Faster times, record numbers: the science of running marathons as an older person

The number of veteran runners is on the up and they're leaving the times of their predecessors for dust

• A sea of positivity': older women boost London Marathon numbers

This year's London marathon will have record numbers of veteran participants, with a near-doubling of the number of female runners aged 60 to 69 registering to run since 2018. As the number of veteran runners has steadily increased, performance has improved at a staggering rate.

In May, Jo Schoonbroodt, a 71-year-old from Maastricht nicknamed the Grey Kenyan", broke the over-70s record with a time of 2hr 54min 19sec. Last year, the Japanese runner, Mariko Yugeta, took the female over-60s record down to 2hr 52min 1sec, faster than the overall men's world record in 1909.