Martin’s journey to where he is now began just under ten years ago. Describing himself as being “generally not in a very good condition”, a cancer scare inspired him to change his life for good.
It was son Richard – himself an ultra-distance runner – and daughter Nicola who told him that he needed to do something about his health. He watched Richard take on the Conwy half marathon along the beautiful Welsh coastline and realised he’d love to try it.
His wife laughed. But with a little bit of guidance, Martin eased into exercise – walking and then jogging slowly between lampposts.
Realising he could, he then started running – back and forth from his allotment – before taking on distances: 1k, 3k, then 10k.
“It was like a revelation, as you can imagine,” says Martin. “For 55 years I’d been told not to run and that I can’t run. Then I find out I can.”
Martin did his first marathon in September 2015, raising money for Derby Night Shelter. From that point onwards, it was all guns blazing.
Four years ago, a family ancestry DNA test revealed he had the genes of an Olympic-title winning athlete. Despite his son’s prowess in sport, the fact his cousin Peter had a successful football career for Brighton & Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest (even being capped by England in 1980) and the fact that his father refereed football at a high level until his late 50s, Martin says it simply never occurred to him.
“When I was at school, I was told I was rubbish,” he explains. “If young people are told that enough times, they tend to believe it. So I never did any sport.”
Last year, when son Richard completed his own challenge of running 52 marathons in 52 weeks, Martin decided to join in where he could – and completed 34 himself over the year. The 100th came last Saturday, June 10, at Caldecotte Lake in Milton Keynes.
Despite the baking heat and many runners cutting their runs short or quitting altogether, Martin knew he had to complete it – mainly for the Padley group charity he was raising money for. The medal at the end – which Martin describes as “one of the most coveted in distance running ” – didn’t go amiss either, though.
His century puts him into an elite category. The 100 Marathon Club recognises only around 500 people in the UK & Ireland – which have a total combined population of around 72 million – to have mastered the feat.
He’s also, as far as he knows, the oldest person to have completed the feat, and one of only two in Derby. His son Richard is the other – he’s done 110.
Martin’s marathon success isn’t his only achievement. He actually prefers running for much longer distances, having finished 92nd out of more than 700 in the Endure24 endurance race and winning the Enigma Deja Vu marathon and the World Cup Ultra Marathon just days apart from each other. He’s now setting his sights on even longer distances; 100 miles is in the offing.
But anyone can do it, says Martin, who’s also a Movemore ambassador for Derby City Council and a member of Derwent Runners. There’s no secret to doing what he’s done – and no age limit either.
“It’s just sheer bloody-mindedness and absolute determination,” he says.
“What I’m proud of most of all is flying the flag for older people. People say that at a certain age you can no longer compete in sport or no longer win a race. Well, I’ve smashed that glass ceiling. You’re told you’re too old to do this and that you can’t. You can.”
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