FORT SMITH -- A River Valley octogenarian can now boast of having earned one of the most coveted prizes among marathon runners.
Mary Jo Brinkman, 82, of Fort Smith ran the Tokyo Marathon on March 2. It was the latest of six World Marathon Majors she has finished, an achievement that qualified her for the Six Star Medal.
The World Marathon Majors include six high-profile international marathons. Abbott World Marathon Majors sponsors the competitions and keeps track of runners who finish the series. Those who complete all six earn the Six Star Medal and a spot in the Hall of Fame on Abbott's website.
Brinkman, a Nebraska native, moved to Fort Smith 32 years ago and made the River Valley her home. She began her running career in 2005 when her biking exercise class decided to run a few laps. While she had been passionate about fitness and exercise her whole life, running was new to her.
"The first time around the track I could barely even make it -- I thought I was going to have a heart attack," Brinkman said.
But she persisted in her training, and in 2006 she went to San Diego to run a marathon raising funds for leukemia and lymphoma after a friend invited her. Others warned her this might be too soon to run a marathon, and they were right. At mile 18, she stopped running and walked the rest of the way.
But Brinkman began training harder and set out on another marathon.
"I trained really hard and ran the Dallas marathon in 2006, and I qualified for the Boston Marathon, and that's how I got started," Brinkman said.
"She's a matriarch in our running community. Everybody knows Mary Jo," said fellow runner and friend Alison Gleason, a Fort Smith resident of 35 years. "If you haven't met her, you've heard of her."
Brinkman finished the Boston Marathon in 2007 and unknowingly earned her first star. Next she ran the New York Marathon, earning her second.
However, life got in the way not long after. Brinkman began her battle with sciatica -- chronic pain after an injury to the sciatic nerve in the back. But she trained hard, began doing yoga and just kept running.
To date, Brinkman has completed 32 marathons, and said her favorite is the Boston Marathon. She has run that race five times -- including the infamous 2013 race.
Brinkman was only half a mile from the finish line when the bombs went off, killing three people and wounding hundreds more.
"They said to me 'stop, stop , stop!' and I said 'I'm not gonna stop, I've only got half a mile to go,'" Brinkman said. "And I thought, why are all these people looking back at us. Then a patrolman got in front of me and said, 'Ma'am you have to stop, there's been deaths at the finish line."
She quickly ran to the bus and grabbed her bag to call her son. Not a moment after she did, officials told runners to drop their bags, as they might have bombs and run -- don't walk -- somewhere safe. Brinkman's hotel, with her travel companion still there, were on the route the bombers had taken and surrounded by police -- no one in and no one out.
When the smoke cleared, Brinkman was able to take stock of what had just happened.
"I could have been at the finish line. I had taken my shoe off during the race, and it probably took about that much time that kept me from being at the finish line," Brinkman said. "My foot hurt, and I usually don't stop for anything, but my foot hurt, and I couldn't run. So I stopped to fix it, and that kept me from being at the finish line when the bombs went off."
The very next year she was back in Boston, running, and finishing, the marathon.
In 2016 she ran the Chicago Marathon, her third star. After this, Brinkman founded her own race to garner donations for leukemia and lymphoma -- Stampede. It was this race that earned her an invitation to the London Marathon, where she also raised funds for the cause and earned her fourth star in 2017.
"She's just amazing, with all her running that she's done but also with her philanthropy," Gleason said.
Six years later her accomplishments put Brinkman in the path of Abbott World Marathon Majors. Abbott officials invited her to run the Chicago Marathon again, this time for the world champion title for her gender and age group -- 80 and over. She accepted and earned the title in 2023.
Abbott contacted her again and informed her of the Six Star, a special title and award accomplished by finishing all six Major World Marathons: Boston, New York, Chicago, Berlin, London and Tokyo.
"I had already ran four of them," Brinkman said.
The only remaining races were Berlin and Tokyo. These last two races also proved to be the most difficult for Brinkman.
"In Berlin we had to go through the Brandenburg Gate in six hours, otherwise they would close it and you would not make it through, and I didn't want to go all that way to Berlin and not make. It was a challenging race, but it turned out well," she said.
She completed the race in 2020 and earned her fifth star. With only one to go, Brinkman could taste victory, but Tokyo had even stricter time requirements. Alongside her running buddy Gleason, Brinkman began to train.
"In Chicago she just said, 'This is my last marathon, I'm never gonna make it to Tokyo.'" Gleason said. "But I said, 'No, don't say that, you will. We're gonna do this, we're gonna keep training.' So we kept training and finally she got word that she got into Tokyo."
Tokyo was the most challenging of all, Brinkman said.
"They had checkpoints every three miles so you couldn't just run at your own pace, you had to run according to their speed allotments," she said.
She completed the Tokyo Marathon on March 2 -- earning her sixth and final star -- with a time of six hours, 23 minutes, according to online results. Brinkman is the third-oldest female marathoner to complete the series, and the eighth-oldest contestant across the board to earn the medal.
Brinkman returned home to a crowd of her supporters celebrating her accomplishments. Melissa Vitale, owner of True Grit Running Co. and a friend of Brinkman's, organized the homecoming.
"Mary Jo is a constant source of inspiration, joy and laughter. I just adore her so much, and I'm so very proud of all that she has accomplished and proud to call her my friend," Vitale said.
Brinkman is a member of multiple running organizations including the Western Arkansas and True Grit running clubs. Vitale said Brinkman inspires many members of the clubs.
"One of our common phrases is, 'I want to be Mary Jo when I grow up,' and it's true," Vitale said.
Friends hold signs and greet Mary Jo Brinkman (not pictured) of Fort Smith March 5 as she arrives at the Fort Smith Regional Airport in Fort Smith. Brinkman recently ran in the Tokyo Marathon, her sixth of the World Marathon Majors. Visit rivervalleydemocratgazette.com/photo for today's photo gallery. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Mary Jo Brinkman (center) of Fort Smith greets friends and family upon her arrival March 5 at the Fort Smith Regional Airport in Fort Smith. Brinkman recently ran in the Tokyo Marathon, her sixth of the World Marathon Majors. Visit rivervalleydemocratgazette.com/photo for today's photo gallery. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Mary Jo Brinkman (left) of Fort Smith greets friends and family upon her arrival March 5 at the Fort Smith Regional Airport in Fort Smith. Brinkman recently ran in the Tokyo Marathon, her sixth of the World Marathon Majors. Visit rivervalleydemocratgazette.com/photo for today's photo gallery. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Friends hold signs and greet Mary Jo Brinkman (left) of Fort Smith March 5 as she arrives at the Fort Smith Regional Airport in Fort Smith. Brinkman recently ran in the Tokyo Marathon, her sixth of the World Marathon Majors. Visit rivervalleydemocratgazette.com/photo for today's photo gallery. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Mary Jo Brinkman of Fort Smith wears a medal honoring the six World Marathon Majors she ran in March 5 at the Fort Smith Regional Airport in Fort Smith. Brinkman recently ran in the Tokyo Marathon, her sixth of the World Marathon Majors. Visit rivervalleydemocratgazette.com/photo for today's photo gallery. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Mary Jo Brinkman (center) of Fort Smith poses with friends and family upon her arrival March 5 at the Fort Smith Regional Airport in Fort Smith. Brinkman recently ran in the Tokyo Marathon, her sixth of the World Marathon Majors. Visit rivervalleydemocratgazette.com/photo for today's photo gallery. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Mary Jo Brinkman (left) of Fort Smith greets friends and family upon her arrival March 5 at the Fort Smith Regional Airport in Fort Smith. Brinkman recently ran in the Tokyo Marathon, her sixth of the World Marathon Majors. Visit rivervalleydemocratgazette.com/photo for today's photo gallery. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Mary Jo Brinkman of Fort Smith greets friends and family upon her arrival March 5 at the Fort Smith Regional Airport in Fort Smith. Brinkman recently ran in the Tokyo Marathon, her sixth of the World Marathon Majors. Visit rivervalleydemocratgazette.com/photo for today's photo gallery. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Mary Jo Brinkman (left) of Fort Smith embraces her grandson, Leo Brinkman, 11, while greeting friends and family upon her arrival March 5 at the Fort Smith Regional Airport in Fort Smith. Brinkman recently ran in the Tokyo Marathon, her sixth of the World Marathon Majors. Visit rivervalleydemocratgazette.com/photo for today's photo gallery. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Mary Jo Brinkman (bottom) of Fort Smith greets friends and family upon her arrival March 5 at the Fort Smith Regional Airport in Fort Smith. Brinkman recently ran in the Tokyo Marathon, her sixth of the World Marathon Majors. Visit rivervalleydemocratgazette.com/photo for today's photo gallery. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)