The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Area runner smashes record
Concord woman owns marathon world mark for her age group
In retrospect, Jeannie Rice understands why her friends and family were so excited.
But upon hearing the news she’s a world record holder ...
“To me, it’s no big deal,” Rice said with a laugh. “I really didn’t do anything special. I’m just a year older.”
Rice is correct. Turning 70 is what made the Concord Township woman’s day so special Oct. 7. At the Chicago Marathon, Rice finished the course in 3 hours, 27 minutes, 50 seconds.
According to Runner’s World, Rice owns the 70-and-over women’s world record for the marathon by a whopping mark — almost eight full minutes. Helga Miketta of Germany held the previous record of 3:35.29, set in 2013.
When Rice began the race, she had a good feeling the record would be hers upon completion. At last year’s Chicago Marathon, she ran a 3:29; she bested that by two minutes on Oct. 7.
Still, upon returning to her hotel in Chicago, Rice lost track of
her pre-race thought and was unaware of the history she just made. Word spread fast in her inner circle, and messages, emails and texts from family and friends began pouring in.
“I’m not like the young kids,” Rice said. “I didn’t even have a phone when I
was a kid.”
Rice grew up in Korea, and didn’t move to the United States until she was 19. She didn’t began running until she was 35, but immediately discovered she had a knack for distance running.
“Because I like competition, I work hard at it,” she said. “You have to be motivated and disciplined. If it’s raining, snowing, you still have to run. I want to win.”
The marathon on Oct. 7 was Rice’s 116th of her career. At 70, she has no plans of slowing down.
“Well, I know I have to be healthy,” said Rice, who still works as an area Realtor. “At my age, I know anything can happen. But I don’t have a secret. For me, it’s not that hard. I eat healthy, but I do eat a lot of rice and I love bread. I don’t eat sweets, or hardly any fried foods. I eat at lot of vegetables, and I sleep properly.”
Recovery time isn’t an issue either. While others struggle for days after marathons, Rice was immediately back on the road logging her miles. Her training the week after the Oct. 7 Chicago Marathon: Oct. 8: 3.5 miles Oct. 9: 7.5 miles
Oct. 10: 10 miles Oct. 11: rest day Oct. 12: 15 miles The only woman older than 60 to finish ahead of Rice in Chicago was Joan Beniot Samuelson, who won the 1984 Olympic gold medal. The 61-year-old finished in 3:12.13.
“Very exciting to hear she ran the marathon,” Rice said.
With a world record to her name, Rice said there are more goals to pursue. She wants to win her age group in the six major marathons worldwide. She’s already done that at Boston and Chicago.
Up next in three weeks is the New York City Marathon. She also plans to run the Berlin and London marathons, and eventually Tokyo.
There’s also this: In January, she plans to run the Naples Half-Marathon in the Florida city where she lives for about five months each year.
Rice hopes to set the halfmarathon world record at the Naples race, proving there’s no slowing her down.
“Running is such a huge part of my life,” Rice said. “I don’t see myself stopping. Not a for a while.”