You Go Girl! Constantina Tomescu Wins the Women’s Olympic Marathon at 38!

I can’t tell you how awesome it was to watch the women’s marathon last night! I got chills when Constantina crossed that finish line, and I almost teared up. Hey, it could have been me, except I can’t run that fast no matter how many splits I do!

I was sad to see Deena Kastor go. Sounds like she had a broken right foot. I’ll have to find out more about that. Did she start off that way? I was hoping to see her in the final pack, and would have loved to watch her cross the finish line first of course, but hope that her foot heals quickly.

Paula Radcliffe ran through her pain. It was the first marathon she has finished and not won. She dropped out of the Olympics four years ago, but she hung in there last night even though she was obviously hurting. It was sad to see the look on her face. I remember reading about her quite a while back, after she finished another marathon just nine months after giving birth to her daughter. She seemed smart and spunky and fun. I’m sure this will be a tough day for her.

But let’s talk about that winner! Constantina Tomescu, a 38 year old Romanian distance runner and mother to a teenage son, took the gold; her win makes her the oldest Olympic to win a marathon. She won in two hours, twenty six minutes, forty four seconds. Dang! I’m lucky to finish a half around two, and she was done with 26.2!

All I can say is, way to go girl! Talk about inspiration for those of us that are in our upper thirties and early forties. She pulled ahead with quite a few miles to go and she kept extending that gap.

And of course I have to say my hats off to Dara Torres as well. What a powerhouse! And she seems to have the best energy as well. Always smiling, and upbeat and happy.

It was a great night for women and sports last night! Watching the Olympics last night I just realized how proud I am to be the age that I am right now, as a woman, when women are becoming much stronger. Suddenly, turning forty in a few years doesn’t sound so bad!

And the best part? I’ll definitely be in great, great company!

Happy Running Trails!