I’ve already got several Plus50Fit posts waiting their turn. This one jumped the line.
On Sunday, October 18, Ottawa’s Jennifer MacDonell ran the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 3:23:59. She’s 70 years old. Canadian Running reported it as a new W70–74 marathon world record, more than three minutes faster than the previous mark.
I’m 68. I’ve got a fall marathon pencilled into 2028 as my 70th-birthday celebration. So no, I didn’t read 3:23:59 as just another impressive race result.
I’m taking notes.
Three Records in Eight Days
The marathon would’ve been enough.
Eight days earlier, MacDonell ran a 6:51 mile at the Beneva Marathon de Montréal and set a Canadian W70 age-group record. The following morning, she ran 21:40 for 5K and added another Canadian age-group record. Just over a week later, she held roughly 4:50 per K for an entire marathon and broke the reported world mark.
That range made me look twice. Mile speed, 5K speed and marathon endurance don’t ask the same questions. She answered all three in eight days.
Her marathon pace also happens to be faster than the pace of my best indoor mile last winter. I stared at that comparison for a little longer than I care to admit.
This Was a Year in the Making
MacDonell didn’t wander into Toronto, feel unusually springy and accidentally break a world record. She spent a year preparing for it with her coach, Steve Boyd. She studied the course, trained for its hills, worked on recovery and heat acclimatization, and contacted race organizers well before race day.
The organizers took the attempt seriously. They placed her just behind the elites, included her in the elite meetings and helped make sure she could concentrate on the job she’d trained to do.
Cold race-morning conditions helped. So did the work she’d already banked. With two kilometres left, she was managing a cramping calf and a headwind while trying to calculate whether the record was still within reach. Her mind landed on Dory’s advice: “just keep swimming.”
Then she realized she was going to do it and began waving with joy before she’d even reached the finish.
Two Very Different Toronto Marathons
Toronto Waterfront already has a place in my running story.
I trained through the summer of 2025 for my first marathon. Months before race day, I’d started repeating, “I’m a marathoner, breathing easy.” I hadn’t earned a finishing time. I hadn’t even reached the start line. The words reminded me who I was trying to become.
Race day didn’t care about my rehearsal.
My calves tightened within the first 5K. My stomach joined the rebellion soon after. By halfway, I was wondering what a DNF would feel like. I eventually made staying with the Tailwalker my new race plan.
My last official timing mat was 35K. When officials moved us onto the sidewalk, we kept going beside the course. The rain came down, the gutters filled and the sweeper vehicles passed. I eventually reached the finish area with 43.3K on my watch. The barricades were empty, but my wife and family were still there with my medal.
I ended my TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon recap with a line I still believe: “The marathon didn’t beat me. It introduced me to my next version.”
A year later, Jennifer ran those Toronto streets in a world-record time. Our races don’t belong on the same pace chart. They do sit on the same road in my head.
I Might Train Alone, But I’m Never Alone
Jennifer’s record has her name beside it, but she didn’t reach it by herself.
Her coach shaped the year of preparation. Her husband, Norman Marcotte, supported her training and raced the marathon that day. Organizers made room for the attempt. Spectators called her name from the bib and helped carry her pace after halfway. Other runners became moving windbreaks and temporary pacers.
My 2025 race became a different kind of group project. An older runner and I shared a few words when both of us were struggling. The Tailwalker gave me something to follow. A friend from my run crew joined me around 30K, ran and walked beside me, and refilled my bottle. The Caboose Crew cheered when we reached the quiet finish. Team Plus50Fit had tracked me, worried about me and waited for me.
I wrote afterward, “It takes a village to raise a runner.” In the comments, I put it another way: “I might train alone, but I’m never alone.”
Jennifer’s result brought both lines back.
Her Record Isn’t My Measuring Stick
A 3:23 marathon at 70 is extraordinary. It isn’t the entry fee for aging well, and it isn’t a standard the rest of us need to chase.
Somebody else’s record can inspire me without becoming an accusation. I don’t need to compare my Garmin with Jennifer’s. I certainly don’t need to turn every easy run into evidence that I’m falling behind.
When I say I want to run a marathon at 70, I don’t mean Jennifer’s marathon at 70. I want to arrive healthy enough to train, brave enough to start and prepared enough to give the distance an honest go. I want the years leading there to build me rather than use me up.
Her result expands my picture of what continued ambition can look like. That’s enough.
What I’m Taking Into My Road to 70
The number is astonishing, but the preparation interests me more.
MacDonell chose a goal worthy of a year. She asked how fast her body could go at 70, then built the support and training around finding out. She adjusted for hills, heat, recovery and the realities of getting older. She didn’t treat age as invisible. She included it in the plan.
My Road to 70 will look different. For now, I’m rebuilding toward the BlackToe Holiday 10K. I want 2027 to focus on 10Ks and half marathons. If health and circumstances cooperate, I’ll begin the marathon build in 2028.
The Toronto TCS taught me that I don’t fear 42.2 anymore. Jennifer MacDonell just showed me what can still be waiting at 70.
I don’t know what my next marathon will hand me. I know the road looks a little wider now.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time did Jennifer MacDonell run at the 2026 Toronto Waterfront Marathon?
She finished in 3:23:59 on October 18, 2026. Canadian Running reported the performance as a new W70–74 marathon world record. Formal record listings may follow the normal ratification process.
What other records did she set that week?
Canadian Running reported that MacDonell ran a 6:51 mile on October 9 and a 21:40 5K the following morning, both Canadian W70 age-group records. She ran the marathon eight days after the mile.
Why does this result matter to Plus50Fit?
I’m 68 and hope to run a fall marathon in 2028 as a celebration of turning 70. I also attempted my first marathon at Toronto Waterfront in 2025. MacDonell’s achievement connects directly with the question behind Plus50Fit: what can still be possible when we train with age instead of surrendering to it?
AI Disclosure
I developed this article with AI assistance for source checking, structure and drafting. The 2025 marathon experience, Road to 70, opinions and final publication decisions are my own.