ManitobaAn Ontario woman pulled off an impressive personal feat over the weekend, running 160 kilometres — nearly four back-to-back marathons — in less than 48 hours at an ultramarathon just outside Winnipeg.’It’s just the pinnacle of running, I guess, is to get that belt buckle’: Anita BedardCBC News · Posted: Oct 07, 2025 12:43 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoAnita Bedard, 77, holds her belt buckle right after completing the Beaudry Fall Classic. (Submitted by Anita Bedard)An Ontario woman pulled off an impressive personal feat over the weekend, running 160 kilometres — nearly four back-to-back marathons — in less than 48 hours at an ultramarathon just west of Winnipeg.It’s a big goal for anyone, but when you’re 77, it’s extra impressive.”It’s just the pinnacle of running, I guess, is to get that belt buckle,” Anita Bedard said, referring to the belt buckle traditionally awarded to people who complete an ultramarathon race.She got hers for doing 160 km (100 miles) in the Beaudry Fall Classic over the weekend in Beaudry Provincial Park.The event challenges runners to see how many five-kilometre loops they can run in the approximately 950-hectare park, located along the Assiniboine River, west of the town of Headingley.Bedard, from northwestern Ontario, reached the 160-kilometre total in just 39 hours, despite wet and rainy conditions.Anita Bedard, left, poses with Evelyn Crowe, 78, who helped pace her for the last part of the race. (Cory Funk/CBC)She first started running at 53, after reaching menopause and putting on weight.”I thought, well, I have to do something. I’ve got to get out and catch this,” Bedard told CBC Manitoba Information Radio host Marcy Markusa on Monday.She started walking but soon switched to running. Since then, she’s done multiple marathons as well as triathlon events, but always dreamed of one day completing the Beaudry Fall Classic.Bedard said she came close to quitting on Saturday.”Saturday, my back gave way on me,” she said.Helped by 78-year-oldHer friend Evelyn Crowe, 78, who took part in the latter half of the race, helped her through, she said.”Eve said to me something about, ‘Come on, we’re going to go. You can keep going. We’ll do just one step at a time, one loop at a time,'” Bedard said.”So she got me up and got me moving and then stuck with me for the rest of the way, just paced me and kept me going.”Bedard said she often gets questions from friends and family members about why she pushes herself so hard with her running.”They say, ‘Why would you want to do that, are you crazy?’ There’s no answer, because why would anyone want to do that?” Bedard said with a laugh.”My friend and I, we do hear it a lot that people are inspired and we motivate them. But we don’t think about it too much, because we are running with a group of women that are in their 60s and they do amazing feats also.”We don’t think about our age.”Now that she’s got that belt buckle for an ultramarathon, would she do it again?”Today I’m saying absolutely not,” Bedard said. “But I’ve got both granddaughters now saying ‘Grandma, we’re going to do one with you. You have to do one with us.'”So I won’t say never, but today it’s feeling, like, too hard on the body.”CorrectionsWe initially reported that Anita Bedard was from Winnipeg. In fact, she is from northwestern Ontario.Oct 07, 2025 1:25 PM EDT
Woman, 77, runs nearly 4 back-to-back marathons in 39 hours
