Harriette Thompson will be remembered for the glow on her face as she became the world’s oldest woman to finish a full marathon. She died at 94, the family confirmed in an official statement.
Image: Harriette Thompson
The nonagenarian recorded her unprecedented achievement last June at the Rock ‘N’ Roll marathon in San Diego, and did it with smiles.
At the finish line, Harriette, who was surrounded by members of her team and a group of reporters, smiled and laughed to our admiration. She made the feat look so easy but it wasn’t.
‘I admit it’s a hard task,’ she said after setting a world record, ‘but I don’t understand why people think this is such a big deal.’
She continued: ‘I feel like a 16-year-old except that I can’t move very fast.’
A report from The Charlotte Observer said Harriette died in hospice after suffering an injury in a fall on 6 October.
The deceased was a cancer survivor; through her love for running, she conducted a fund raiser for Leukemia Lymphoma Society, an organization which received a total of $100,000 through her selflessness.
In June, 2015, broke the world record as the oldest woman to complete a full marathon. She did it at 3 hours, 42 minutes.
Harriette told newsmen that she was so excited to have achieved it surrounded by members of his team, who are also family members.
‘It was memorable. I enjoyed running across the finish line,’ she said. ‘That’s the biggest thing – and I really enjoyed having my family with me.’
