A great-grandfather is taking part in the Manchester Marathon this Sunday – aged 87.
Harry Newton, from Macclesfield, is aiming to complete the 26.2-mile race within six to seven hours.
He expects to be the oldest of the estimated 36,000 runners taking part, with just one competitor in the men’s over-80 category last year.
Harry, a retired grocer and sub-postmaster, said: “I don’t know of anyone in my age category attending.
“The chances are I will very probably be the oldest one there.”
Harry said he had “never done any athletics before” training for the 1995 London Marathon, aged 57, after an invite from a colleague to raise money for a grocer’s charity.
“The first one, I got round but it was a bit of a disaster, really, and it took me a few weeks to recover,” he said. “After that it got better, though I’ve slowed down over the years.”
In total Harry has completed 29 marathons and raised more than £50,000 for various charities.
On Sunday, he is raising money for The Christie, in support of the cancer support charity to which he owes his life.
One month after achieving his personal best of 3hrs 52mins 30secs at the 2008 London Marathon aged 70, Harry received a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Harry said: “I got good treatment at The Christie pretty quickly and in January 2009 they told me I was all clear.
“I was in remission and I’ve managed to keep it that way ever since.”
Harry is as active as ever 16 years on.
Having spent the coronavirus lockdown running two virtual marathons of 461 laps each in his back garden in Broken Cross, he has said he has no plans to stop and will continue running for as long as he is able.
He hopes his wife Phyllis will be able to cheer him over the finish line on Sunday, along with other members of his family.
The Newtons share two sons, a daughter, nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren aged between six months and 18-years-old.
Harry’s fundraiser for the Christie Charity is live on Justgiving.
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