Happy Friday Eve!
Did you participate in Global Running Day yesterday? It coincided with my birthday this year, so I celebrated both with a 4-mile run after work.
Seemed like almost everyone I was following on Twitter and Instagram was out for a run at some point during the day. Saw the #GlobalRunningDay hashtag all over the place! It was awesome.
And if you’re looking for a little motivation or inspiration, check out these these stories I read this week:
Meet the 94-year-old woman who can hang with you in a half-marathon
Harriette Thompson did not know if she could walk again, let alone run a marathon. After losing her parents, both her brothers and her husband to cancer, she was living through it herself. The avid runner was faced with two cancer battles last year — a form of skin cancer that ate a hole into her right leg and required skin grafts, and then a diagnosed facial cancer that required mouth surgery in December. She was bedridden for six weeks, but she knew she had to make a comeback on her terms. And the reasons were simple: to do everything she could to help others and raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
She started running at 100, now she’ll compete in the Senior Games
She steeled her gaze on the 50-meter mark on the far end of her property line, crouched down in a starting position and took off, clocking in the 50 meters at just over 19 seconds. Hawkins is 101 years old. Several times a week she’s out in front of her Baton Rouge house trying to improve her time. This week, she hopes all of that practice will pay off when she competes for a gold medal in the National Senior Games held in Birmingham, Alabama.
Meb Picked This Woman to Run the New York City Marathon
Nora Allen was mindlessly scrolling through Facebook when she stumbled upon “Meb’s Final Marathoner,” a contest put on by the New York Road Runners and Meb Keflezighi for runners who didn’t get accepted into the New York City Marathon drawing. Entrants could explain the reason they wanted to run it, and if they won, they would not only get to run the marathon, but they’d also get to meet Meb, who will retire from his elite career after running this year’s race on November 5.
Runner’s World Gets Its First Female Editor in Chief
It was already a big day at Runner’s World: Global Running Day. It got even bigger with the announcement that Betty Wong Ortiz will be RW’s new editor in chief—the first woman to hold the title at the 51-year-old magazine. The news comes as 57 percent of road race finishers last year were women.
How the First Woman to Run the Boston Marathon Is Still Running Marathons at 70
When Kathrine Switzer crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 1967, it was remarkable because she was a woman — the first to run the race as an official entrant. When she crossed the same finish line 50 years later, it was remarkable because she was 70.
Have you read any good running (or non-running!) stories this week?
Hope you have a great Friday. Happy running!
Running the States 
Enjoying all of these, thank you!! Oh, and happy birthday!!
thanks so much!! 🙂