Harriette Thompson, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sunday has become the oldest woman to finish a marathon in San Diego's Rock 'n' Roll Marathon with a time of 7 hours, 24 minutes and 36 seconds, according to Joseph Zucker of Bleacher Report.

Like Us on Facebook

At the age of 92 years and 65 days, Thompson barely broke the erstwhile record of 92 years and 19 days set by Gladys Burrill during the Honolulu Marathon five years ago.

With her son by her side, casual fans and supporters encircled the old lady as she arrived at the finish line, amidst wild cheers and applauds.

At the finish line, Thompson was humble enough to tell reporters that she does not think of herself as someone unusual. Although being told by a lot of people that she was an inspiration was "nice to hear" especially for someone at her age.

Thompson intimated during a post-race interview that she is not sure if she would run again next year. But the thought of raising money for cancer patients because of her running might make her change her mind once again.

Last year, she also told reporters that she might not participate in the marathon this year, according to a report from ABC News. But in spite of her recent troubles she went at it once more.

What makes her feat incredibly amazing is that she was actually a cancer survivor as well, as reported by Cindy Boren in an article for The Washington Post. Thompson had run the Rock 'n' Roll marathon sixteen times in the past and she admitted that this was the hardest year so far, not because of her mature age, but because of the things that she had to go through prior to the race.

Last January, her husband of 67 years died of cancer and at the same time she also had an infection in one of her legs that required continuous treatment. She had to struggle against the grief of losing her loved one and had to endure the discipline of mending her leg, sacrificing much-needed training that is vital to complete a marathon.

But she did anyway, completing a highly draining physical activity that most mere mortals could not finish. Indeed, there are no words to accurately describe that. 

TagsMarathon, San Diego Marathon, San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon, Harriette Thompson, Record breaking marathon run, oldest woman, San Diego Marathon 2015, San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon 2015