A back injury has forced marathon runner Mary Keitany to call it quits. She holds the women’s world record in marathons, completing the 2017 London Marathon in two hours and seventeen minutes. Mary has seven world marathon major titles under her belt and her last title came during the 2018 New York marathon.
Now is the time to say goodbye - if only as an elite runner - to the sport I love so much. After my successful 2019, when I had some good results including second place in New York, I was hopeful that I could still be very competitive internationally for several more years even though I am in my late 30s. However, I'm sad to say, a back injury that I suffered in late 2019 made a decision about my retirement for me. I couldn't get the treatment I wanted in Europe because of the pandemic-related travel restrictions last year and every time I thought I had got over the injury and started training hard, it became a problem again. As for the future, I haven't fully decided on my plans but I'm looking forward to spending more time with my family - my children are currently 13 and eight. In addition, I am involved with some local charitable enterprises.
Mary Keitany