Rochester marathoner ate 'whatever he wants' and broke a Guinness world record

In a world that cherishes the quick — quick delivery, quick workers, quick wide receivers — you wouldn't think Norm Frank, whose mantra was slow and steady, would stand out.

Nevertheless, Frank's slow and steady approach launched Rochester's marathon man into the "Guinness Book of World Records."

Frank, who died at 83 in April 2015, once held the world record for most marathons completed at 965. At the time of his death, Frank ranked fourth all-time among North American marathoners.

The late Bill Flynn, an award-winning Rochester sports radio reporter/producer, wrote that Frank's regimen was never a model for long-distance wannabes.

Norm Frank of Brighton, who ran 965 marathons - including at least one in all 50 states, died Tuesday, April 21, 2015, at the age of 83.

"He eats whatever he wants and many weeks runs only during the marathon," Flynn once wrote in a column.

The East High graduate didn't enter a marathon until he was 35, when he took as stab at the 1967 Boston Marathon. That was the year Katherine Switzer made history for being the first woman to run the all-male event.

Undertrained and underdressed for the 40-degree rain and cold, Frank completed the race in 3 hours, 56 minutes.

"I was exhilarated," he later said. "I was hooked from that one on.''

Frank became a model of persistence. Longtime Democrat and Chronicle columnist Leo Roth said Frank completed at least one marathon in all 50 states and on four continents.

At one point he competed in 30 consecutive Boston Marathons and 37 consecutive Rochester Marathons.

He set a world record by completing his 525th run of 26.2 miles at the Buffalo Marathon on May 1, 1994

Legendary American marathoner Bill Rodgers was in attendance and said of Frank's feat, "You can't comprehend it. The hallmark of the marathon is persistence, still, it's hard to comprehend."

He remained the most prolific marathoner in the world into 1997.

Norm Frank - Rochester's Mr. Marathon - on a treadmill at the Legacy Senior Living Home in Brighton in 2010. Frank was 79 at the time.

Frank's last marathon, No. 965, was in 2008. After that, a series of strokes and a heart infection in 2008-09 left him with severe vertigo, ending his running career.

He has long been eclipsed on the world stage. German runner Christian Hottas is first with 3,330 marathons finished at the end of 2024. Frank is 73rd on that list.

His times were not spectacular, but head down and determined, he finished what he started, over and over again. And for a moment in time, he was world-record holder.

— Bill Wolcott is a producer who helps cover the Buffalo Bills, high school and Rochester sports in general. The lifelong New Yorker has been a journalist for 30 years.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Rochester marathon runner Norm Frank was Guinness world recordholder

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