East London-born Adele Harraway, right, is part of the 3,000 history-making runners of the Tokyo Marathon in 2023 who completed the race to earn their Six Star Medals and establish a Guinness World Record.
“Running with World Marathon tours and achieving the Abbott Big 6 Marathon in Tokyo was extremely overwhelming as it was a goal of mine since 2013. Knowing one has to qualify for Boston, I waited until I was 45 to gain an extra 10 minutes because of my age. I did it. I did it three times then decided to continue the goal of achieving the Abbott Big 6 Stars,” said Harraway.
The Six Star medal is given to runners who have completed the Abbot Big Six Marathons which include the Tokyo Marathon, the Boston Marathon, the TCS London Marathon, the BMW Berlin Marathon, the Chicago Marathon, and the New York City Marathon.
She started running at the age of 26 and only completed her first marathon at the age of 42.
“I started running in 1997 with my mom, and in 2000 I joined a girl’s group called Nick’s Chicks.
“I would work a full day, get home, feed the kids, do homework, do some cleaning then after the kids were in bed, I would go for a run at 8pm for an hour. I would do this about three times a week. I did my first half marathon in 2008 and my first full marathon in Chicago in 2013,” said Harraway.
Harraway, who is a recruiter in finance and accounting by profession, moved to Canada with her family and has traveled the world with her marathon running.
“What a journey it has been…Tokyo has been a very special place to celebrate and I enjoy learning about new cultures and embracing them all in respecting others, being adventurous in trying and eating local food, and trying to understand how others think or behave.”
Harraway shared some advice for fellow runners who also have big goals.
“You just need good shoes and a good attitude.
“Start with little steps and work your way up to 10km, then half marathons. Find a coach or a group of like-minded people who are positive and encouraging. Set a goal, sign up for a race then commit to it by training properly.”
