Runs marathon number 50
69-year-old Mads Andreas Simonsen has run more marathons than most. On June 1, he will run his 50th marathon. Running gives him well-being and energy, he says.
When Tórshavn Marathon gets underway on Sunday, June 1, it will be a festive day for all the runners. But for Mads Andreas Simonsen, it will be a very special run. Wearing race number 50 on his chest, he will be running his 50th marathon.
This likely makes Mads Andreas the Faroese person who has run the most marathons. When we ask around in the marathon community about Faroese runners who have completed many marathons, no one knows of any Faroese runner who has reached 50 marathons.
“I thought a bit about which marathon should be number 50. I considered Sydney, but then I chose Tórshavn Marathon, because of course I should run it in the Faroe Islands,” says Mads Andreas.
Started late
He started running marathons relatively late and was 49 years old when he ran his first one.
“It was in New York. We were living in Norway at the time, and a friend thought it would be fun to try a marathon, so we signed up for New York.”
It was a great experience, but tough after 30 km, says Mads Andreas. When he crossed the finish line after 3 hours and 48 minutes, he thought he would never do it again. But just a few months later, he was back on the start line. This time in London.
“My friend had won a race entry for the London Marathon, which was already the spring after New York. I said no, but he kept insisting, and in the end I went with him.”
And from there, the marathons became more and more frequent. Among others, he has run in Berlin, Prague, Oslo, Samsø and several times in Copenhagen. Over the past good 20 years, a total of 49 marathon medals have been hung up at Mads Andreas’s home. And on Sunday, June 1, number 50 is expected to join them.
Injured
Training has otherwise been somewhat difficult recently. Mads Andreas has been struggling with a hamstring injury since January. To take pressure off the leg, he has replaced some of his runs with cycling to and from work — 28 km each way — and this has also provided good training.
“It won’t be a super time, but I’ll get through it,” he says.
Running gives joy and well-being, both during training and afterwards.
“The time I spend training, I get back in greater energy,” he says.
Mads Andreas originally comes from Sandur. After some years in Tórshavn, he moved to Miðvágur, and in 1997 the family moved to Norway. The plan was only to stay there for one year, but plans often change. It has now been 28 years since they moved away from the Faroe Islands, and today they live in Ølsted in North Zealand.
Mads Andreas runs with the club Langgarverne, based in Hillerød. His wife, Hansy, has also taken up running in recent years. In addition to running, they also spend a lot of time walking in the area where they live.
Three weekends in a row
Running marathons has gradually become a habit for Mads Andreas, but the first marathon training sessions were certainly no walk in the park.
“I remember the first long runs in marathon training. I was completely exhausted and often had to sleep afterwards.”
At times, there has been very little time between marathon races. He has tried running marathons three weekends in a row — first on Ærø, then Copenhagen, and then in Greve. He set himself the goal of running all three in under 4 hours, and he succeeded. In addition to marathons, he has run a large number of half marathons, but he does not count those.
Still tough at 35–40 km
What is so special about the marathon distance?
“It’s the challenge of it. The long distance is not something you just do. You want to prove to yourself that you can manage it.”
And it should also be said that even such an experienced marathon runner as Mads Andreas still finds it tough when thirty-something kilometres are behind him.
“Between 35 and 40 kilometres, you always ask yourself, ‘Why am I doing this?’ But today I’m never in doubt that even though it is hard, I will manage it.”
No plans to stop
His best marathon time is 3 hours and 29 minutes. That was in Odense in 2016, when he was 61 years old.
Mads Andreas turns 70 this summer, but he certainly has no intention of hanging up his running shoes. At the end of September, he will run the H.C. Andersen Marathon in Odense. He won silver in his age group there last year, and he has previously also won bronze there. This year, he is aiming for gold.
Whether there will be another 50 marathons, he is not sure — but there will definitely be a few more, he says.
