Jeannie Rice first became a household name in the running community after the 2018 Chicago Marathon. At the time, she was 70, and she ran 3:27:50, shattering the age group world record.
Five years later, and she hasn’t slowed down much.
On April 17, Rice, a few days after her 75th birthday, ran 3:33:15 at the Boston Marathon. She averaged 8:08 per mile.
She spoke to Runner’s World from her Boston hotel after the race and said she was pleased with the result, her best time at Boston after six previous attempts.
“Boston is a tough course,” she said. “I never ran good in Boston.”
A friend of hers gave her a tip to hold back a little on the downhills. She heeded the advice.
“I love downhills,” she said. “I always go fast. And I always have a problem later on, like muscle cramps. Last time I had terrible muscle cramps.” (She finished in 4:03 in 2019.)
This year, she put the brakes on. Instead of doing 7:20 pace, she ran 7:50s down the hills. It paid off.
Rice lives in Naples, Florida, all winter, where it’s hard to find hills to train on. Now, she’ll head home to Mentor, Ohio, where she spends the half of the year.
Rice pointed out that she ran the Tokyo Marathon just six weeks ago. She finished that race in 3:31:22. But she was still 74 at the time.
Her Boston time improves the existing record for her 75–79 age group, which is 3:38:56, run by Vera Nystad of Norway at Berlin in 2022. But it’s not certain Rice’s record will count, because the Boston course is not record-eligible.
To Rice, who has run the six World Marathon Majors, that point is irrelevant. “Boston is tougher than anywhere else,” she said.
Sarah Lorge Butler is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World since 2005. She is the author of two popular fitness books, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
