Choose Strong
For Tim.
圣荷塞--和往年一样，Joy Johnson跑完了周日的纽约马拉松。第二天早上，
她来到“今日”节目。那里的气象员Al Roker，一如既往地找到她并让这个
Willow Glen的居民向全国观众展示她的完赛奖牌。
但后来，Johnson，这个世界长跑界有名的86岁的退休体育教师，病倒在酒
店里，被送到医院，被宣布去世。
她的女儿，Diana Boydston，说这个家庭仍在拼凑Johnson最后一天的细节。
“现在我们欣慰的是她在做自己喜欢做的事，”Boydston周二说。“她想穿着跑
鞋离世，她就是这么做的。”
Boydston 说她妈妈在周日这场有名的马拉松的20英里处摔倒了撞到了头部。
但是她起身完成了比赛--连续第25次。然后她周一早上第一件事就是等Roker.
在这场吸引了五万参赛者的比赛中，Johnson是年纪最大的完赛女选手。
Chris Weiller，纽约路跑者组织发言人，说Johnson还是连续参赛者的一员
--这是一个联系紧密的连续跑了纽约马拉松15次以上的跑者团体。
“我们感到非常悲痛，”Weiller接着说。“她对每个人都是精神上的激励。
我们切实地感到她的离去。”
Johnson在一个明尼苏达的奶牛牧场长大，后来定居在圣荷塞。她总是有着
明朗的笑容。白发梳成一个利落的发簪。在南湾的长跑爱好者中，她非常受
爱戴。她总是不理解比赛中人们对她的过度关注。当媒体在她80岁后发现了
她，大肆报道了她少见的耐力，包括本报2008年的一篇长文，她面对成名
不知所措。
“这么多人比我更努力，做得比我更好，”Johnson那时说。“我只不过尽了我
的努力。”
她56岁从教师职务退休后才开始跑步。一个朋友建议去试试1988年的纽约马
拉松，一个终生的爱好就此诞生了。
“当我跨过中心公园的终点线时，我就知道这是我后半生要做的事了，“
Johnson在2008年说。“跑步让你感觉好。非常给力。你晚上睡觉香。对我来
说最好的是想吃什么吃什么。”
Boydston 还是有时担心她妈妈对这些26.2英里比赛的爱好。“我和她住一起，
所以晚上我会看到一个86岁的老太太挣扎着走路，”她说。“但是早上她会做做
拉伸，吃点燕麦粥，走上跑道，突然变成32岁。”
上星期，Johnson到明尼苏达看妹妹，83岁的Faith Anderson，然后两人继
续向纽约进发。
纽约日报报道在一次赛前采访中，Johnson说她会骄傲地以自己的速度跑。
“我会跑在最后，但我不介意，“她说。”我只是赞美上帝我能够每天早上起床
跑步。许多我这个年纪的人都坐在轮椅了。“
Boydston说她在线跟踪了她母亲的比赛过程。她用了7小时57分41秒完赛--比
她平时的标准慢。后来Boydston才从姨那里知道母亲中途摔了跤。Weiller，
赛事发言人，说医务人员在Johnson跨过终点后给她做了检查。
“她很清醒，精神很好。她说一个好心人帮她站起，”他说。“她拒绝去医院进一
步检查。”
不清楚这一跤和她的去世有没有直接关系。
第二天早上，她和Roker年度交谈的时候还是好好的。她当时带着围巾，拿着
一支玫瑰。她的脖子上挂着奖牌。她脸和头的右侧打了包扎。
回到酒店房间，Johnson告诉她妹妹她感觉不好，需要躺下休息。她再也没能
醒来。
自那以来，Boydston说她一直在接全国各地，甚至更远的地方，的电话。
“我接了一个从巴黎打来的电话。我不认为她去过那个地方，”Boydston说。
“但是她到哪儿都交朋友。”
Boydston接着开始用现在时态讲她的母亲，然后就哽咽，说不下去了。
“这就是我妈想要的生活，”她接着说。“我想她也许正在向下看着，说，‘对。
我就想这样活。’”
葬礼将在明尼苏达和圣荷塞两地举行。
SAN JOSE — Just like she did every year, Joy
Johnson finished the New York City Marathon
Sunday. The following morning she stationed
herself outside the “Today” show where weatherman
Al Roker, as always, looked for her and let the
Willow Glen resident display her finisher’s medal
to a national audience.
But afterward Johnson, an 86-year-old retired P.E.
teacher who was renowned in the worldwide running
community for her marathon prowess, became ill at
her hotel and was taken to a New York hospital,
where she was pronounced dead.
Her daughter, Diana Boydston, said the family is
still piecing together the details of Johnson’s
last day.
“What’s keeping us going right now is that she was
doing what she loved,” Boydston said Tuesday. “She
wanted to die with her running shoes on, and she did.”
Boydston said her mother apparently fell and hit
her head Sunday around the 20-mile mark of the
famous marathon. But she got up and completed the
race — for the 25th consecutive time. Then she
made sure she was waiting for Roker first thing
Monday morning.
Johnson was the oldest female finisher at a race
that attracted more than 50,000 entrants. Chris
Weiller, spokesman for the New York Road Runners,
said Johnson also was a member of the prestigious
“streakers” — a tightknit group of runners who
have completed 15 or more consecutive New York
City Marathons.
“We’re just so sad to hear about her passing,”
Weiller added. “She was an inspiration to
everyone. We’re really feeling her loss here.”
Johnson, who grew up on a Minnesota dairy farm and
landed in San Jose, was a well-liked and
recognizable figure among South Bay runners with
her bright smile and white hair tied neatly in a
bun. She never understood the fuss made over her
at races, and was a little star-struck when the
media discovered her after she turned 80,
highlighting her rare endurance running ability,
including in a lengthy 2008 profile in this
newspaper.
“So many people work harder than me and are so
much better,” Johnson said back then. “I just try
to do the best that I can.”
She didn’t begin running until retiring from
teaching at age 56. When a friend suggested they
attempt the 1988 New York City Marathon, a passion
was born.
“When I crossed that finish line in Central Park,
I just knew this is what I would do the rest of my
life,” Johnson said in 2008. “Running makes you
feel good. It’s energizing. You sleep better at
night. And the best part for me is you can eat
anything you want.”
Still, Boydston sometimes worried about her
mother’s love of running the 26.2-mile races.
“I live with her, so I would see the 86-year-old
woman who struggled to walk late at night,” she
said. “But then in the morning, she would stretch
a bit, eat some oatmeal, go to the track and then
suddenly she was 32.”
Johnson traveled last week to Minnesota to meet up
with her sister, Faith Anderson, 83, before they
continued on to New York.
The New York Daily News reported that in a
pre-race interview Johnson said she proudly would
be running at her own pace.
“I’ll be at the back of the pack, but I don’t
mind,” she said. “I just praise the Lord I can get
out of bed each morning and run. A lot of people
my age are in wheelchairs.”
Boydston said she followed her mother’s progress
in the race online and knew that she completed the
course in 7 hours, 57 minutes and 41 seconds — a
slow time by her standard. It was only later that
Boydston learned from her aunt about the fall.
Weiller, the race spokesman, said medical
personnel examined Johnson after she crossed the
finish line.
“She was alert, in good spirits and said a nice
person had helped her up,” he said. “She declined
to go to the hospital for further evaluation.”
It’s unclear if Johnson’s fall was related to her death.
The next morning, she was well enough for her
annual chat with Roker, where she wore a scarf and
held a rose. Her medal hung around her neck. There
also was a bandage on the right side of her face
and head.
Back at their hotel room, Johnson told her sister
she wasn’t feeling well and needed to lie down.
She never woke up.
Since then, Boydston said she has been fielding
calls from around the country, and even further away.
“I had somebody from Paris call, and I don’t think
she ever went there,” Boydston said. “But she
makes friends wherever she goes.”
Boydston then caught herself speaking about her
mother in the present tense, and began to choke up.
“This is how my mother wanted to live her life,”
she added. “I think she’s probably looking down
now and saying, ‘Yeah, that’s the way I wanted it.’ “
Services are being planned in Minnesota, and a
service will be held later in San Jose.
She did what she enjoyed and thanked her God for the gift.
Thank you for reading and your comments.