Fifteen years after she stopped running, 87-year-old Janet Aldous of Greenwich crossed a finish line in the virtual Freihofer’s Run for Women on Saturday.
She did it with a lot of help from her extended family.
Aldous completed a 5-kilometer course around the Greenwich schools, where she used to teach fourth grade, in a wheelchair pushed by four of her daughters and other family members.
“It was a lot of fun,’’ said Aldous, who also has nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Aldous finished 17 marathons and participated in the Freihofer’s many times before having to give it up at age 72 because of hip replacement surgeries.
She didn’t take up running until age 49 with her husband, Clayton, who died four years ago after 60 years of marriage. Her brother, Leo, who died two years ago, also ran with her and drove her to the Freihofer’s course in Albany. She said she misses running “terribly.”
“I loved it,’’ she said. “I was just a lot of fun and I met a lot of wonderful people. It was great.”
Though the coronavirus pandemic canceled the real Freihofer’s Run for the first time since its founding in 1979, it did give Aldous’ family an idea. Her great-niece Sarah Boice came up with the idea of doing the virtual Freihofer’s, which allows competitors to complete a 5k on a course of their choosing and then submit the time for the race Web site.
Freihofer’s organizers are giving women a window that began on Saturday and runs through next Sunday to finish the race.
Even though they’d missed the registration deadline, Aldous was permitted by Freihofer’s organizers to compete because of her compelling story.
“I was in shock,’’ Aldous said. “Complete shock. And I said we’ll do it, so we did.”
Ingrid Darling, one of Aldous’ daughters, said they wanted to pick up her mother’s spirits. Last summer, she suffered an angioedemia, her throat and tongue swelling in a reaction to medication. She had trouble breathing and underwent an emergency tracheostomy.
“It has been a really difficult last year and running was a huge part of our mom’s life,” said Darling, who lives with her mother. “She made so many wonderful friends. It was such a huge part of her life and gave her such happiness. It’s been difficult because she had two hip replacements and had to stop running and it just has been kind of a hole.”
On Saturday, Darling and her sisters Gina Snell, Theresa Aldous and Katie Cosey took turns pushing their mother around the course. They were helped by Boice, their cousin Donna Jennings (Boice's mother) and another grand-niece, Shelley Dupuis. They wore masks to protect against COVID-19.
Janet Aldous teased Darling by telling her she was pushing slower than anyone else. Aldous also showed the same determination she displayed during her running career and her recovery from the angioedema, according to her daughter.
“It was very hot, which was difficult,’’ Darling said. “She was a trooper. She did it. We were telling her we could split it up into different days if you want, but she was like, no let’s do it. It was like the athlete in her. You start something, you finish it.”
They completed the course in 51 minutes.
“They had a finish line and everything,” Aldous said of her family. “They’re wonderful people.”
Janet Aldous said she preferred doing the race on the roads of Albany years ago, but that Saturday’s virtual version reminded her of why she loved running the Freihofer’s years ago.
“Oh, because it was all women,’’ she said. “All women, a lot of fun and the Freihofer’s cookies, naturally.”
msingelais@timesunion.com • 518-454-5509 • @MarkSingelais
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