World marathon champion from 1995 still runs amazingly well aged 61 and is aiming to win his age group at the Prague Half on Saturday

In his prime Martín Fiz won the European marathon title in Helsinki in 1994 and followed it up by claiming the world title in Gothenburg in 1995. While many of his rivals from that era have long since retired, though, he is still going strong, racing regularly and posting remarkable times on the roads aged 61.

On Saturday (April 6) he races the Prague Half Marathon. It is part of his quest to win all of six of the races in the Superhalfs series, with the other events taking place in Berlin, Lisbon, Copenhagen, Cardiff and Valencia.

You wouldnt bet against him either. In his 50s he won his age group category in all of the World Marathon Majors events in London, New York, Boston, Berlin, Tokyo and Boston becoming the first runner to achieve this feat.

How does it he do it? His performances must make other ageing runners envious, so what are the secrets of his success?

It is my way of life to run, he says. I take care of myself as if I was an elite athlete still. I am careful about my diet and my hydration. I look after my body.

For me, to be alive is to run. Also, I enjoy competing.

The evergreen marathon man says he runs around 90km per week these days compared to nearer 220km in the past. My muscles are getting older! he says.

Despite turning 60 last year, he ran 74:45 in the 2023 Cardiff Half Marathon. Back in 2019 he ran a world M55 record of 31:36 for 10km in Valencia too.

Elsewhere during his younger years he won the Rotterdam Marathon, finished runner-up to fellow Spanish runner Abel Anton at the 1999 World Championships in Seville and competed at three Olympics with a best of fourth in Atlanta 1996 and sixth at Sydney 2000.

Fiz is speaking through a translator, Bojana Savic of RunCzech, the day before the Prague Half Marathon takes place. He only knows a few words of English but seems to enjoy being interviewed nonetheless.

As he settles back in his chair in the Cloud 9 Sky Bar at the top of the Hilton Hotel in the Czech city, Fiz says running is still his main job too. Im lucky to do this as I have a few sponsors such as the Banco Santander and TotalEnergies, he explains.

Most weekends are taken up with running. If I am not racing then I am going to running conferences where I connect these companies with the running world.

What are his main goals now? To share the healthy habits with everyone around the world, he says. My role as a world champion doesnt finish when I stop being an elite athlete but it continues into the future.

Finally, I ask him about super-shoes. Does he wear them? Of course, he says, as I dont want to be at a disadvantage!

His all-time best for the marathon is 2:08:05. So how much faster would he have run in the 1990s if he had worn super-shoes?

I suggest maybe three or four minutes quicker? Claro que si! he agrees with a smile.