{"id":153238,"date":"2025-12-23T13:17:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T18:17:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/?p=153238"},"modified":"2025-12-23T13:17:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T18:17:06","slug":"55-year-old-british-masters-runner-throws-down-438-mile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/sections\/runs-races\/55-year-old-british-masters-runner-throws-down-438-mile\/","title":{"rendered":"55-year-old British masters runner throws down 4:38 mile"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Wednesday in Ireland, the men\u2019s 55+ indoor mile world record didn\u2019t just fall, it was smashed.<\/p>\n

Tony O\u2019Brien<\/strong> of Liverpool, U.K., travelled to Dublin to break the men\u2019s 55+ indoor mile mark of 4:39.84. He did just that and more, setting a new world record of 4:38.10 at Ireland’s National Indoor Arena.<\/p>\n

\"tony
Photo: TRS Coaching\/Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Having to run from the front served to be no problem for O\u2019Brien, who won the race by six seconds and eclipsed the previous record set seven years ago in London by fellow British masters miler Guy Bracken<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Running a sub-five-minute mile is impressive at any age, let alone at 55\u2014a 4:38 mile is exceptional.<\/p>\n

“A unique night in so many ways as a coach and athlete,” O\u2019Brien wrote on Facebook afterward<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to his Power of 10 profile<\/a>, O\u2019Brien has been in the sport since his early 20s and is a former 3:50 1,500m runner. The speedy middle-distance background seems to complement his efficiency and closing speed, still three decades later.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien\u2019s time wasn\u2019t the only world record performance of the night. Irish masters running icon Anne Gilshinan<\/strong><\/a> also rewrote the record books, lowering her own women\u2019s 60+ indoor mile world record from 5:27.66 to 5:27.53. Gilshinan, who is coached by O\u2019Brien, holds the indoor mile world records in both the women\u2019s 55+ and 60+ age groups.<\/p>\n

\"tony
Tony O’Brien and Anne Gilshinan embrace after both setting age group mile world records at the National Indoor Arena in Dublin. Photo: TRS Coaching\/Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Both records are pending ratification by World Masters Athletics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tony O\u2019Brien of Liverpool, U.K., smashed the men’s 55+ world record by nearly two seconds<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5366,"featured_media":153256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[325885],"tags":[343094,324373,346027,327335,326250,346026,328964],"class_list":["post-153238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-runs-races","tag-anne-gilshinan","tag-dublin","tag-guy-braken","tag-masters-world-record","tag-running-news","tag-tony-obrien","tag-world-masters-athletics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n55-year-old British masters runner throws down 4:38 mile - Canadian Running Magazine<\/title>\n <meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tony O\u2019Brien of Liverpool, U.K., smashed the men's 55+ world record by nearly two seconds\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=index-747.html \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"55-year-old British masters runner throws down 4:38 mile - 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