August 24, 1980 - Toshiko D'Elia becomes first woman over 50 to run a sub-3-hour marathon episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 26, 2025 · 13 MIN

August 24, 1980 - Toshiko D'Elia becomes first woman over 50 to run a sub-3-hour marathon

from Today in Running History · host Hillary Barrett

Today is Sunday, August 24th, 2025 and on this day in 1980, American masters runner Toshiko D'Elia became the first woman over the age of 50 to run a marathon in less than 3 hours.    In this episode, I will tell you about D’Elia’s hardscrabble childhood in Kyoto, the surprising way she became a runner, and what she accomplished as a pioneer not just in women’s running, but in the then-new arena of masters running.   This episode and every single other was edited and produced by my good friend Rob Garcia, who many know by his own ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠podcast "Rob on the Run"⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you are looking to get into the podcasting or Youtube space, but need some help on the technical side, I HIGHLY suggest reaching out to Rob. His email is [email protected]   And as always, if you enjoyed this episode, make sure to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠follow me on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send me an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠  

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 26, 2025

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August 24, 1980 - Toshiko D'Elia becomes first woman over 50 to run a sub-3-hour marathon

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