It's a family joke that longtime keen runner Paul Maggs is an OBE - "Over Bloody 80."
At 82, Mr Maggs, of Lyneham, is slowing down - just a little.
"I used to run 10 kilometres in one hour - now it's one hour and nine minutes," he said.
Mr Maggs has gone from running marathons to half-marathons to those 10-kilometre runs - he completes one every second day.
He'll do the 10-kilometre run in this year's Canberra Times Fun Run. Mr Maggs has entered the event many times - "about 12" he said - and has already signed up for this year's event, taking advantage of early bird registration which ends on Thursday.
On Sunday, Mr Maggs will be running in the 14-kilometre City2Surf in Sydney.
"I've run for most of my life - thank God my knees are still OK," he said.
On the days Mr Maggs is not running, he goes to the gym for an hour-long Bodypump weight class.
And he regularly goes on the five-kilometre Gungahlin Park Run on Saturdays.
Fridays he has off: "I usually just go for a walk."
Mr Maggs said he didn't listen to music while he was running.
"I listen to my body," he said.
"I think about things ... I pray to my mother and father."
Born in Sydney, Mr Maggs was one of 11 children. He entered the seminary and was ordained in 1967 but in 1986, after a period in Italy and longtime doubts about his vocation, he decided to leave the priesthood.
"I felt a wonderful peace," he said.
He retained his faith and it has continued to inform his mind when running.
"I believe in what they used to call contemplation - I just live in the present," he explained.
He worked in various jobs - including as a teacher and a probation and parole officer - before he and his wife June retired to Canberra.
Mr Maggs played many sports over his life including squash, tennis, cricket, soccer and ruby league, but running has always been his passion. He has competed in many Masters Games in Australia and in 2004 he ran the London Marathon.
"It was freezing cold - I had to get June to undo my shoelaces," he said.
Mr Maggs probably won't have that problem after the Canberra Times Fun Run on a spring day.
- The 2024 Canberra Times Fun Run is on November 3. For more information and to register (early bird pricing ends on Thursday) see: https://solemotive.com
