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Margaret and J.R. Vaughn, each 80, should not your strange working couple.
They proved that after they have been noticed working whereas holding arms on the Mule Kick 5K at Columbia’s Riverwalk Park for the third yr in a row.
However their story begins earlier than that, again in 2012, at a neighborhood “dance place” in Columbia, Tennessee. The 2 met on the dance ground whereas dancing to nation music—simply hours after Margaret had accomplished a half marathon.
They have been each single on the time, as each of their spouses had handed away earlier of their lives. They usually weren’t essentially searching for love, however the pair hit it off instantly. That evening, Margaret made positive to ask J.R. one factor: “Will you run with me?”
J.R. was more than pleased to, so long as she would proceed to go dancing with him.
“We’re so fortunate to have met one another and have a lot in frequent,” Margaret instructed Runners World over the telephone. “He loves square-dancing, and I really like working. So we simply put our two passions collectively.”
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Working and correct diet have all the time been an vital a part of Margaret’s life. The Santa Fe, Tennessee-native used to work for medical and health docs, so she all the time practiced wholesome habits. However when her son, Jeff Woody, 53, began getting concerned within the marathon scene in 2005, Margaret determined to present working a strive. (Woody accomplished his aim of working 50 ultramarathons in 50 states earlier than he turned 50 years previous again in October of 2013.)
Although she cherished working, it took Margaret till 2012 to register for a race. She mentioned one morning she simply awoke and determined to go to a neighborhood 5K. She gained her age group that day, and have become hooked.
Shortly after, J.R. turned hooked on Margaret. He requested her out to dinner the day after they met on the dance ground. J.R. mentioned he wished to eat no matter she was consuming, so he traded in his steak for a chunk of fish and veggies.
However there was one factor that was slightly bit tougher for J.R. to alter:
“He all the time wears a cowboy hat and boots, so once we began working collectively, he thought he might run in his boots,” Margaret mentioned.
Lastly after slightly persistence, Margaret obtained J.R. to commerce in his boots for a pair of “tennis sneakers”—however definitely not for good. J.R. now wears his trainers when the 2 attend races, however as soon as in awhile after they aren’t racing, J.R. nonetheless places on these boots for his or her each day runs.
Margaret and J.R. prefer to get at the very least a mile or two in daily collectively, and up their mileage after they have an upcoming race.
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The pair married in 2013 and have now accomplished greater than 30 races collectively together with 5Ks (their favourite) and even half marathons. The perfect half? They run each single race, hand-in-hand, the whole time.
“He is often known as the person who pulls me up the hills,” Margaret mentioned. “And we all the time cross the end line collectively.”
J.R. might go sooner than his spouse now, however he by no means leaves her facet. Each race they enter, they nearly all the time win their age group, and so they take turns letting one another cross the end first.
When requested about their PRs, Margaret mentioned they’ve accomplished a 5K in lower than 40 minutes earlier than, however shortly added that is not why they do what they do. J.R. and Margaret’s hope is to encourage others their age, and youthful, to take a web page from their e book. Their message? It is by no means too late to begin transferring—and maintain transferring.
“We’re so glad to be wholesome and energetic collectively. We do not do it for the glory, we do it to encourage others to do the identical,” Margaret mentioned.
Margaret Vaughn
And certainly, they nonetheless dance—nearly all the time in matching outfits. Additionally they have a backyard the place they increase contemporary greens, and revel in sharing them with their neighbors. They go on bike rides and like to journey collectively, and wish to plan extra journeys sooner or later.
As for what’s subsequent for these two lovebirds? They take it sooner or later at a time, and match races in every time they will.
“He tells me all day how a lot he loves me,” Margaret mentioned. “He is a real gentleman. It means the world to me to have somebody like J.R. to stay with, to like, and to encourage me daily.”
The article These Two 80-Yr-Olds Are Fairly Presumably the Cutest Working Couple Ever initially appeared on Runner’s World.
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