On June 4, 94-year-old Harriette Thompson jogged her way into the records books when she finished Sunday’s San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in 3:42:56 seconds to become the oldest woman to complete the 21 kilometre race.
The previous record was held by Gladys Burrill, who ran a half marathon at 93 years old in 2012 in Hawaii.
Thompson, who also holds the record of being the oldest woman to complete a full marathon at 92, is a cancer survivor and ran the race on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training.
She was hoping to run the full marathon once again but she had to fight two bouts of cancer in the past 11 months. The first saw her being hospitalised for a month last July to treat a hole in her right leg that required skin grafts. She suffered from facial cancer in December and doctors had to construct a titanium jaw for her.
But the former concert pianist beat all that to create a unique record on Sunday.
Thompson has run the San Diego race 16 times since 1999. She missed it in 2013 due to her battle with cancer. She has raised more than $115,000 for the disease till date.
She was cheered on by the thousand attendees when she crossed the finish line.
“I could hear my name being shouted the whole way,” she said in a press release issued by the race organisers. “I suppose I’m a legacy, at least that’s what they say.”
