The oldest woman to ever run a marathon has died. The Charlotte Observer reports that Charlotte resident Harriette Thompson, a three-time cancer survivor and concert pianist, passed away Monday morning at the age of 94.
Thompson was in hospice care after an injury earlier this month.
In a 2014 interview with WFAE, Thompson said she sometimes got strange looks as she ran, but that she always had fans waiting for her at the end of the finish line.
“Especially at the end I have all these strangers coming up to me saying, 'Can I have my picture taken with you?’" laughed Thompson. “And I think, 'Well if you want it!’ I just think it’s sort of funny.”
Thompson ran her first marathon at the age of 76. Throughout her running career, she raised money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
