appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Bernice Chan

Yul Kwon rises at 6am and starts his day with stretches and a fitness regimen that includes planking for 60 to 90 seconds, 50 sit-ups, 50 squats, and standing on one leg for a minute and then the other – twice. He then eats a banana and, every other day, he heads out for a 10km (6.2-mile) run.
That is an impressive regular warm-up for a 90-year-old.
“Health is most important, so I put priority on my daily exercise,” says the sprightly Korean-Canadian, a retired economics professor living in Vancouver, Canada.
The nonagenarian ran the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon in May, in three hours, 50 minutes and 33 seconds. He was disappointed to discover that he came last in the 85-89 age group as there was no 90-plus division.
Kwon said to a local newspaper that it was unfair for someone in their nineties to compete against runners in their eighties, and he asked the marathon organisers to consider opening a new age category for him. They obliged.

Fitness has been a big part of Kwon’s life since his mid-forties when he took up tennis, although he had to stop playing after developing tennis elbow.
When his daughter, Janice – now a surgical gynaecologic oncologist at Vancouver General Hospital and BC Cancer – started running as a student at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, she suggested Kwon take up the sport. He told her he would think about it.
A few years later, in 1996, he and his wife Joanne moved from the Canadian province of Saskatchewan to Brisbane, Australia, where he took up a post at Griffith University. That year, at the age of 60, he began running seriously and took part in his first 10km race.
“My colleague at the university was a marathon runner, younger … and taller than me, and we both ran the 10km,” Kwon says.
“Afterwards, he asked me how I did, and I said I struggled and finished. He asked what my time was, and I said it was 56 minutes, something like that. He said, ‘You are faster than me!’ After that, I was kind of encouraged.”
He continued running 10km races before graduating to his first half-marathon – 21km (13 miles) – three years later.
“The tiredness and difficulty increased in proportion to the distance,” he says. “In my first half marathon, I wasn’t trained to have a long run. I had … blisters and one of them broke. It was a very terrible experience.
“I really struggled and as soon as I finished, I looked down on the ground at my foot and saw blood all over it.”

Overcoming adversity from a young age
Born into a family of farmers in Masan, South Korea, Kwon is used to physical pain and adversity.
“I grew up in a very poor rural village in Korea that was devastated by [the Korean] war and poverty, and I really struggled all my life,” he says. He went barefoot as a child until he was taught to make rice-straw sandals at four.
At five, and jealous that his older sister got to go to school, Kwon was determined to get an education. Of all his siblings, he is the only one to graduate from high school and go to university.
He first worked in the Bank of Korea’s research department, writing monthly bulletins on the national economy. That led him to study economics.
“My parents and I never dreamed of me going to university, but I managed it by myself,” he says.
This perseverance helped him develop true grit.
“When I had that difficult experience doing the half marathon, I knew I was not going to quit. I would rather watch the problem and try to fix it,” Kwon says.

He continued running half marathons and, at the age of 68, ran his first full marathon in Brisbane in 2004, in four hours and eight minutes.
“My daughter called after I finished, and when I told her my time, she said I qualified for the Boston Marathon.”
Kwon took part in that race – the world’s oldest annual marathon – the next year. The day before, instead of resting, he ran around 10km with his son and daughter.
During the race, Kwon’s right thigh began cramping up at the 25km mark.
“It was like a stone; I never had that kind of experience before,” he recalls. “Then my left leg had a cramp too. I struggled to move and then walked.”

Spectators asked if he wanted to call an ambulance, but he knew it would mean disqualification, so he carried on. His finishing time was so bad that he does not remember it.
Afterwards, he read up on marathon preparation, learning that runners should taper off training two weeks before a race, and not run at all two or three days before.
He began running a few marathons each year, always checking his watch to keep pace – his average pace is 1km in six minutes.
“I like to look at a person 20 or 30 metres in front of me and set a target of passing them, usually ladies,” he says with a chuckle.
When he turned 80, a decade after his first Boston Marathon, he redeemed himself with his second race entry, finishing first in his age group, in four hours and 31 minutes.

He ran marathons regularly up until 2019 when Covid-19 began to spread. There were no marathon races during the pandemic, so Kwon regularly ran 10km on his own.
When races resumed in 2022, Kwon focused on half marathons.
“I do not have enough time to do all this endurance training. When you get to my age of 90, you know the end of your life is coming, so I would like to achieve something before that. So that’s why I’m busy,” he says.
Other pursuits include completing academic books and his Korean-language memoir. His memoir took two years to write and, unable to find a translator, he is using AI to translate it into English himself.

Mediterranean diet and regular sleep key to longevity
Kwon is diligent about maintaining his weight at 55kg (121lbs), and he is careful about what he eats, preferring a Mediterranean diet. For breakfast, he eats yogurt and oatmeal with berries, while lunch consists of fruit, half a muffin and a boiled egg or salad.
For dinner, he has salmon, mackerel or chicken. Two to three times a week, he will have Korean dishes like kimchi and tofu soup with rice.
“When I went back to Korea [to visit], some friends gave me a [custom] suit as a gift. I had many suits tailor-made 30-40 years ago, and I can still wear them,” he says with a laugh.
Sleep is crucial for Kwon. He goes to bed by 11pm, and he starts his day at 6am.

Kwon’s wife died nine years ago. Today, he lives in a retirement community on the University of British Columbia campus, close to his three grandchildren and his children – both of whom have followed demanding paths in medicine.
While Janice treats patients as a gynaecologic oncologist, his son, Brian, is an orthopaedic spine surgeon. The two practise out of the same Vancouver General Hospital campus.
Seeing his children thrive in their careers brings Kwon comfort, but his own focus remains firmly on making the most of every day.
“I’m very happy,” he says. “To be happy, you have to have good health, and I have a lot of things to do. Although I am busy, I don’t have the sort of stress young people have. I try not to have stress intentionally.”
Every morning, he makes a wish: that he will be running marathon events at the age of 100.
Like what you read? Follow SCMP Lifestyle on Instagram. You can also sign up for our eNewsletter here.


Why dementia is preventable – and the new tools that can reduce your risk

A guide to Hong Kong’s bitter herbal teas and how Gen Z is reviving the health tradition

Focused ultrasound could be the next big cancer breakthrough for hard-to-treat tumours

How much sex should a couple have? Focus on quality over quantity, experts say

Wellness

He’s 90 and still runs half-marathons. How this retired Korean-Canadian defies age

Yul Kwon, 90, runs in the BMO Vancouver Marathon half marathon race in May. 
Photo: Instagram/bmovanmarathon

Yul Kwon, 90, wins in his age category in the 2026 BMO Vancouver Half Marathon race. The Korean-Canadian is defying age with grit, discipline and perseverance. Photo: Instagram/bmovanmarathon

Kwon runs in the 2025 BMO Vancouver Half Marathon. Photo: Instagram/bmovanmarathon

Kwon after finishing a marathon in Brisbane with his late wife, who had finished a 10km run, in 2008. Photo: Yul Kwon

Kwon hugs his daughter, Janice Kwon, on a training run in a park near the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, in 2016. Photo: Arlen Redekop/PNG Photo

Yul Kwon lifts medals from his many races over the last 30 years. Photo: Yul Kwon 

Kwon won his age category in the 2016 Boston Marathon. Photo: Brian Kwon

The cover of Kwon’s Korean-language memoir. Photo: Yul Kwon

Kwon with his son, Brian Kwon, after finishing the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon in 2023. Photo: Yul Kwon

How this 71-year-old with Parkinson’s ran 100 marathons in 100 days with the help of TCM

Chiropractor and acupuncturist Larry Grogin runs in Ohio in the US during his successful bid to complete 100 marathons in as many days to raise money for organisations that help Parkinson’s sufferers. The 71-year-old shares how traditional Chinese medicine helped him achieve this feat. Photo:  Instagram.com/runlarryrun26

Grogin runs in the US state of Arizona during his recent on-foot journey across the US. He started running from his home state of New Jersey on March 24, 2026, his 71st birthday, and reached Los Angeles, California, 100 days later. Photo: Instagram/runlarryrun26

Grogin lifts weights in preparation for his 100 marathons in 100 days challenge days before his 71st birthday in March 2026. Photo: Instagram/runlarryrun26

Grogin volunteers at a Ukrainian refugee camp in Warsaw, Poland, with Acupuncturists Without Borders in November 2022. Photo: courtesy of Larry Grogin

Grogin would “self-needle” after his daily marathons, applying acupuncture needles to points known to increase energy and aid in restoration and revitalisation. Photo: courtesy of Larry Grogin

How people like 70-year-old Chow Yun-fat keep pushing their endurance limits as they age

Actor Chow Yun-fat (middle) runs in the 10km event at the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2026. The 70-year-old is part of a growing number of older people competing in endurance races. Photo: Eugene Lee

Jeannie Rice runs during a half-marathon in Naples, Florida, on January 18, 2026. The 77-year-old completed the race in 1:43:13, taking first place among the three competitors in the women’s 75- to 79-year-old age group. Photo: Facebook/jeannie.k.rice

Hiromu Inada crosses the finish line to complete the Ironman race in Cairns, Australia, in June 2025. Photo: Ironman Cairns_Sportograf

Norma Ngai, a physiotherapist at Hong Kong’s Matilda International Hospital, says that aerobic capacity, muscle strength and recovery ability naturally decline as we age. Photo: Matilda International Hospital

Singaporean runner Yim Pui Fun has been competing in endurance races for more than 40 years. Photo: Yim Pui Fun

Yim Pui Fun (left) stands on the podium after the inaugural Sky Race in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in August 2025. She came in second in the senior veteran women category. Photo: Wisline Leong

Why a 50km ultra-marathon on ‘magical’ 5-day Easter Island holiday is a race like no other

Writer Lily Canter runs past 15 moai statues at Ahu Tongariki, the most famous point on Easter Island, or  Rapa Nui, during her five-day tour organised by Rat Race. Photo: Leo Francis/Rat Race

A group of 39 travellers from all over the world, including America, Britain, Australia and the Netherlands, came together to see Easter Island’s wonders on foot. Photo: Leo Francis/Rat Race

Rapa Nui is famous for its hundreds of colossal carved stone figures known as moai, which dot the 164 sq km island. Photo: Leo Francis/Rat Race

With much of Rapa Nui’s history shrouded in mystery, visitors were often left with more questions than answers, but for the writer, the island’s secrets are part of its appeal. Photo: Leo Francis/Rat Race

Domesticated dogs are encouraged to roam free on Rapa Nui, and one escorted the writer on a 15km hike and waited outside the hotel to greet her the next morning. Photo: Leo Francis/Rat Race

For the writer, the run-cation was “magical”, like stepping into a parallel universe where stress, deadlines, rules and uniformity don’t exist. Photo: Leo Francis/Rat Race

Moai were not the only ever-watchful eyes on the island, which is also home to cows and horses. Photo: Leo Francis/Rat Race

The writer poses next to a moai with her finisher’s medal. Photo: Leo Francis/Rat Race

67-year-old completes 2,200km Peninsular Malaysia run to honour wife, fund cancer research

Lim Shyang Guey walks through a crowd after completing his “Run for Gold” campaign, in which he ran 2,200km around Peninsular Malaysia over 86 days in tribute to his wife, who died of gallbladder cancer in 2024. Photo: Michael Tanhy

Lim runs as part of his “Run for Gold” campaign. Over the course of the campaign, Lim ran through 11 Malaysian states and a federal territory, raising almost US$200,000 for cancer research and treatment. Photo: Michael Tanhy

Lim addresses the crowd after finishing his 2,200km “Run for Gold” campaign on June 21. Photo: Michael Tanhy

Lifestyle

Health & Wellness

Health

Meet Yul Kwon, a nonagenarian who maintains his endurance through daily exercise, a Mediterranean diet and a focus on sleep


Meet Yul Kwon, a nonagenarian who maintains his endurance through daily exercise, a Mediterranean diet and a focus on sleep.


He’s 90 and still runs half-marathons. How this retired Korean-Canadian defies age

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Meet Yul Kwon, a nonagenarian who maintains his endurance through daily exercise, a Mediterranean diet and a focus on sleep

Meet Yul Kwon, a nonagenarian who maintains his endurance through daily exercise, a Mediterranean diet and a focus on sleep