Joan Benoit Samuelson breaks the record for her age group at the Olympic trials. She did what she said she wanted to do but later wasn’t sure she could. She achieved a personal best and broke a record for women everywhere. Women at fifty especially, whether they are runners or not, are proud.
Joan Benoit Samuelson Breaks the Record
An Olympian since 1979, Samuelson declared this was her last Olympic trial–but maybe not her last marathon. Although she finished 90th in the overall field of hopeful Olympians, she turned in a record for her age group. Finishing in less than 2:50:00 wasn’t enough to earn her a spot on the US Olympic team, but it was more than enough to set a national record for women in the 50-54 year old group.
A few weeks ago she said she wasn’t sure she could reach her original goal of finishing in two hours and fifty minutes. Publicly she said her goal was to just get across the finish line. She did that–and so much more!
She didn’t make excuses. She just got out there and ran her race. Once again, she served up heaps of inspiration to women of all ages.
Thank you, Joan!
