It’s never too late to take up a new sport. Just ask marathon runner Mary Lunn, who began running in her 40s and this past March, at age 60, earned the Abbott World Marathon Majors Six-Star Finisher Medal.
The medal is awarded to runners who complete what are considered the six “largest and most renowned marathons in the world” – Boston, London, New York, Chicago, Berlin and Tokyo.
Lunn was in her 50s when she ran the six – Boston in 2015, London and New York in 2017, Chicago in 2018, Berlin in 2019 and Tokyo, deferred by pandemic restrictions, in 2024.
“I ranked in the top 100 in my age group for all of my races. My best ranking was Chicago. I was in the top 1 percent in my age group, followed by New York and Berlin where I ranked in the top 3 percent,” says Lunn.
Tokyo, she says, where she ranked in the top 13 percent, was a bit of a disappointment, as she was forced to slow her pace due to a Charlie horse – likely caused by flight delays, extended travel and a 14-hour time change.
Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Lunn and her husband Andrew emigrated to the U.S. in 1987 and lived for 10 years in Chicago before moving to Vero Beach in 1997.
Lunn says that while she has always been athletic, she didn’t begin racing until January 2006, when a friend convinced her to run with her in the Disney Half Marathon. Andrew ran with her and, while that race went well, the next one didn’t.
“In 2007, my second marathon, I ran the Chicago Marathon, which turned out to be their worst marathon in 30 years. By the time I reached the 20-mile mark, the race had been canceled due to the soaring heat; 88 degrees. Many runners suffered dehydration, many were hospitalized, and there was one death. To date, this was their hottest on record,” says Lunn.
Then in 2010, she entered the Disney Marathon in what turned out to be their coldest on record – 27 degrees at the start.
“There was a thin layer of ice on the cups of water at the water stations. The joke amongst my fellow runners was to find out which marathon I planned on signing up for, and not sign up for the same one.”
Eventually, her luck changed. She found that she was good at the sport and, more importantly, it didn’t bother her body.
“I think I was just fortunate that I have good knees and hips and, knock on wood, it hasn’t bothered me,” says Lunn, who has since run some 20 marathons and innumerable charitable 5K and 10K races.
“There is a great running community here,” says Lunn. “Vero’s a great place to run because every mile or two there’s a water fountain.”
Asked if she had a favorite, Lunn recalls the 2014 Boston Marathon, the year after the horrific bombing. She had qualified for the 2013 race but ran something else that year instead.
“It was unbelievable. They had a service, kind of a blessing of the runners that they do the day before the marathon. But this particular year, it fell on Easter Sunday, because the race is Monday,” she explains.
“There were thousands of runners there, and it was just so emotional. It was just so beautiful, and it was kind of like, we’re not going to let this get us down. We’re doing this again; we’re having this race. And it was just an incredible vibe.”
She knows the Boston route well, having run it in 2012, ’14, ’15 and ’16, and says it’s a challenging one, especially “Heartbreak Hill” at mile 20 where runners are already fatigued.
“And then just the crowds are crazy. New York was amazing, too; I loved it,” says Lunn. “I mean, the crowds there are incredible too. I love them all; they all have something special.
But I would have to say Boston was my favorite.”
Overall, she says, running the marathons has been a wonderful experience. And, although she is qualified to run Boston again this year, she has decided instead to train for the Florida Senior Games, which is open to ages 50 and up.
“It’s more track and field, like 200 meters, 400 meters; short distances on the track. So I want to train for that,” says Lunn, noting that while it’s fewer miles, the training is more intense.
She plans to participate in the games in Martin County this fall to see how she does.
“I’ve never done that kind of racing before, but it’s going to be fun. I’m going to try for that and hopefully qualify to participate in the Florida Games. Then if you do well there, at first, second, or third, you go to the Nationals. So that’s just another goal, something fun to do,” says Lunn.
“I’m still very competitive for my age. And in these games, I’ll be competitive. I’m looking forward to it. But the thing about running is, you’re mainly just competitive with yourself because there’s always someone faster.”
Lunn, who is certified as a personal trainer and running coach, recalls that after one of the Boston marathons, the ladies in a Silver Sneakers classes she taught at Christie’s Fitness thought that she had won the race.
“They had this big cake for me, and they were cheering and telling everybody that I’d won the Boston Marathon. I said ‘I ran it. I didn’t win it.’ I told them, ‘If I’d won the Boston Marathon I wouldn’t be here because I’d be $250,000 richer; that’s what the first-place person gets,’” Lunn says with a laugh, adding that as we age, it’s important to stay strong.
“So I’ll just keep up what I’m doing. My new goal is the senior games just to switch gears a little bit for now. Try something different. Who knows, I might run another marathon.”
