Portland man Brian Glover says walking marathons certainly gets "harder" over time but will keep fronting up because of the friendships and bonds he has created through the years.
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The 80-year-old has walked 231 marathons, his first coming as a 54-year-old at the Melbourne Marathon and will compete in the 10km run at the iconic Warrnambool Surf 'T' Surf on Sunday morning.
He told The Standard he never intended to complete so many marathons and park runs after taking up walking almost three decades ago but was looking forward to coming to Warrnambool.
"It was going to be my one and only, just to say I'd done one," he said of his first marathon 26 years ago.
"But I mostly do it because of the friendships you make along the way while you're out there.
"You get to know them well and strike up friendships in races."
He moved to Portland 11 years ago to retire and loves life in the south-west, enjoying the lifestyle and outdoors.
Glover completed the Blue Lake Marathon in December, which is a 10.4km run with a walking time of 79 minutes and the 3 Bays Running Festival last October in Portland where he completed it in 81 minutes.
He said he was proud of himself for the achievements despite a "tough year" personally.
"We had a pretty bad year with deaths in the family losing four people, it wasn't a good year," he said.
"Considering the times and training I'd done I was happy with that."
The Warrnambool fun run/walk will finally return this Sunday, January 8 after a two-year hiatus - a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The event consists of four options - a 10-kilometre run, 6km run, 6km walk and 3km lap of the lake - and starts and finishes in the Lake Pertobe precinct.
Talented Warrnambool runner Tom Hynes is the most recent Surf 'T' Surf 10km winner. He finished the 2020 edition in 32 minutes and three seconds.
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Nick Creely
Sports reporter with The Standard
Sports reporter with The Standard
