At 82 years of age, many individuals are typically slowing down, however not so for Victorian man John Timms, who’s aiming to run 100 kilometres a day in Adelaide this week to beat a world document.
The Australian Six-Day Extremely Marathon Competition is underway at Thornton Park within the metropolis’s north-east this week and, by Tuesday, Timms had already run 132 kilometres.
“I hoped to run a world document, which is 536 kilometres for somebody over 80 and it is held by an American,” he advised ABC Radio Adelaide.
“Over six days, that was my plan, to run 100km a day.
“I did it the primary day [but] as a result of I am a most cancers affected person, the nerves within the leg the place I had the radiation was affecting it a bit and it took some time to straighten it out, so in the present day I’ve needed to climb out of the background a bit.”
‘Run, eat, sleep’ repeat
Timms, who’s sleeping in his automobile on the six-day occasion, mentioned he was about “50-odd” kilometres behind and was planning to atone for the shortfall “every day somewhat bit”.
“It is run, eat, sleep; run, eat, sleep. I’ve achieved it for 40 years and totally take pleasure in it,” he mentioned.
Timms already holds the Australian document for extremely runners over 80, having run 440.485km on the six-day occasion in 2023.
He additionally holds the Australian 48-hour document for extremely runners over 80, having run 177.84km at Thornton Park in 2022.
“I am fairly pleased with that one,” Timms mentioned.
The annual competition, which began on Sunday and has a public reservoir at its centre, features a rising variety of worldwide runners.
“We have runners from all around the world right here, Japan, America, Korea. They’re characters, all nationwide heroes in their very own proper going for data,” Timms mentioned.
“That is the hardest six-day race on this planet.”
Dwelling ‘life to the total’
Regardless of his purpose for a world document, Timms mentioned he ran for “enjoyment, easy as that”.
“Lots of people reside life they usually strive one thing and [say] ‘Nah, could not do it’, however if you happen to problem your self, you are able to doing much more than you suppose,” he mentioned.
“Whether or not it is taking part in a piano or music or no matter, it provides you [an] incentive to reside life to the total.
“Well being-wise, in my place, I must be lifeless.”
Timms mentioned the medical professionals aiding him as a most cancers affected person mentioned his actions have been serving to him “immensely”.
Social contact is essential to an extended life
Right this moment is Worldwide Day of Older Individuals, with a Council of the Getting old discussion board going down in Adelaide.
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Veteran ABC presenter Geraldine Doogue is lead speaker on the occasion and mentioned analysis confirmed it was “common social contact, typically of a really odd nature” that saved folks residing longer “and flourishing”.
However this didn’t imply that folks needed to “plunge into full-on engagement”.
Doogue mentioned the contact could possibly be easy.
“Typically it is repeatedly going again to your centres and saying ‘Hiya’ to folks, figuring out they are going to be there, or the chances are they are going to be there, that is really extra sturdy,” she mentioned.
“That is the message I’ll ship in the present day, as a result of that’s the message coming repeatedly via, from all of the longitudinal analysis.”
