At 80-years-old, Bill Poole is breaking barriers after running his first half marathon.
Poole finished with a time of 2:49 in an informal race from Mallorytown Landing to downtown Brockville, Ont. on Saturday.
“Maybe less than a year ago, I just had a thought: ‘I’d like to try a half marathon when I’m 80.’ And Jordan, my son in law, said, ‘I’ll do it with you,'” Poole said.
Poole celebrated his birthday on Thursday, and wanted to cross this run off his bucket list.
He took up running when he was 65-years-old and started competing in the Canada 55+ Games – running 200 metre, 400 metre, 800 metre and 1500 metre races.
Poole was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2014, which held him from competing. But 10 years after his diagnosis, he was able to complete a half marathon, something he never envisioned at the time.
“Because I didn’t do long distances, I’d …