92-year-old cancer survivor becomes oldest woman to run a marathon
Harriette Thompson is 92 years old and she's beaten cancer three times. On Sunday, she became the oldest woman to complete a marathon.
Thompson crossed the finish line at the San Diego marathon in at 7:24:36, 14 minutes slower than last year but still nearly 90 minutes faster than the previous record for a woman over 90.
Thompson's husband, Sydnor, died of cancer in January and she took off time from her training to care for him. Her training was also slowed by skin cancer treatments that left her with wounds on her legs, so she wasn't quite sure if she would be able to finish the full 26.2 miles.
“I’m sure all that weakened me to some extent, so I’m not as strong as I’d like to be but I’m still going to try,” Thompson told Runner's World. “I’m just going to walk real fast and then run some, and just try not to wear myself down too fast. It’ll be sort of interesting. I’ll be the most surprised person if I finish it. I hope I will!”
Thompson has been running the San Diego marathon for 16 years and has raised more than $100,000 for cancer research in that time, according to Runner's World.
- Dan Gartland
