by Bea Peterson
“Find something you really love and do it well,” Freihofer runner Libby James told the audience of Hoosick Falls Central School students in grades three through six gathered in the elementary cafeteria Friday morning, May 31. James is from Colorado, and, for the second year in a row, she was invited to participate in the Freihofer’s Run for Women on Saturday, June 1.
A petit and lithe woman, she told the students she started running when she was 35 years old. She explained it was a way for her to get away from her four teenage children who were a total of five years apart in age. She ran her first marathon at 40. She has run in 12 marathons. James was inducted into the Colorado Runners Hall of Fame last year. In January 2013 she set a Walt Disney World Half-Marathon record, breaking the previous age group world record by 10 minutes. She is 76.
Libby James writes for a newspaper, has written a children’s book entitled Muffin Magic, and creates note cards and bookmarks inspired by tired tea bags.
She told the students she never thought she would be competitive, but she has been. “Just do your very best,” she told them. “When you’re running and someone passes you, don’t let it get you down. Encourage them as they pass you, and tell them ‘go for it!’”
In Saturday’s 35th Freihofer’s Run for Women. James was first with a time of 23:55 under USATF age group guidelines for women 65 to 79. The next runner in that age group finished 18 minutes behind her.