A Vanderhoof woman earned a Six-Star medal for completing all six major marathons around the world.
69-year-old Marie Chapman, who has called Prince George home for many years received the honour after finishing the Tokyo Marathon earlier this month.
Her journey running long-distance races began eight years ago after joining the Prince George Road Runners Club.
Chapman says like most new routines, getting used to running marathons took some practice, but she is happy with where she’s at.
“It’s kind of the thing to get your six-star medal as it is a very sought-after accomplishment. To do it along with all of these other people in the world that are trying to accomplish the same thing it is very satisfying to have done it.”
“When I first started I tried a couple of smaller marathons and I got a couple of overuse injuries – I didn’t make it the first year to do the marathon but I tried again and I did. I did another marathon after that and got a Boston qualifying time and then thought this is a lot of fun.”
When it comes to her favourite race locations the Big Apple takes the cake, however, her most recent trip to Japan is a very close second.
“I prefer the major marathons that are in the big cities where the scenery is changing. You are going from one borough to another in New York – so I prefer New York because it was a really exciting one with all of the crowds and scenery.”
“I love Tokyo just as much as New York as well because there is so much to see in Tokyo because of all the major attractions you are running by.”
“It was the most wonderful place to run a marathon in Japan. The culture in Japan and being emerced into it was fabulous. I loved every minute of the whole trip – not just the marathon – it’s so clean and everyone was so polite and nice and you had people along the way bowing their heads to you as you run by. The food over there is so good and it wasn’t very costly – there is just so much to see, the culture every minute you are there is so eye-opening,” added Chapman.
She also explained the challenges associated with long-distance running can make the whole experience that much more exciting.
“There are so many things that could go wrong in a marathon. You could get sick, you could get injured, your flight might not arrive in time and your training could go wrong. Anything could go wrong but when it all fits together and you cross the finish line with a smile on your face with all these other people who have accomplished the same thing as you it is a wonderful feeling.”
Chapman is one of three people in the Prince George area to receive the Six-Star medal – the other two are Jacqueline Pettersen and Michael Wells.
The six major world marathons include Boston, Chicago, New York City, Tokyo, Berlin, and London (England).
Chapman is planning a trip to Australia in September for the Sydney Marathon before embarking on another visit to New York in November.
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