World record at Toronto marathon set by 85-year-old Ed Whitlock

"I had real apprehension about how I was going to finish at around halfway," Whitlock said.

Still Whitlock said he was not satisfied with his performance.

"My goal was to run around 3:50," said Whitlock. "Things fell apart in the second half of the race."

Whitlock said that 12 years ago at the age of 73 he ran that marathon in just two hours and 54 minutes,

Whitlock started running as a teenager, but stopped when he moved to northern Ontario at the age of 21.

"There was no running up there in those days," said Whitlock.

"I didn't start running again until I was 40, so I've been running more or less continuously from 40 up to my current age."

Whitlock’s main incentive which kept him running was to set records at his age group.

"To some extent you're always happy when you've reached another milestone of five years older," he said.

Whitlock said that the shoes he wore were 20 years old.

"I wear them well past their due date," said Whitlock. "I'm not a fan of the current shoe design, and I have a small supply of this particular model of shoe."

“I'll keep running as long as I can, said Whitlock.”

After the marathon Whitlock admitted that he had to pay a painful price for setting the world record.

"My legs are shot today," Whitlock said. "I seemed to be OK yesterday after the marathon, walking around and that sort of thing, but rigor mortis has set in now."

Whitlock said he was not sure when his next marathon will be.

"It depends how my training goes," said Whitlock. "One never knows when one has run one's last race, and I'll keep running as long as I can.”

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj, Image: Ed Whitlock/Facebook)