Prepare to be both inspired and saddened at the same time. At 86-years-old, Joy Johnson managed to finish Sunday’s New York City Marathon for the 25th time. Despite falling at mile 20 and hitting her head, Johnson still insisted on finishing the race.
“I always say I’m going to run until I drop,” Johnson was quoted as saying the day before the race. “I’m going to die in my tennis shoes. I just don’t know when I’m going to quit.”
The very next day, Johnson laid down to rest in her hotel room before quietly passing away. “At least she was running, the way she wanted to go,” said Johnson’s daughter, Diana Boydston.
[
Competitor]