Jeannie Rice missed the world record but sets a new National Record for the Half Marathon

Jeannie Rice missed her mark at the 2019 Naples Daily News Half Marathon, but a national record is pretty good consolation.

At Sunday’s race, Rice had her sights on taking down the world record for fastest half marathon by a woman 70 years old or older. It wasn’t a far-fetched goal – in October the part-time Bonita Springs resident broke the marathon world record for women over 70.

Rice finished in 1:38:41.9, missing the record by 1 minute and 3 seconds. However, her mark set the American record for 13.1 miles in her age group.

"From the start, I knew,” Rice said about failing to break the world record. “It was around 70 degrees and humid. I didn’t want to die at the end, so I went at a slower pace.”

In the week leading up to the race, the forecast called for temperatures in the 50s – perfect for long-distance running. But with the temperature around 67 degrees Sunday morning, Rice knew it was too warm for her to go too fast.

The national record Rice broke technically was her own. When she set the marathon record in October, USA Track and Field used her time at the 13.1-mile mark of the race as the new record (around 1:39:00).

Rice had moral support from her friends in Cleveland, where she works as a real estate agent. Four members of her Northeast (Ohio) Running Club joined her in Naples to run the race. Rice crossed the line with NERC member Craig Pulling, who was running in the race for the first time.

“It was humid,” Pulling said. “I’m not used to running in this weather. I’ve been training all winter, and this was a lot harder and a lot slower (than running in the cold).”

posted Monday January 21st