Age is no barrier for Troon's John

Aug 22 2008

PENSIONER John McKinlay is bucking the trend.

At 66 he’s fit enough to run a marathon and his youthful appearance belies his true age.

The Troon dad-of-three’s lifestyle is a far cry from that of the 68 per cent of Ayrshire men who are officially fat.

And his healthy attitude to life means that he’s fit enough to enjoy his well-earned retirement.

John runs for at least an hour every day and insists that it’s hard to imagine a time when he won’t.

He explained: “Running is just a part of my life.

“I run for about an hour a day, but I’m no fitness fanatic.

“I don’t go in for gyms or circuit training classes or anything like that. The whole point for me is being outside, I like being in the fresh air.

“I’m not obsessive about what I eat either. I don’t eat rubbish, mainly because I don’t like it, so my diet I suppose is pretty good compared to a lot of people’s.”

John – who is secretary of Troon Tortoises running club – completed his 65th marathon on his 65th birthday last year after retiring as a fitter from Rockware in Irvine.

He took up running along with some of his workmates in the late 1970s.

He said: “The beach park opened and we used to go for a wee bit of a run.

“I got into it from there. The mass marathon races started at around the same time and I ran my first one in Inverclyde in 1982. I’ve been doing it since then.

“I used to run to my work and back right up until I retired. If I was on night shift I’d go on my bike mind you.

“When I started out not much was really known about the impact of running on your body over a long period of time. Some people worried that it would cause all sorts of problems down the line.

“But the reality is that there are more benefits than problems.

“I’ve had no real bad side effects from all the years that I’ve run.”

John, who lives with wife Margaret and has three grown-up children, recently completed a half-marathon in an impressive 1hr 48mins – not bad for an OAP.

He added: “I suppose I’m quite chuffed that I can still do it, even if my half marathon time was a half an hour slower than it used to be.”

And John is keen to encourage anyone considering taking up running to pull on their trainers and give it a try.

He went on: “It’s been good for me and I’m sure it will be for other people. You can be any age or any fitness level. As long as you don’t suffer from any health problems there’s no reason not to give it a try.

“Clubs like mine are usually happy to encourage novices and there are plenty of us who are more than happy to run along with them and give them a bit of a hand.

“You only have to ask.”

To find out more about Troon Tortoises log on to www.troontortoises.org.uk