A Race For Every Pace: Little Rock Marathon Finisher Agrees

Colleen Johnson can rattle off a list of what makes the Little Rock Marathon special to her with speed – everything from crazy race themes to the finisher medals to the courses the racers take past many of the city’s historic sites.

But despite all that, the Bolivar, Tenn., resident said one thing about the Little Rock Marathon stands out above all others.

 

“It’s the simple fact that Little Rock has provided a place in their marathon for me,” Johnson said.

Despite being 60 years old, Johnson doesn’t seem like the most unlikely of Little Rock Marathon finishers. Even if you ignore the list of chronic illnesses she faces on a daily basis – including diabetes, chronic asthma, bone-on-bone arthritis – and top all that off with being in remission from an aggressive form of endometrial cancer.

“On top of all of that, I’m short — only 5 foot, 1 inch tall — and I’m almost 60 years old,” Johnson said. “The combination of all of these things make it much more difficult for me to run a 26.2 mile marathon than the typical runner.

“I run much slower than the younger, healthier whippersnappers who will fill the race corrals on Sunday, and I have to work a lot harder to finally meet up with them at the finish line,” she added.

Which brings us to the reason the Little Rock Marathon holds a special place in Johnson’s heart. “Most marathons limit their races to runners who can complete the race in six hours,” she said. “But with all my medical problems – combined with my height and age, I just can’t run/walk 26.2 miles that fast, which means most full marathon races close their doors to me.

“But not Little Rock,” she said. “Little Rock offers a place in their marathon for even older, slower runners like me, something very few others do.”