92-year-old cancer survivor becomes world's oldest woman to finish a marathon

Meet Harriette Thompson

Harriette Thompson of Charlotte, North Carolina beat the former record for the oldest woman finishing a marathon after running and completing last Sunday's Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego. For a total of 7 hours, 24 minutes, 36 seconds to finish the 42.2 kilometers, she was cheered for by the other participants, saying that she is an inspiration for people. Although not quite interested with the attention given to her, Thompson is thankful for the support and being able to help raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - "I just can't get over it and it's nice to know. But I wasn't really interested in making, breaking any records. I was just interested in raising money," she said as she was praised and congratulated with her new spot on the book of records.

What most people don't know at that time is that the training for the recent marathon was extremely painful for Thompson as she lost her husband during the duration and had suffered from a staph infection in one of her legs.

The mother of five had only began running in marathons at the age of 76 and wasn't a trained runner but a classical pianist who had played thrice at the Carnegie Hall years ago.

"I just don't think of myself being that unusual. I have a lot of people saying what an inspiration I am. That's nice to hear, good for something at this age," admitted Thompson, as cited in The Daily Mail.

Because of the loss of family members and friends to cancer, as well as being a survivor herself, Thompson sees the activity as something personal for her, not just to be able to hold a record. She has only missed one marathon since 1999, she was on a treatment during a 2013 race.

Thompson had taken the record from Gladys Burrill, aged 92 years and 19 days, as she had finished the 2010 Honolulu Marathon where organizers said that Harriette Thompson is 92 years and 65 days old as she finished the recent one.

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