Katherine Beiers may get the medal for most guts at Monday’s Boston Marathon. When Runner’s World posted a picture from The Boston Globe of the 85-year-old making her way through Newton—while wearing a garbage bag to protect herself a little from the pouring rain, no less—readers on social media immediately wanted to know her story.
Did she finish??? I’ve got to have the story on Katherine!!! 85 and doing Boston...she’s just as much a winner as Des!!!!
Omg how strong that lady is. The rest of us should have no excuses.
Despite the near-freezing temps, heavy rain, and furious winds, she crossed the finish line in seven hours, 50 minutes as one of the last runners on the course, according to KPIX.
Beiers is no stranger to the Boston Marathon. She was the oldest finisher of the 2017 race at 84 years and seven months, crossing the line in 6:04:07.
Beiers ran her first marathon in 1984 in Napa, California, and has really taken to the distance—she’s run Boston 14 times now. To prepare for it, she ran about 45 miles per week around Santa Cruz, California, where she lives.
She toed the line this year with her son, who told KPIX she always enjoys a postrace beer.
“A beer is my recovery drink,” she added.
We hope she has April 15 marked on her calendar to run next year’s race, too. (And hopefully the weather is a little better.)
The Scenes That Captured the 2018 Boston Marathon
