12 Running Stories From 2018 Sure to Inspire You
As the year comes to a close, here are our favorite tales of incredible runners.
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The exploits of running’s greatest figures—a new marathon world record from Eliud Kipchoge, for example, or an earth-shattering Boston Marathon win for Desiree Linden—wow runners with regularity.
But here’s the thing—we expect it from them, because that’s what they’re paid to do. Everyday runners? They face the same emotional ups and downs in nearly every race. Some may take longer to finish, or run their miles in honor of someone else, but each mile ticked off is just as important. Runners persevere, and there’s something unique about a story that can make any runner say, “If they can soldier on, if they can act so courageously, there’s no reason I can’t either.”
Here are 12 of the most wonderful, awe-inspiring, heartwarming, and motivating stories Runner’s World published this year. Enjoy every word, and then lace up and get out there.
[Want to start running? The Big Book of Running for Beginners will take you through everything you need to know to get started, step by step]
70-Year-Old Ohio Woman Runs Insanely Fast Marathon in Chicago
Around 90 minutes after four-time gold medalist Mo Farah won the Chicago Marathon on October 7, Jeannie Rice crossed the finish line. Her time of 3:27:50 set a new female world marathon record for her age group, and she smashed the previous best time by eight minutes.
It’s a major milestone, sure, but success is nothing new for the Mentor, Ohio, native, who has finished more than 100 marathons since she began running at age 19. And she’s not done yet: Rice has set a goal for herself to win her age group at all six World Marathon Majors. She missed London last year, but has already won Boston, Chicago, and New York, which she won on November 4, and will try again in 2019.
The Story Behind One of the Last Runners on the Boston Marathon Course
In the aftermath of the 2018 Boston Marathon on April 16, Runner’s World shared a photo from a Boston Globe photographer that immediately got people talking. It showed 85-year-old Katherine Beiers with a trash bag draped over her shoulders to fend off the pouring rain, steadily making her way through Newton. Despite the near-freezing temperature, heavy rain, and furious winds, she crossed the finish line in seven hours and 50 minutes as one of the last runners on the course.
Beiers is no stranger to the Boston Marathon. This year was her 14th time running it, and she was the oldest finisher last year. All she needs after? “A beer is my recovery drink,” she said.
Dallas Marathon Heart Attack Survivor Runs This Year’s Race With Surgeon Who Saved Him
Dwayne Pickens was tasked with running 5.2 miles for his Dallas Marathon relay team in 2017. No problem, he thought, he’d just run eight miles the weekend before. But a few breathing issues two miles in became a heart attack right there on the course. Pickens was technically dead for two minutes, before a firefighter and nurse running behind him administered emergency treatment.
But the story doesn’t end there. After successful quadruple bypass surgery, Pickens’s story inspired his doctor—“that cardiac surgeon who gets winded running up the stairs”—to pledge he’d run with Pickens the next year, as motivation for both of them. And a few weeks ago, they did just that.
Justin Gallegos Still in Shock From His Surprise Nike Contract
In October, Justin Gallegos became the first professional athlete with cerebral palsy. Nike released a video documenting the University of Oregon club runner’s emotional reaction to the news on October 6, World Cerebral Palsy Day.
“Growing up with a disability, the thought of becoming a professional athlete is as I have said before like the thought of climbing Mt. Everest!” Gallegos wrote on Instagram. “Hard work pays off! Hundreds of miles, blood, sweat, and tears has lead me here along with a few permanent scars!”
The Uplifting Story Behind This Viral Marathon Photo
Robby Ketchell is a trail runner, ultramarathoner, and, since March 12, father of one. His and his wife’s son, Wyatt, was born with Down syndrome and, after being born premature, spent 67 days in the NICU.
Having never done a road marathon before, Ketchell decided to run the New York City Marathon to raise funds for Down syndrome research. He set a fundraising goal of $3,210 and pledged to finish in 3:21, both representing the third copy of the 21st chromosome that each person with Down syndrome has.
But plantar fasciitis in both feet and lots of time spent caring for Wyatt meant Ketchell didn’t have time to fully train. After 17 miles or so, he was struggling and knew he wouldn’t make the 3:21 time. So he turned a bad situation into a good one, texted his wife, met her near the finish, and carried Wyatt over the line.
85-Year-Old Marathoner on Her 10-Mile Daily Runs, Fad Diets, and the Problem With Men Her Age
Ginette Bedard grew up in a small town in France, and came to New York with her Canadian airman husband at the age of 29. She believed in staying healthy, sure, but got most of her exercise watching Jack LaLanne and other fitness gurus on TV.
It wasn’t until 2001, at the age of 68, she began running. Her years of long mileage haven’t been slow, either: In 2001, Bedard set a women’s 70-74 marathon record with a 3:46:03 at the More Marathon. She may have only finished this year’s New York City Marathon, her 16th, in 6:19:01, but hey, did we mention she’s 85?
Runners Across the Country Go #MilesForMollie
On the night of July 18, 20-year-0ld University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts went out for a run and never came back. The unfolding story, which culminated in the August 21 discovery of her body in a cornfield and the arrest of 24-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera, rocked the running community.
But runners everywhere chose to respond with courage and a clear voice through social media, documenting on every platform how they had dedicated their miles to Tibbetts through #MilesForMollie. They ran together, they ran alone, they ran with dogs, but they never stopped running.
Doctor Saves Woman’s Life at NYC Marathon, Then Finishes His Race
It seemed like just another exciting New York City Marathon race morning for Theodore Strange, M.D. Surrounded by his hospital colleagues, he was looking forward to seeing his family around mile 20 and finishing between 4:15 and 4:30.
But as he ran past cheering spectators at mile 16, Strange heard a faint cry for help. He dashed over to the woman who had yelled, standing over her motionless friend. Strange began administering CPR, but after no result, called for a defibrillator from the nearest medical tent. When his body began cramping too much to continue, a police officer took over.
Strange decided to finish his race in honor of the woman, and immediately after his 5:16 finish sought out an update. He learned that, thanks to his quick care, she was alive and stable in the hospital.
Completing the Comrades Marathon on His Crutches
In 2009, Xolani Luvuno was diagnosed with bone cancer, and his right leg was amputated. As recently as 2016, he was a homeless heroine addict, living under a bridge in Pretoria, South Africa. That’s when found Hans Venter, a businessman who helped turn Luvuno’s life around.
Flash forward to the 2018 Comrades Marathon, a 56-mile ultra between Durban and Pietermaritzburg and one of the toughest races in the world. A wound on his amputated leg left Luvuno unable to use his running blade, so he decided to use crutches, and race officials granted him a five hour head start on the rest of the field. Fifteen hours and 50 minutes later, Luvuno crossed the finish line. With Comrades in the books, he’s set his sights on the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo and an Ironman triathlon.
A Love Affair With Boston Leads to a Wedding at Mile 20
Susie Eisenberg-Argo and Dave Comstock really love the Boston Marathon. The couple also really love each other. So, they thought, why not get hitched during the race?
The couple met at a running club in their hometown of Sugar Land, Texas. In 2013, Eisenberg-Argo was 30 seconds from the finish line when the first bomb in Boston went off. She was unharmed, and managed to find Comstock, who had already finished and was waiting at their pre-approved meeting point. But the adversity didn’t end there: In October of that year, Eisenberg-Argo was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer.
But treatment went well, and she was back to running—and racing—as soon as possible. Comstock proposed on Valentine’s Day in 2017, and the couple planned a 15-minute ceremony with friends, family, and race security at mile 20 of the 2018 Boston Marathon. “It was better than we could have ever imagined,” Eisenberg-Argo told Runner’s World.
Surviving a Near-Death Experience Motivated This Woman to Start Running
Today, Robin Arzon is Peloton’s head instructor and vice president of fitness programming. More than that, she’s a sought-after cycling and treadmill instructor in New York City and author of Shut Up and Run. She’s inspired runners and cyclists across the city—and all over the world—to better their own lives by reaching physical goals they never thought possible.
But there’s a harrowing tale behind Arzon’s fitness journey. In 2002, Arzon was at a Manhattan wine bar with her friends when a gunman took her and 40 other patrons hostage. The gunman chose Arzon to be his voice to the outside world in a three hour standoff, during which the gunman doused the hostages with kerosene and threatened to light them on fire.
That was the seed that grew into an story: Arzon graduated college with honors, became a lawyer, then decided to switch careers and pursue fitness. She runs, she races, she teaches, and, more than anything, she inspires.
Woman Beats All the Men by More Than a Minute at the Boise Marathon
In 2016, Rachael Arends was on her way to winning the inaugural Boise Marathon outright when a course volunteer lead her nearly a mile off course and knocked her out of first-place contention. She laughed it off, joking about setting her 28.2-mile PR.
This year, Arends didn’t make any wrong moves and succeeded in winning the 2018 Boise Marathon outright, finishing more than a minute ahead of the (male) second place finisher.
Jacob joined Runner’s World and Bicycling as an editorial fellow after graduating from Northwestern University in 2018, where he studied journalism. His work focuses mainly on news and service pieces for both audiences, with the occasional foray into longer feature work and product reviews. He especially loves to highlight the journeys of unique runners and riders doing amazing things in their communities.
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