Sports · Running & Athletics · 2 days ago
Jennifer MacDonell, 70, targets world marathon record in Toronto
Jennifer MacDonell, a 70-year-old runner from Ottawa, is aiming for a world age-group record at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Oct.
19.
The W70-74 record is 3:27:00, set by Laurence Dupont Alnet in 2024.
MacDonell has been running for decades and has previously set Canadian age-group records at shorter distances.
She returned to running as an adult, later moved from triathlon to focus on marathons, and has been building toward this attempt.
She has studied the Toronto course and adjusted her training for its hills and other challenges.
Her goal is to find out how fast she can run, rather than to beat another competitor.
The race will show whether she can run faster than the current record.
Jennifer MacDonell, 70, plans to try to set the world W70-74 marathon record at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon.
The Ottawa runner is targeting a time faster than the existing record of 3:27:00.
The record was set by Laurence Dupont Alnet in 2024.
MacDonell has spent months studying the course and preparing for its hills and other challenges.
She says her motivation is to find out how fast the human body can go, rather than to beat another runner.
- Who
- Jennifer MacDonell, a 70-year-old runner from Ottawa.
- What
- She is targeting a world W70-74 marathon record at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon.
- When
- Oct. 19. The article was published Oct. 9, 2026.
- Where
- The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon in Toronto.
- Why
- She wants to see how fast she can run at 70 and how fast the human body can go.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
If nobody else was there, and I did it by myself, I would still be thinking, how fast can the human body go?
Maybe not
Laurence Dupont Alnet set the W70-74 marathon record at 3:27:00.
MacDonell studied the course and adjusted her training for its hills and other challenges.
MacDonell is scheduled to race the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon and target the record.
- Runner
- Jennifer MacDonell
- Age
- 70
- Hometown
- Ottawa
- Race date
- Oct. 19
- Target record
- W70-74 marathon record of 3:27:00
- Record holder
- Laurence Dupont Alnet, who set the record in 2024
Sources
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