If you saw him on the street, Edmund Jor says, you probably wouldn’t peg him as a prolific runner.
Jor stands around 5’4”, has a small frame and doesn’t have six-pack abs.
But when it comes to running, he doesn’t stop.
On Sunday, the Port Moody resident will run in his 100th half marathon at the BMO Vancouver Marathon, and that comes just three months after he completed his 99th half marathon at a race near Disney World in Florida on his 57th birthday.
(He has also completed 35 full marathons, but that’s another story.)
Jor never planned on racking up so many miles.
But after arriving to Canada from Hong Kong in 1990, something began to happen: weight gain. After putting on 35 lb. with a switch to a Western diet with more dairy than he was used to, he decided to do something about it, so he started running.
After a pounding the ground for a year, he needed new shoes. He met Paul Slaymaker, who owns The Runners’ Den in Port Moody and educated him about proper shoes.
Jor was still a little reluctant to fork over more than $100 at the time for quality runners, so Slaymaker said, “Why not run a marathon?”
Jor, in his 30s at the time, had never considered it.
“I did the first one and the rest is history,” he said.
His first race the was the Vancouver half marathon 22 years ago.
Although he would compete in full marathons, he later began to focus on half marathons, which didn’t require quite as much intense training and commitment.
Now 57, he also is a clinic leader at Runner’s Den and works with many first-time runners to get them started on road to achieving their own fitness goals. He finds that newer runners can quickly get up to running 30 minutes continuously.
Jor gets tremendous joy when he’s able to unlock the running potential of a rookie runner, advising that training and discipline are key when preparing for the big race day.
“Don’t try anything new, stick with what you have been training.” He should know.
When asked about the approaching his half-marathon milestone, Jor is more excited about setting a good example for others to stay active.
“If I can run, then many of the people I know should be able to run, they can stay active,” he said. “That’s the key message I want to pass along: Stay active and you well see the benefits down the road.”
