70-year-old Ottawa woman sets new marathon world record

When Jennifer MacDonell laced up her shoes at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon earlier this month, she was determined to make history. A little over three hours later, the 70-year-old Ottawa woman did just that. MacDonell set a new marathon world record for women aged 70-74, crossing the finish line on Oct. 18 with a time of 3:23:59. That's more than three minutes faster than the previous record of 3:27:00 set by France's Laurence Dupont Alnet in 2024. "I was ecstatic and relieved at the same time — and exhausted," MacDonell said with a laugh.