Name: Larysa Getman
Nationality: Ukraine
Category: F55-59
Fastest Major: 3:22:48 (New York 2016)
Total AbbottWMM Stars: 6
For many marathon runners, the victory is arriving at the start line, not the triumph in crossing the finish.
It will feel like that for Larysa Getman when she takes part in the 2023 AbbottWMM Age Group World Championships. The Ukrainian, from Kyiv, was unable to compete in 2021 due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and could not take part in 2022 as war continued to rage in her home country.
She qualified for Chicago, and hopes to be there to fly the Ukrainian flag despite the continuing conflict. She has certainly refused to let circumstances at home dilute her passion..
“I’ve been running 365 days a year for 17 years. Running is my religion,” she says, “The war could not break me and interrupt my daily training. For us Ukrainians life goes on, and participation in the World Championship is a grand event for me.”
Getman has already completed her Six Star journey when she ran Boston in 2019.
“I started in the Majors in my fifties,” she says. “Perhaps my experience will inspire someone. You can start running at any age. At 49, life is just beginning!”
Since the Russian invasion, Getman says she and her family have also done their part. Her husband participated in the battle for the liberation of Chernihiv region in 2022. “The war is not over for us,” she says. “Runners around the world, let’s unite and stop the war in Ukraine.”
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