One of the cool things about masters track is nobody tells you what to do. No coach saying, “That’s not your event.” I’m reminded of this by an article from Down Under about M85 runner/sprinter Eric de Lautour. “He burned it up at the recent Oceania masters athletes championships in Christchurch, setting Oceania age-group records in the 5000m, 100m, 800m, 400m, 1500m and 200m,” writes Kelly Exelby of the Bay of Plenty Times in New Zealand.

Here’s the story, in case the link goes bye-bye:
Eric, 85, still smashing records
23.02.2006
By KELLY EXELBY
At a time when most octogenarians need little encouragement to put their feet up, fleet-footed Tauranga 85-year-old Eric de Lautour is out tearing up the track.
Far from slowing down, de Lautour can’t get enough and is show no sign of running on empty.
He burned it up at the recent Oceania masters athletes championships in Christchurch, setting Oceania age-group records in the 5000m, 100m, 800m, 400m, 1500m and 200m.
His run of records started on the first day of the meet when he ran 26 minutes 51.31 seconds to take the mark for athletes aged 85-89 years.
That would also have been good enough for him to win the 80-85 years group, come fourth in the 75-79 years group, and top 10 in the 70-75 years group. He would even have come 12th among the 60-65 years age bracket.
Two days later he smashed the 100m sprint mark for his own age group and the 2002 record set by an Australian athlete of 21.30sec, when he took just 20.05sec to hurtle down the QEII stadium track.
And then on the same morning, he roared home in the 800m in 3min 38.31sec, lopping more than 2min off the previous mark of 5min 39.10sec.
But the sprightly retired farmer wasn’t finished, clipping more than four seconds off the 200m Oceania record, 21 seconds off the 400m mark and a massive 4 minutes off the 1500m time, churning out 7.03:40 _ a mere 0.2sec off the world record for 85-89 year-olds.
“They’re calling me “Mr 0.2sec” now because I missed out on the 5000m world title (at the World Masters Games in San Sebastian, Spain) last year by 0.2sec!
“The bloke in front of me had a 200m jump on me and I’d given it away until I realised he was spent and wobbling around.
“I sprinted but couldn’t quite catch him, although it was so close no-one knew who’d got the gold until the results came over the loudspeaker.”
De Lautour already had a golden glow on in San Sebastian, winning the world 10,000m and 800m titles. He ran solo at the Oceania championships as the only track athlete in the 85-89 years group.
“I’m often in that position now so I just go out and challenge myself by chasing records and trying to beat the guys in the younger age groups. I’d love to see a bit more competition _ maybe there will be in time.”
De Lautour was intent on snatching the 1500m and 5000m world records at QEII Park but was stymied by strong headwinds.
“I also left my sprint a bit late (in the 1500m) and had gas left in the tank, which was slightly disappointing.”
De Lautour, who trains around his Bethlehem home for at least an hour each day, is an enigma, a world class age-grouper who never ran competitively until he was 63 when he tackled the Auckland marathon.
He’s since run 17 Rotorua marathons, the last two years ago. He’s heading back to the Lake City in April for another go.
“Farm fit” after a lifetime of working the land in Hawke’s Bay, de Lautour shuns friendly advice to slow down.
“My generation, by the time we got to 40 or 50, doctors were telling us to stop but people like me don’t listen.
“I always enjoyed running around the farm hills but I spent my best years, the ones when I would have run the quickest away, at war (WW2). I suppose you could say I started at the wrong end of life.”
Regular physiotherapy sessions in the past few years have kept de Lautour on the track and his sights are now set on the World Masters athletics champs next year in Riccione, Italy.
He spent time there during 18 months in Italy during the war and has been back twice since. De Lautour is one pensioner who refuses to retire gracefully. “As long as there’s something to go for then I’ll stick at it.
“I’m not one for putting my feet up _ if I can ever be bothered sitting down I never turn the television on because as soon as the first ads come on I’m asleep!”