Gladys Burrill is a 90-year-old great-grandmother who is training to set a world record. In three weeks she will run her fifth Honolulu Marathon and attempt to break the world record for fastest marathon for women between 90 and 94 years old. She hopes to finish the marathon in under eight hours and 30 minutes.
Burrill’s passion for running started in 2003 when she saw the fireworks at the start of the Honolulu marathon from her porch and thought, "How exciting! I should do that." So she trained in race-walking and ran her first marathon the next year. "Oh, it is exhilarating, even though back about a mile you get kind of weary, when the finish line gets in sight it’s so exciting," she said.
Burrill has been a pilot, she’s climbed the 11,249-foot Mount Hood in Oregon, and has 22 great-grandchildren. Friends nicknamed her "Glady-ator." Her advice for living a rich, full life? "It’s important to be athletic, exercise and doing something, walking is the best. Your attitude — think positive and sometimes it might be hard to think positive, but you just do it."
Just do it — sounds like a good slogan for an athletic shoe company. Good luck, Gladys!
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I love her positive mentality. This is inspiring stuff.
Comment by Tom — November 26, 2008 @ 11:37 am