Avoid processed foods, be in the moment: marathon runner, 93, shares 10 tips for living a long, fit and healthy life
- When Mathea Allansmith, then 92, finished the Honolulu marathon in 2022, it made her the oldest woman anywhere to complete the 26.2-mile race
- The retired eye doctor shares her secrets to a long, active and healthy life, from getting outside regularly and exercising to eating well and staying positive
In December 2022, Mathea Allansmith made history – and broke a Guinness World Record – when she became the oldest woman to finish a marathon, at 92 years and 194 days.
The grandmother and retired ophthalmologist, who lives in Koloa, on the island of Kauai in Hawaii, completed the 26.2-mile (42.1km) route at the 2022 Honolulu Marathon in an impressive 10 hours and 48 minutes.
It wasn’t her first race and it won’t be her last. Now 93, Allansmith, who grew up in a small town in California, still remembers some of her earliest races, which took place “a long time ago”.
“The Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffin races in Boston were some of my earliest events,” she recalls. “Those were fun, 5km races, with many participants dressing up in funny costumes. Runners got blueberry muffins when they crossed the finish line.” (Jordan Marsh was an American department store famous for its blueberry muffins.)
Allansmith plans to take part in races in Hawaii every other month for the rest of 2023, with her next one scheduled for September.
While proud of her record-breaking accomplishment, Allansmith says that she doesn’t consider herself an oddity. She doesn’t have any special longevity secrets, either.