A 96-year-old woman from Ottawa has landed herself in the world record books after she completed a 5k on Saturday in 51 minutes and nine seconds – the fastest 5K ever by a woman aged 95-99.
Rejeanne Fairhead did so at the Ottawa Race Weekend, beating the previous record by a healthy four minutes and 39 seconds by walking the course. Fairhead was inspired to break the record after completing last year's race in under 59 minutes, a few minutes shy of the record.
Having ridden horses and played bowling for most of her life, Fairhead took up walking in order to complete the 5k race and was walking alongside her new coach, Richelle Weeks, three times a week.
"I’ve been telling everybody, ‘To me, age is just a number. You know, if you feel good, do something,'" Fairhead told the National Post. "It felt very good," she added. "I was proud of what I did. But I was glad it was all over too."
Fairhead's world record-setting 5k also raised over $7,400 for the Perley Health Foundation. She also beat 627 people of all ages, while 20 of her 25 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren also walked the course with her.
With Fairhead closing in on 100, she's yet to commit to trying to break more world records, and says it will be for fun if she runs the race next year. "If I do walk next year it will just for fun," she said. "I’m not going to try to beat anything. I think I’ve done my share. I think I’ve had enough."
Fairhead was born in 1926 in Saskatchewan and moved to Ottawa in her early 20s, where she has remained ever since. She worked for the federal government in Saskatchewan and her husband was in the military.
She stopped working to raise her children but returned to government work when they were grown up. Fairhead worked for the next two decades in various roles before happily retiring. Three years ago, Fairhead moved into seniors’ apartments at a senior’s health centre specialising in care for veterans and their families after living independently before that.
Incredibly, it didn't take Fairhead long to recover from the 5k event. It took Fairhead just half an hour before she felt fine, and the Sunday after the race she was already back doing her volunteer work at the Perley and tackled a shopping trip.
