John Dobson, 74, of Eltham, who is one of three people running today who has run every Melbourne Marathon since it started in 1978, said at the start line that he was nervous but confident he would finish the full 42.2km.
Dobson, a cancer survivor who suffers from osteoarthritis, says the marathon is part of his identity, and having 12 relatives cheering from the sidelines encouraged him to keep going.
John Dobson at the start line of the Melbourne Marathon.Credit: Carolyn Webb
“I do it for myself as well, but the backing I’ve got is unreal,” he said. “I can’t disappoint anybody.”
Dobson, a retired bricklayer, said it didn’t enter into his head that it might be his last marathon.
It’s part of my life. I just love doing it. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. People out there are looking at me and saying, ‘if he can do it, I can do it’.
However, he said while “in years gone by I was worrying about what time I’d do”, in the last three years he’d mainly been thinking about whether he would finish it.
Dobson says his arthritis “grinds you to a slow pace but you just keep moving”.
He loves how other runners pat him on the back during the race and say ‘good on you mate’ after they see his singlet that tells them Dobson has done every Melbourne Marathon.
He is armed today with salt tablets for cramps and glucose tablets for energy, and was aiming for a time of five hours, 30 minutes, about the same as last year’s event.
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