Canio Polosa breaks Canadian M90+ 5K record

Canio Polosa, a 93-year-old runner living in London, Ont., smashed his own 5K Canadian Masters record on Sunday by over one minute. Polosa ran 36:30 at the Halloween Haunting 5K, which was held at Springbank Park in London, Ont.

His previous personal best was 37:41. Polosa mentioned that he was honored to have so much support, as many runners recognized him at the race. 

Polosa is a retired medicine professor at McGill University. He began to run during retirement after joining London’s Pacers Running Club, who he ran three marathons during the ’90s.

After his third marathon, Polosa took a break from running after losing the cartilage in his knees. Now at 93, Polosa is back running, wearing his knee brace and setting Canadian records after an Amazon advertisement recommendation from his wife Lynne Weaver. “They have become his best friends,” she says. 

Polosa said in a video interview with CBC London that he doesn’t know why he likes running, but he enjoys running 5K to 10K every day to embrace nature. When questioned why most people his age aren’t running, Polosa said, “Most people are not running because they don’t think they can do it.”

Polosa also holds the M90+ Canadian masters’ mile record of 11:07, which he set in June of this year, but is eager to lower it after he said he started too fast during his last attempt.

posted Monday November 1st
by Marley Dickinson