Thian K. "Sy" Mah (August 2, 1926 – November 7, 1988)[1] was an assistant professor of physical education at the University of Toledo and a Canadian long-distance runner who held a Guinness World Records mark for the most lifetime marathons (524).
[15] Mah ran the Boston Marathon twenty times and was a regular participant in ultramarathons and triathlons as well as cross-country skiing and canoe races.
[17] Mah's last race was a 50 kilometer event Labour Day weekend, 1988, in St. Jacobs, Ontario; he dropped out of the Toronto Marathon three weeks later.
[17][nb 3] Following a lingering bout of hepatitis, Mah died of leukemia at the St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio in 1988.
[2] According to that report, Mah received a cardiac stress test nine months prior to his death which found "ischemia with disseminated circadian variation suggesting possible [coronary vasospasm] without angina.
[19] According to Henderson, Mah stated: "I believe Americans have been brainwashed with the idea that they must do less because increased age will result in less energy and diminished capacity.
"[19] Along with Dick Beardsley, Herb Lorenz, and Harold Tinsley, Mah was a 1989 inductee of the Road Runners Club of America's Hall of Fame.
[3] In addition to meeting various academic standards, qualified recipients within the College of Health Science and Human Service are required to be "avid social runners".
[5] At the annual Sri Chinmoy 24-Hour Race in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, the Sy Mah Award is given to the runner who completes at least 100 miles and runs the most even 50-mile splits.