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From Denver comes the inspiring story of Betty Willis who, at 78, will be running the Denver Marathon, tomorrow, October 14. It is not her first marathon:

Betty Willis was bitten by the running bug at age 53 and ran her first marathon in 1981 in Denver.

Now at 78, Willis is training to run the half marathon on Sunday in downtown Denver. While she’ll have to walk part of the course, Willis said running is something she’ll do as long as her body allows.

“To keep me from getting old and feeble,” Willis said.

Willis has won dozens of trophies and even more medals over the last 25 years of running. Her most special award was the First Place cup for women 50 and over.

“It’s the one that inspired me after I recovered to get ready for the next one,” Willis said.

She has run in 27 marathons in all, including some of the most prestigious in the nation.

“I ran every year to celebrate my birthday and I think that’s a wonderful thing to do,” Willis said. “Celebrate your life.”