Syracuse Univeristy Grad is Oldest Woman to Finish Marathon

Harriett Thompson is the oldest woman to finish a marathon at age 92 and 65 days. She beat Gladys Burrill by 46 days, who set the record in 2010 at age 92 and 16 days. The Syracuse University grad finished the Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon in 7 hours and 24 minutes, a race she's run 15 times to raise money for leukemia and lymphoma research.

Thompson, who is a cancer survivor, didn't start running until she was 70. "At that time I had lost several people in my family to cancer and I said, 'Oh, maybe I should do that. The first year I just planned to walk, but everybody else was running so I started to run with them," she tells the Associated Press.

Running marathons isn't Thompson's only accomplishment. After getting her music degree at Syracuse University in 1947, she went on to become a classically trained pianist and has played at Carnegie Hall three times.

To get ready for the big race, Thompson warmed up by taking part in Baltimore Ravens Steve Smith's Lace Up Son Family 5K, a few days before. She even beat Smith across the finish line where he posed for a selfie and admitted to the Charlotte Observer, "she's awesome."

YouTube via Charlotte Observer

Thompson Beat Smith Across Finish Line

Its been a tough year for Thompson who tells the Associated Press, she lost her husband and battled an infection in her leg. "I couldn't train very well because my husband was very ill and I had to be with him for some time and then when he died in January I had some treatments on my leg."

Thompson, who now calls North Carolina home, doesn't know if she'll run the San Diego marathon again next year, but according to the Associated Press, she didn't think she'd run this year.