Roslyn Smith just smashed another running record. She might be in her 70s, but she can still haul ass.
Smith has set a bunch of records. In 2014, she set the Canadian record for her age group at the Vancouver marathon. She set a new one in 2015 at the Ottawa marathon.
In 2019, she beat her running idol, Jeannie Rice, by more than 10 minutes at the Boston Marathon. She may not have set a record that day, but Rice is the World Record holder for her age group.
And just this month, she set another record. She won her age group at the California International Marathon. And she beat the old record by 7 minutes.
The old record was set back in 1983.
Smith has been running her whole life, but she didn’t get serious about competing until 2005. She retired to Comox at 57 and started to really train. She never looked back.
“It seemed that I became more competitive as the years went by,” she told the Comox Valley Record.
“The reason I compete is to see how well I can maintain my level of fitness,” she told Senior Living. “It’s still challenging to get as close to [faster] times as I can. I enjoy this challenge.”
Roslyn Smith just smashed another running record. She might be in her 70s, but she can still haul ass.
Smith has set a bunch of records. In 2014, she set the Canadian record for her age group at the Vancouver marathon. She set a new one in 2015 at the Ottawa marathon.
In 2019, she beat her running idol, Jeannie Rice, by more than 10 minutes at the Boston Marathon. She may not have set a record that day, but Rice is the World Record holder for her age group.
And just this month, she set another record. She won her age group at the California International Marathon. And she beat the old record by 7 minutes.
The old record was set back in 1983.
Smith has been running her whole life, but she didn’t get serious about competing until 2005. She retired to Comox at 57 and started to really train. She never looked back.
“It seemed that I became more competitive as the years went by,” she told the Comox Valley Record.
“The reason I compete is to see how well I can maintain my level of fitness,” she told Senior Living. “It’s still challenging to get as close to [faster] times as I can. I enjoy this challenge.”
But it isn’t all about hard work. After Smith won the Boston Marathon, she told the Inspired Soles podcast that her favourite post-run treat is a burger, some fries, and a beer.
Smith wasn’t the only Comox runner to totally crush it in California. Members of the Comox Valley Road Runners (CVRR) Rob Kelly, Keith Wakelin, Andrea Wilson, Danny Keyes, and coach Wayne Crowe finished high in their age categories.If you want to start running, and not just running late? Check out the CVRR 5km clinic starting January 8.
