Former England and Liverpool midfielder James Milner was always the 'marathon man' in the middle of the park during his playing career, and that has even carried into post-retirement life.
The 41-year-old officially hung up his boots in the summer after breaking Gareth Barry's record for the most appearances in Premier League history for the likes of Leeds United, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Liverpool.
His time on the pitch may be over, but Milner continues to keep himself in remarkable shape after constantly outperforming the younger players in pre-season tests under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. He took his relentless stamina to New York City on Sunday, completing the marathon in just over three hours.
Footballers With the Best Marathon Times
James Milner
Milner completed the 26.2 miles in three hours, nine minutes and four seconds. That's an incredible 7:12 per-mile pace, making him the sixth-fastest ex-footballer to take on the run.
Ahead of him are former Man Utd back-up goalkeeper Lee Grant (3:00:33), ex-Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey (3:00:30) and Scottish defender Christian Dailly (3:06:26). The trio all recorded their near-three-hour marathons in the English capital.
Michael Owen and Dwight Yorke are among the greatest strikers in Premier League history. The lethal finishers proved they have plenty of gas in the tank after retirement, both clocking under four hours in the London Marathon.
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay
Ballon d'Or and World Cup winner Kaka put in an impressive shift at the Berlin Marathon, taking just 3:38:06 to complete the gruelling run. Retired Spain internationals Alvaro Arbeloa and Raul Gonzalez recorded even better times, at 3:15:21 and 3:26:05, respectively.
However, only three footballers have gone on to record sub-three-hour marathons. The third fastest was former Chelsea and Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben. From Champions League and World Cup finals to running the Rotterdam Marathon in 2:58:33.
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Luis Enrique, who represented both Real Madrid and Barcelona during his playing days, completed the Florence Marathon in 25 seconds less than Robben back in 2007.
That's a whole 10 minutes slower than ex-Russian midfielder Alexei Smertin. He captained his country and played for Chelsea and Fulham in the Premier League. Smertin's biggest accomplishment, however, could be his 2:48:17 Kazan Marathon.
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Footballers With the Fastest Marathon Times
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Data in this article is courtesy of Famous PR. Correct as of 02-11-26.