For some amateur runners, completing a marathon is a bucket list goal. For others, it’s the chance to prove their fitness. But for Patty Hung, participating in the Boston Marathon has become a way of life. It kicked off in her early 40s and now, at the age of 80, with father time nipping at her heels, Hung is going strong. And yet, despite being only one of six women at that age in the Boston Marathon, she has no plans of stopping.
After all, Patty Hung owns the record for the most consecutive Boston Marathons run by a woman, having run the race for 39 years. The 2026 edition will mark her 40th consecutive race, and she has long since overtaken Kathrine Switzer. She ran it for 36 consecutive years, with Hung crossing that record when she completed the 2023 Boston Marathon in 5 hours, 40 minutes, and 37 seconds.
“I have run the Boston Marathon for 39 years, and this year will be my 40th,” Hung told the SF Chronicle. “I am 80 years old.”
She added, “I’m not a great runner. I’m just persistent.”
And that is rather evident, given that this all started as a way for Patty Hung to stay active. Born and raised in Boston, she moved to California and became a high-school math teacher there. And throughout her life, Hung has remained active, having played softball, biked, and even ice-skated as a child. But then the daily grind got in her way, and looking for a new outlet, she discovered running in her mid-30s.
All it took was watching runners take laps around a lake, and Hung decided to try it, immediately joining them. It clicked into place, and Patty Hung eventually decided to run her first Boston Marathon, taking part in the 1987 edition. When she reached the finish line, only 14% of the finishers were women. And when she reaches the finish line at her 40th Boston Marathon, that number will be closer to 50%.
In fact, if she does finish the race, she’ll be among the minority; in the 2024 race, only two women aged 80 and older finished. Yet for Hung, it was never about the records; it was more about being with her family. Because every time she steps up to the start line, there’s always somebody cheering her from the sidelines.
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It started with her uncles and aunts, and now her two sons continue that tradition. However, she nearly stopped after the tragic death of her third son nine years ago, but her family helped her through it.
“When my family from Boston came out to be with me when Kevin passed away, the thing we did while they were there, we went on the track. We were all on the track, and it was just so beautiful to know that we all could continue and be together in a place that gave me so much comfort,” Hung told KTVU.com in 2023.
“We all have our tragedies in life, and we have to find ways to get through it in a positive way, and if we don’t, it just hangs on it so heavy,”
And throughout every tragedy, major event and more, Patty Hung has continued to run the Boston Marathon. However, for her, preparations start months in advance, and Hung is very particular about her training.
Patty Hung opens up about her training for the Boston Marathon
After all, it’s one of the reasons the now-80-year-old marathoner has managed to run the Boston Marathon for 40 consecutive years. Not just run it, consistently finish the race, having clocked a personal best of three hours and 21 minutes in her late 30s. However, as age caught up with her, Hung’s times have increased, and her target is now sub-6 hours.
She missed that mark by two minutes at the 2024 edition of the marathon, clocking in at six hours, two minutes, and fifty-seven seconds. However, she finished eighth in her age group, and it’s only because of her meticulous training schedule that it’s possible. That’s because Patty Hung’s training schedule starts at least three months before the race, kicking it off on New Year’s Day.
“The first month, I try, and I think of just strengthening my body,” Hung told KTVU. “I concentrate on doing hills, and hills, in this Bay Area, you got them all around you.”
The next month, Hung focuses on speed as she conditions herself on the track, while month three usually focuses on endurance, logging 45 to 50+ miles a week. It’s a constant climb, although for her, it’s more maths.
“It’s very mathematical,” Hung explained. “Being a math teacher has made me think, okay now, hop onto the next formula.”
And this year, Patty Hung will be doing it with a broken wrist. The 80-year-old broke her hand in January after slipping on her wet stairs and has no plans of letting that stop her. In fact, she even broke her ankle in August 2025 while hiking in Italy. But Hung recovered, rehabbed her leg and was healthy enough to kick off her three-month training program.
Even with those setbacks, Patty Hung hasn’t changed her approach, sticking to the same routine that’s carried her this far. At 80, with her 40th Boston Marathon ahead, she’s still showing up.
