Ann Steylen completed the 10K in rainy Blue Nose Marathon last month
When you’re 85 years old and it’s cold and pouring rain outside, you might not feel like running a 10K.
Not Ann Steylen.
Last month at the Blue Nose Marathon in Halifax, Steylen was the only runner in the female 80-plus category for the 10K race.
She put on her raincoat and two hours, 36 minutes and nine seconds later, she crossed the finish line.
“I like to walk and and run in the rain because it cleans the air out,” said the Pleasant Ridge, N.B., woman. “I think of Gene Kelly dancing in the rain.”
Steylen said she’s been active all her life — “line dancing and things like that” — but started running competitively in her 70s.
‘Family get together’
Her daughter and son are runners, she said, and it was way to have a “family get together.” They were both with her at the Blue Nose Marathon.
“They say if a family goes to church together, they stay together. For us, it was if we race together, we stay together.”
Steylen said it’s important keep active even if it’s just going out to walk the dog.
“I hope that I’m able to encourage other people that are older like me, that they don’t give up. Because once you give up, well then you just go downhill. It might be a little painful at first but eventually it’s what you need.”
Her next race is in September in B.C., aptly titled the Forever Young 8K.
