96-year-old woman sets world record in 5K for age group at Ottawa race

You're never too old to achieve a goal.

Ninety-six-year-old Rejeanne Fairhead is an example of that, finishing a 5K race in 51:09:01 to become the world record holder in the age 95-99 category. She accomplished the feat at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend on Saturday, defeating the previous world record holder, American Betty Lindberg, by almost five minutes.

"It felt very good," Fairhead said, according to the National Post. "I was proud of what I did. But I was glad it was all over too."

According to the National Post, the Ottawa native said her highest athletic pursuits up to this point included bowling and horse shoes. The 5K record became a goal about a year ago when she set the Canadian mark (58 minutes, 52 seconds) in her age category, finishing 3 minutes, 4 seconds from a share of the world record. It was her first road race, and she did it without any training.

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Fairhead started training for the 2023 event in March, according to the National Post, and the rest was history.

“I’ve been telling everybody to me, age is just a number," Fairhead said. "You know, if you feel good, do something.”