Oct 2, 2019  

• Jeannie Rice, 71, set a world age-group record in the marathon on September 29 in Berlin, where she ran 3:24:48.
• The performance bettered by 3 minutes the record she set last year in Chicago, 3:27:50.
• Her next competitive races include the Naples Half Marathon in January and the Tokyo Marathon in March.

Jeannie Rice is faster at 71 than she was at 70.

In October 2018, she stunned the running community when she broke 3:30 for a marathon, running 3:27:50 in Chicago.

On September 29, almost one year later, she broke her own 70–74 world record in Berlin, running 3:24:48. She averaged 7:49 per mile.

Rice, who splits her time between Mentor, Ohio, and Naples, Florida, ran even splits most of the race. All her 5Ks were in the 23-minute range, until the 35-kilometer mark (about 21.7 miles). Then she slowed to a 26:34. “I faded the last 5K, but I knew I had it by then,” she told Runner’s World.

Plus, she knows she has room for improvement in her next marathon, which will be Tokyo in March 2020. “I’m kind of glad I didn’t break 3:20,” she said. “It gives me something to try for.”

First, she’ll return to the Naples Half Marathon and try to better her existing age group record in that distance, 1:37:07, which she ran in August in Akron, Ohio.

Rice is undoubtedly physically gifted, because not only is she turning in top times, but she never feels sore after 26.2. After Sunday’s race, she ran five miles apiece on Monday and Tuesday. “I feel wonderful,” she said.

Is Rice inspiring others of her age? It’s possible. In Berlin, she won her age group by 17 and a half minutes, in contrast to her typical winning margin of 30–45 minutes or more.

But Vera Vigunante Nystad of Norway turned in a stellar 70–74 age-group time: 3:42:19.