Dorothy

Three weeks ago I ran a marathon.  Throughout much of the marathon I kept seeing a "little old lady" running along.  Her shirt said "Go Dorothy Go" on the back and "Run Dorothy Run" on the front.  I picked up my pace for the last three miles and I never saw her again but I know she finished shortly after I did.  I was just leaving the finish area when I heard people yelling "Yay Dorothy, Go Dorothy".  Later I looked in the results and there was a 65 yr old woman named Dorothy who finished about a minute after I did. 
I do not know this woman but she has really left an impression on me!  I have thought about her quite often since the marathon.  She is 65 years old and runs marathons! The day after the marathon I went to the grocery store.  I saw people competing to get into a  handicapped parking spot; the first thing that came to my mind was that if Dorothy goes to the grocery store today she won't be parking in a handicapped spot.  In the store I saw a woman riding on one of those motorized grocery carts and I said out-loud, "Dorothy doesn't need one of those!"  My daughter wondered if I was losing my mind and asked me what I was talking about!!
I decided to look Dorothy up on Athlinks which is sort of the runners equivalent of Facebook.  She was there!!  According to her profile she began running at age 41 (same as me!) and has run 18 marathons in the last 14 years.  I looked at her recent results and noticed that she ran the Boston Marathon in April of this year!!! WOW!!  I haven't even been able to qualify to do that yet.  She ran marathons April 19 and May 29, just over a month apart! That's impressive!!    
When I started running races a few years ago one of the first things I noticed was the people 20-plus years older than me who ran the races and some of them just as fast or faster than I do.  I work in health care so I take care of people the same ages as these people who can barely walk to the bathroom and here are people the same age who run a 5K in less than 20 minutes.  (it takes me at least 23 minutes)   Sometimes working in health can be depressing. I see people and then wonder if I will be like that when I am that age.  My goal is to stay healthy and be able to drive, go to the store and just do the things I want to do without a cane, walker or wheelchair.  My goal in life is to never park in a handicapped parking spot or use a motorized grocery cart.  When I see people like Dorothy I have to believe that running will help me to achieve that. 
I've met people older than Dorothy in the past who still run.  It has always inspired me.  In 2007 I met a man shortly after I finished a marathon and I assumed that he had just finished but found out that, no, he didn't just finish but had finished 33 minutes ahead of me!!  He was 70 and had just run his 70th marathon!  He was very proud of that. 
So, when people ask me if I am crazy or why I want to put myself through running long distances I just think of myself as an 80 year old lady out running and amazing people over half my age!!!!!  Actually I think of my future 80 year old self traveling to great places without any problems getting around to run races!!!!  I picture myself running with my grand or great grand children!!!  I also have this idea that I want to be a lifeguard on cruise ships when I am retired.  I am counting on running to keep me healthy and active for a very long time. 
Just say NO to canes, walkers, riding grocery carts, wheelchairs and handicapped parking!!!!!!!