85-year-old Florence Barron crushes Cape to Cabot 20K
The accomplished runner was tackling the challenging Newfoundland race for the tenth time
Photo by:
Heather Barrett
85-year-old Florence Barron ran the infamously difficult Cape to Cabot 20K for the tenth time on Sunday and managed to shave over a minute off of last year’s time, finishing in an impressive two hours and 20 minutes. Barron has been running races and breaking age-group records in Newfoundland and beyond for years, and was the only runner in the 80+ age category this year.
#FlorenceBarron 85 years young, crosses the #capetocabot2023 finish line! @NLAthletics @CanadianRunning @ANERunningClub #nlrunning pic.twitter.com/OwF34gXm9m
— Heather Barrett (@Barrett_Heather) October 15, 2023
The Cape to Cabot, which runs from Cape Spear to Signal Hill in St. John’s (with four major hills and a mile-long climb near the end), is billed as the “toughest race in Eastern North America.” Barron’s personal best at the event is 2:06:58, from 2017. “I enjoy it so much, and I feel good about it,” Barron said to CTV news about her 26 years of running. “So long as I feel good, I think I’ll keep going.”
Hailing from Quirpon, a fishing community in Newfoundland, Barron said she was often outside running around. She moved to St John’s, NL, after marrying, and had five children–but while she says she was always very active, Barron didn’t start running until the age of 59. Her husband developed Alzheimer’s, and Barron says that running became her therapy. She didn’t slow down when her husband passed away 15 years later, and has racked up an impressive list of accomplishments, including multiple age-group records.
Barron is a regular competitor and fan favourite at Newfoundland’s historic Tely 10, where she holds the 80+ record, and she finished this year’s edition of the race 10-mile (16 kilometres) in one hour 45 minutes.
Barron was inducted into the Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Hall of Fame in 2022. Her records include two in France, for being both the fastest woman 70s and 80s o complete an annual 25-kilometre race on the French island of Miquelon, off Newfoundland’s southern coast. She frequents races all over Atlantic Canada.
Barron says she focuses on feeling good rather than running fast, and it works: she hasn’t had an injury in 26 years of running. She adds walk breaks when racing, spacing out her pushes uphill with a few slower steps. Walking included, Barron often finishes her races in the top half of the field. A day after the Cape to Cabot 20K, Barron reported no soreness. “I don’t have any aches or pains or issues and don’t take any medication,” she told Saltwire. “I feel good, and I guess I’m just addicted to it. I can’t stop, every year I say I’m going to stop, but I keep going.”
Sunday’s Cape to Cabot 20K had Ben Collingwood first over the line in 1:15:20, with Anne Johnston leading the women in 1:15:27. For full results of the 2023 Cape to Cabot, head here.
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