At 71, this N.B. man has run over 40 marathons around the world. And he's not done yet

Thinh Nguyen · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 21, 2025 10:59 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

At 71, Bob Forbes isn't your emblematic marathon runner.

The Riverview, N.B., resident, who is simply a retired household physician, has completed much than 40 marathons, including 16 Boston Marathons. And he's not readying to halt immoderate clip soon.

He's raced successful galore countries and has a idiosyncratic extremity to tally a marathon successful each Canadian province. This October, he's heading to British Columbia for different race, which volition permission conscionable Saskatchewan and Manitoba remaining to implicit his cross-country challenge.

"I won't remainder until I've got them done, unless my assemblage takes maine down," Forbes told CBC News.

From 'slug' to Six Star medallist

Forbes's emotion for moving began successful 2006.

At the time, he said, helium had stopped playing shot — a athletics he'd enjoyed for years — because his friends stopped playing. But he struggled to enactment progressive and began gaining weight.

"I felt similar a slug, and I got to bash thing active," helium said. "So I thought, being of Scottish descent, I was conscious of the outgo of immoderate sports. I thought, well, I tin conscionable spell running. Wouldn't outgo much. I got sweatpants. I've got sneakers."

He started attending grooming programs done the Running Room, yet enrolling successful a marathon grooming course. He was preparing for his archetypal marathon successful Ottawa erstwhile helium had a wellness scare.

"I did a grooming tally successful Halifax, Saturday morning, 8K, and that afternoon, I passed retired connected a crosswalk with a bosom attack," helium said.

"I shouldn't brag, shouldn't beryllium excessively arrogant of myself, but I haven't flinched … since that bosom attack, and I'm hoping that's the lone 1 I'll have."

Two weeks aft the incident, helium dilatory returned to moving and yet made it to the Ottawa race, though helium completed a half-marathon alternatively of the full.

In 2007, helium ran his archetypal Boston Marathon and kept returning. Encouraged by different runners to effort the world's large marathons, helium aboriginal completed races successful New York City, Berlin, Tokyo, Chicago and London.

By doing so, helium earned the exclusive Six Star Medal arsenic portion of the World Marathon Majors challenge. The Six Star Medal was introduced by the Abbott World Marathon Majors successful 2016 to admit runners who implicit six large races.

"I never, ever had immoderate volition of moving a marathon. That's for different people, but I drifted towards it, and I'm gladsome I did, and it worked retired well."

Injury puts Boston streak connected hold

Although Forbes qualified for the 2025 Boston Marathon, helium wasn't capable to run it this year.

While grooming for a marathon successful Houston, Texas, earlier successful the year, helium pushed his limits excessively far, helium said.

"I added a small spot to my grooming programme that was much than my property and my grooming would allow. And I got injured, not surprisingly, and truthful I ran injured."

Despite the wounded to his near foot, he still completed the race. After it healed, helium returned to running, lone to injure his different foot. Then came genu pain.

It was capable to marque him propulsion retired of the 2025 Boston Marathon, which would person marked his 12th consecutive contention there.

"I don't similar giving up the streak, but I'm grown up now, I person got to marque immoderate liable determination that I shouldn't beryllium there," helium said.

He said helium hopes to beryllium sufficiently recovered to gait his girl successful a half-marathon successful Fredericton successful 3 weeks' time.