It’s entirely possible that Natalie Grabow — who last weekend, at 80 years old, became the oldest woman to complete the Ironman World Championship course in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii — is just getting started.
Consider these facts:
Grabow, who lives in the northern New Jersey town of Mountain Lakes, didn’t start running competitively until she was in her 40s.
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She didn’t know how to swim until she was 59.
She was 60 when she did her first Ironman triathlons, first completing the 70.3-mile half-Ironman distance, then quickly bumping up to the full, 140.6-mile race that includes a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile cycling leg and a full 26.2-mile marathon.
“The swim is still probably my weakest part, but I was able to figure it out pretty much,” Grabow said during a video interview from her home.
Pretty much …
It’s been a whirlwind few days for Grabow, who completed the hot, taxing, iconic course across the volcanic fields of Hawaii’s Big Island in 16 hours, 45 minutes, 26 seconds, a little more than 14 minutes ahead of the
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