Woody Whitlock is amazing. The 90-year-old Farmington man has been running marathons for the past 16 years and is scheduled to do one in June. 

Born in Jackson, Missouri, Whitlock spent most of his growing up years in Illinois, near Chicago.

He started going to college in St. Louis during the Korean conflict. “I didn’t want to do any killing, so I signed up with the Navy,” said Whitlock. 

“I was on a ship for four years and did a lot of reading on different churches. I experienced life and figured things out. After I got out of the Navy, I went to college and studied religion. I became a Methodist minister.”

Then he and his wife, Betty, went to Uruguay in South America. “We figured that was where we would spend our life,” he said. 

However, plans changed when he met missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and he became a member. They eventually moved to Farmington.

The couple has been married for 66 years and have four children. The youngest, David died in March of leukemia.

“I got serious about running after I lost my second job,” said Whitlock. “I needed something I had control over. My oldest daughter was doing it in high school, but didn’t enjoy it. I suggested we go running for fun. I did it mainly to accompany her. It took me years to love it.”

He ran his first marathon in 1988 when he was 57. “I ran it with my youngest daughter,” he said. “It was my first and my daughter’s first. It was sponsored by the Deseret News for Pioneer Day, starting in Immigration Canyon and on down along the parade route on Salt Lake’s Main Street.

“We piled into rented school buses and everybody was excited,” Whitlock said. “When a man heard that this was our first marathon, he said , ‘You mean you picked this one for your first one?’ We both wanted to get off the bus right then, but we made it.”

The course was mostly downhill and his legs began to stiffen from the downward motion but he managed to finish. “My next marathon was 16 years later when I was 73,” he said. “I was scared to try it again. I did 32 in the next 16 years.”

Along the way Whitlock has learned some good techniques. “I pace myself,” he said. “I run for a minute and walk for 30 seconds. I drink something every 15 minutes and I eat every 30 minutes. I find when I do that, I don’t bonk.”

“Woody is a disciplined person,” said Betty. “He’s got good knees fortunately.”

Whitlock said that his wife supports him in this hobby. “I try not to take time away from her unless I know she’s happily occupied with something of her own interest.” 

At 90, Whitlock has no plans of slowing down. “I will run until I can’t anymore,” he said. “But I don’t see a reason to quit yet. I like the feeling of being able and fit.”