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Mad Dash: 92-year-old woman becomes oldest to finish marathon

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If you're lacking motivation to start the week, we've got the perfect story to get you moving. Over the weekend, Harriette Thompson became the oldest woman to ever finish a marathon at the age of 92. Thompson has been running in marathons since she was 76 years old, and completed her 16th Rock 'N Roll Marathon in San Diego with a time of 7 hours, 24 minutes and 36 seconds. Thompson is also the world record holder for her age group with a time of 7:07:42. She runs to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and entered this race despite missing some training in the last year due to the death of her husband of 67 years, followed by her recovery from radiation treatments for squamous cell carcinoma on her legs. After all of that, one could hardly blame her if she decided to take a race off. But even before the race, she was ready.

“I’m sure all that weakened me to some extent, so I’m not as strong as I’d like to be but I’m still going to try,” she said. “I’m just going to walk real fast and then run some, and just try not to wear myself down too fast. It’ll be sort of interesting. I’ll be the most surprised person if I finish it. I hope I will!”

Finish she did, and without much issue. We'll be over here filled with shame for struggling to get out of bed because it was Monday morning while Thompson basks in the glow of an awesome feat. 

Crazy backflip football catches are the flavor of the month on social media, but the latest submission to the mix may have set the bar too high for anyone to top. Four-star recruit Nigel Knott pulled off an incredible wall-flip catch that both got plenty of views, and gave fans of Alabama, Oregon and Florida State (the most prominent schools recruiting him) something to look forward to if he signs. 

Cardale Jones really doesn't have to prove anything to anyone for the rest of his life after leading Ohio State to semifinal- and title-winning performances in the College Football Playoff. That said, his performance when attempting to hit a lobbed softball leaves a lot to be desired. That swing looks about as futile as opposing defenses did trying to stop Jones in January. 

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The Yahoo Sports Mad Dash is a roundup of the morning's trending stories from across the sports landscape. Check it out every day to see what's buzzing.