84-Year-Old Woman Achieves Personal Best In Charity Run Marathon For Hospice

An 84-year-old woman has become one of the top finishers in a marathon held in the United Kingdom. The woman Barbara Thackray began running at the age of 77 and achieved her personal best of running 10 kilometres in one hour and thirty minutes on Sunday, September 4.

The grandmother Barbara Thackray hailing from Altrincham, Greater Manchester took up running when she was 77 years old and began running 20 km per week during the lockdown. She said that the exercise helped keep her in shape and “enables us to keep our body going”.

She took part in the Altrincham 10k which was open to all runners and returned after the inaugural event was successful last year.

Grandmother Charity Run

Barbara Thackray was participating in a charity run and set her personal record when she ran to raise money for St Ann’s Hospice in Heald Green. Thackray's late sister Audrey was a patient at the hospice and she managed to raise 1,579 pounds (around 145,000 rupees) with the help of 64 supporters. The charity was raising money to build a new hospice close to the existing building.

She was among the finishers at the 10 km charity run and recorded a chip time of one hour and 26 minutes.

Thackray was accompanied for the run by her son James, who travelled from Hong Kong to participate in the run. He said he was “incredibly proud” of his mother and said she had motivated others to take up running. Thackray's son added that she often gets her family involved in joining her in races and charity runs.

Thackray said, “At 84, you can’t afford to lose it. In your 70s you can start new things, but I’m not convinced you can in your 80s, so I didn’t want to risk it.” She described the charity for the hospice as an “incredible cause” to run for. Thackray added that she was “happy” to run the race alongside her son and share her love for running.

While the charity run came to an end, Thackray has not given up on her passion for running. She trained for the charity race by maintaining her practice of running 10 kilometres twice a week.

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