Local veteran and Żurrieq Wolves athlete Alfred Debono recently returned from an arduous trip to the American continent where he completed a potentially unique feat.
Only a few weeks shy of his 62nd birthday, Debono competed and completed no fewer than four long-distance races in four weeks, namely the prestigious Chicago and New York marathons in the United States and the Toronto and Niagara Falls half marathons in Canada.
His first challenge was the Chicago Marathon (42.2km) on October 10. Running in a field of over 45,000 runners, the Maltese veteran achieved an excellent overall placing of 1,272 with a time of 3hrs 10mins 48secs. He finished second in his category, the over 60’s.
Seven days later, in neighbouring Canada, Debono participated in the Toronto Half Marathon, completing the 21.1km distance in a time of 1hr 26mins 46seconds. This time, the Maltese veteran took first place in the O-60 section.
Spurred on by these successes, the following week Debono repeated his outstanding performance to finish the Niagara Falls Half Marathon in 1hr 27mins 42secs, dominating his category once more and crowning his triple with another first place in the O-60.
One would expect that by this stage, Debono would have had enough of running but his competitive edge saw him make his way to the start line in the Big Apple’s greatest running event on November 7, forming part of the over 45,000 strong line-up.
And on the day the world’s marathon champion and world record holder Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie dropped out halfway through the New York Marathon due to injury and announced the end of his illustrious career, the unwavering Debono went on to complete the race in 3hrs 11mins 18secs.
Debono was fourth in the O-60 and achieved a respectable overall placing of 1,798th.
Without a doubt such a running epic crowns Debono as one of the best veteran athletes in local running history... a feat we might well see yet again challenged by the same stalwart in time to come, given his hunger for success.
Medcomms Ltd, distributors of Garmin, have provided Debono with a forerunner 310 XT watch in recognition of his efforts to excel in athletics.