A man from Steinbach is celebrating a milestone in his running career.

Seventy-five-year-old Albert Martens has been an avid runner for 50 years. Just recently, he hit the 50,000 kilometre mark for distance run over the last five decades. 

To put that into perspective, Martens has run an average of 2.7 kilometres every day for the last 50 years. Martens has run the equivalent of more than six times across Canada. It is also considerably more than running once around our planet Earth. 

Yet, even with an accomplishment like that, Martens says he does not consider himself a runner.

"Because I'm far too slow," he says. "My best (marathon) time is 3:22 which isn't fast."

According to Martens, his running career started in Germany in the 1970's. His first marathon was in Basel, Switzerland in 1982. Martens has run marathons in Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria, Canada and the United States. 

He has also run numerous ultramarathons, including several times competing in the Marathon des Sables, which is a run through the Sahara Desert in Morocco. Martens entered that race four times. And though he did not finish three of those races, he did not let that discourage him.

"That's ok," he says. "Then I would just stay with the other runners and cheer them on. I'd go to the finish line and cheer them on because it's not about me, it's about others, helping others."

In one of those races, Martens needed intravenous fluids after being rescued from the sand dunes. 

In 2004, Martens completed the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley. Death Valley is known for being the hottest place on the planet and Martens says he needed a medical team to help him finish the more than 200 kilometre long race. 

Martens' races have taken him from the intense heat to the extreme cold. For 12 years now, he has been organizing the Polar Bear Marathon in Churchill. It is an event he has also participated in on a few occasions. Not only are runners braving the weather elements, but they are also racing in bear country. With the help of Conservation Officers, the runners are protected, should any polar bear ever get too close. 

When comparing the two, Martens says he would sooner run in the intense heat than the extreme cold. He notes it can be very challenging to run in bitterly cold conditions because of the extra layers needed and the threat of frostbite. 

Meanwhile, when it comes to running, Martens says there are a few things that motivate him. First of all, he is motivated to complete the race or challenge that lies ahead. 

A second motivating factor is the charity component which is often connected to a run or race. Martens says over the years he has helped raise money for a hospital in Nigeria, a school in Budapest, wells in Benin, a medical centre in Lithuania and construction at Black Forest Academy in Germany. 

And one final motivator is the fact that getting to know other runners and competing in various races around the world has given him a chance to share his faith. 

 

With files from Corny Rempel

 

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