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.