That is how Keith Marshall is being remembered after he died age 93 on Saturday.

A former teenage soldier who faced one of the bloodiest episodes of World War II to occur on Australia soil, ultra-marathon runner and lover of all things sport - Keith was a man who loved to be on the go.

And his great mate Frank Hanrahan said he believed there was "something in the water".

And that was what helped get Mr Marshall back to his "old self" after a stroke more than a decade ago.

"He was a bit of a legend," Mr Hanrahan said.

"Once he got back in that water he was back to his old self in no time. We did chat a bit about the healing powers of the water.

"It was after his knees and hips were getting sore from all the years of running in 1988 when he was told to get into swimming.

"Well we couldn't get him out of the pool after that.

"To me he was an inspiration in the way he lived his life."

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On August 4, 1944 Mr Marshall was a "red raw" recruit of the 19th Australian Infantry Training Battalion.

He and his new mates were one of two units guarding 1000 Japanese prisoners of war at Cowra and was there the night more than 900 of them broke through the barbed wire.

"We knew the Japs were going to break out weeks before. The old diggers who had been campaigning out through the islands, they were actually taking bets on it - the day, the time," he told The Border Mail in March 2018.

After surviving a few years in the military Mr Marshall went on to punish his body by running ultra-marathons, including Melbourne to Sydney. Twice. He always faced the oncoming traffic when he ran.

But it was his passion for the water which the Border community will remember.

He was a long term supporter of the Wodonga Stanley Street pool before it closed at the end of the 2011-12 season.

And continued to swim every day during the pool season, except for Sunday when "waterpolo would take over the pool".

"He never did like that much, because he couldn't get in and do laps," Mr Hanranhan said.

Mr Marshall is survived by his three children Daryl, Noel and Lola.