When it comes to masters distance running, Tommy Hughes, the former Olympian from Ireland, is in a league of his own. The 64-year-old from Belfast took on his hometown marathon on May 5, clocking two hours, 36 minutes, and 37 seconds—which is the fastest marathon time ever for someone his age.
Hughes finished 25th overall (23rd male) and won his M60-64 age category by a staggering 39 minutes, ahead of Northern Ireland’s Paul Alister, who came in at 3:15:40. He even ran a one-minute negative split after coming through halfway in 1:18:41. Hughes also holds the men’s 60-64 world marathon record of two hours and 30 minutes, which he set in 2020, breaking the previous mark by six minutes.
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“I am very happy with my run in the Belfast marathon,” Hughes posted to Instagram. “My time is a single age of 64 record, beating the previous record of 2:24:44 set by Clive Davies in 1979.”
Hughes says he wasn’t even going to run Sunday’s marathon, as he came down with a very bad cold in the week leading up. “It was a gamble, but the conditions were perfect for marathon running, and the cheering around the course was brilliant,” he said.
Hughes, who will move into a new 65-69 age category in January 2025, already has his eyes on that record, which is 2:41:57. “I will go after the over 65 world record in six months’ time and try to dip under that elusive two-hour and 30-minute mark.”
He has a lifetime personal best of 2:13:15 from the 1992 Marrakech Marathon. In the same year, he competed in the marathon at the Barcelona Olympics, where he finished 72nd. Hughes also holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest father-son marathon in 2019 with his son, Eoin Hughes. Tommy ran a blazing 2:27:52, and Eoin ran 2:31:30 for a combined time of 4:59:22
