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Buster Martin now aims to become the world's oldest marathon runner
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Already Britain's oldest employee, 101-year-old Buster Martin now aims to become the world's oldest marathon runner by completing the London Marathon and celebrating with a pint of beer and a cigarette.
Sprightly and bearded, he completed a half marathon at the weekend in five hours 13 minutes. The former Army physical training instructor works three days a week for a London plumbing firm and says he has trained for the April 13th race in his spare time.
"I've said I'll attempt it," he told reporters by telephone from his workplace at Pimlico Plumbers. "I haven't said I'll complete it. If I do make it, all the better. I hadn't thought of doing it before but someone asked me and the money goes to charity so why not?"
His sponsorship money will go to the Rhys Daniels Trust, which provides temporary accommodation for families of patients in specialist children's hospitals.
Martin, who had 17 children and returned to work at the age of 99 saying he was bored after two years of retirement, would beat the previous record for world's oldest marathon runner by eight years.
"If I finish, I'll do what I always do and have a pint and a fag," he said. "People ask what is my secret but I haven't got one. They say fags and booze are bad for you -- but I'm still here, aren't I?"
(Agencies)
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英國年齡最大的雇員、101歲的巴斯特?馬丁目前正在備戰今年的倫敦馬拉松賽，如果他能跑完全程，便將成為“世界上年齡最大的馬拉松選手”，到時他又會喝杯啤酒、抽支煙來慶祝勝利了。
留著大胡子的馬丁精力十足。他于上周末參加了一個“半程馬拉松賽”，并以5小時13分鐘跑完了全程。馬丁曾是一名陸軍體能訓練師，現在他每周在倫敦一家管道公司工作三天，他說他主要利用業余時間備戰4月13號的比賽。
馬丁接受記者的電話采訪時正在皮姆里克管道公司上班。他說：“我說過我要試試，但我沒說會跑完全程。如果真的能跑完全程，那更好。本來我沒想參賽，可有人讓我去還說贊助金將捐給慈善機構，既然這樣，何樂而不為呢？”
馬丁所得的贊助費將捐給“里斯?丹尼爾斯信托基金會”，該基金專為兒童專科醫院的病人家屬提供短期食宿。
馬丁有17個孩子。他說自己退休兩年后覺得很無聊，所以在99歲那年又找了一份工作。馬丁將挑戰“世界上年齡最大的馬拉松選手”的歷史紀錄，目前這一紀錄保持者是一位93歲的老人。
他說：“如果我跑完全程，我還會像往常一樣，喝杯啤酒抽根煙。人們問我長壽的秘訣是什么，我沒什么秘訣。大家都說喝酒抽煙有害健康，可我這不是活得好好的嗎？”
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（英語點津姍姍編輯）
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