Dalcorp Racing and AREA 51: Margaret Davis Tops Two Lists in L A Marathon! She wins her division AND is the oldest runner in the race.

Margaret "Mahgy" Davis knows how to run a marathon. With her running partner and youngest daughter Colleen Heublein, they have run well over a dozen marathons and many half marathons since Mahgy began her running career at the age of 79. Although each race is a challenge, this past L A Marathon proved to be one of the toughest of her running career. Most people would assume that her age, 86, would be the issue. Usually people at that age are just trying to get to the bathroom in time, not looking for the finish line 26 miles, 385 yards away! While training for the Pasadena Marathon earlier this year, Mahgy suffered a severe shoulder injury which sidelined her training for several weeks. It also caused her to miss the Pasadena race. With the L A Marathon only two months away, they began training with their focus on the L A race which would be held on Memorial Day. Given the type of injury she had suffered, it was very painful to train. But with encouragement from Colleen and her family, she logged her training miles and was ready to go. In addition, Mahgy's granddaughter, Kristy Roblee and her husband Mike decided to run the race with her. Kristy had also been training very diligently and felt that she was in good condition to race. Mike, on the other hand, hadn't had time to train because of his work schedule, but was going to run anyway.

On race day, Mahgy and Colleen kept on their pace until Mahgy had a problem with one of her feet. They had to make a short pit stop but got under way again and finished well. They hadn't run their best time but ran fast enough to win. Mike ran a great race and finished in 4 hours and 30 minutes! It was a great time considering his lack of training. What am I saying, it was a great time even WITH training! Kristy's race turned out to be a nightmare. The night before the race, she came down with the stomach flu and all that goes (and I emphasise goes!) with it. She decided to run, even though sick and dehydrated. As she began the race, the medicine she had taken earlier that morning began to upset her stomach. I'm sure you can fill in the blanks on what happened next over the 26 miles of the race! But Kristy kept pushing, and would you believe, finished only 20 minutes behind Mahgy and Colleen! What a day!

There is one final note. Mahgy would be the first one to tell you that Colleen is a huge part of her success. Rarely does she even get mentioned when all the marathon stories begin. Colleen has run a very big race of her own, having been a cancer survivor since 1999 and told that she'd probably never run any marathons but could live a productive life. After the race on Memorial Day, SHE drove them back to the house from L A, hauled their bags out of the trunk of the car and took them into the house, and looked as though she could run another 26 miles if she had to! Colleen, YOU are a champion! The family thanks you for keeping Mahgy on track and getting her to the finish line over these past several years! We love you!