This has been on my mind for a week now. Margaret Hagerty ran the NYC Marathon at the
age of 91. “Whoo Hooo, good for her.” “I want to be like her when I grow up!” “Amazing!”
That is what everyone was posting all over social media. I did not.
I don’t want to be Margaret if I make it to her age. She is lonely. She runs races for attention. And yes, she would be happy if she died running
but what if something happened that left her in between. What if she broke a hip and was unable to
walk, much less run. Would she still be
happy?
I know Margaret, she is a member at my church. She attends my low impact exercise class and
my yoga class. I see her once or twice a
week. Her classmates are scared to watch
her. She can’t get up and down like the
rest of us in yoga. She can’t hear the
directions I give, and when she does she doesn’t always pay attention to
them. I have told her classmates not to
watch her. I will watch her and make
sure she is okay. She lives alone. Coming to class is a ‘check-in’ of
sorts.
Her son lives in Virginia.
He saw her in the paper. That is
how he knew she was running the NYC Marathon.
She didn’t tell him. She didn’t
tell me. And she usually asks me every
Thursday, “Where are you running this weekend?” or, “What are you training for?”
This time, nothing.
The race director of the NYC Marathon invited her to run this year. So I am sure her entry fee was paid for. Margaret is a little tight with her money. That may be the only reason she did it. That and the cheers she would have gotten
along the way. It takes her 50+ minutes
to run a 5k, that is a 16:08 pace. Below
are the rules for the NYC Marathon.
“In the interest of safety, and to allow
streets and park drives to re-open as scheduled, race courses will remain open
to all participants who are able to maintain a 13:45-per-mile pace (based on
the time when the last runner crosses the start line). Those participants who
are not able to maintain this pace should be aware that fluid stations and
other course amenities may not be available, and participants in races staged
on city streets may be asked to move to the sidewalks. Participants will be
able to cross the finish line, but they may not be timed and recorded as an
official finisher. “
It took Margaret 9 hours and 50 minutes to finish. Her pace was close to 22:32. Yes, she finished. Yes, she is okay. She came to my yoga class on Thursday with
her medal. But she also came with the
news that they closed the course in front of her. Her son did not know she was running, much
less that she was in NYC.
My question is; was
the race director that invited Margaret to run behaving responsibly? Did she wait for Margaret to finish? Did anyone wait for Margaret to finish? Someone did because she has a medal.
I do not want to be Margaret when I am 91. I do want to still be practicing yoga and
walking or running. But I would want my
kids to meet me at the finish line, or better yet, run with me if I should
decide to run a race. I am 45 now and
promise I won’t be running a marathon now or at 91.
I told Margaret she was crazy for running the NYC
Marathon. I meant that she was crazy for
running 26.2 miles by herself at 91, far away from home, without her family
knowing where she was. She thinks I
meant she was crazy for running 26.2
miles. I am not going to correct her but
I am not going to sing her praises either.
I just don’t think it was the smart thing to do on her part or the race
director who invited her.