1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 Eileen Waters Connolly was a trailblazer in American long-distance running, part&amp;nbsp;of the first generation of women to compete in the sport. In 1972, she made history&amp;nbsp;by setting a world record in a 50-mile race on a track in Santa Monica, finishing in&amp;nbsp;7:05:31. Even more impressive, she ran negative splits—completing the second&amp;nbsp;half 23 minutes faster than the first. A year later, she returned and broke her own&amp;nbsp;record, cutting 10 minutes off her time. She died in 2016 at 71 from adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), a rare form of cancer. As she aged, she never lost her&amp;nbsp;sense of humor or self-effacing nature. She was quoted as saying, “When you get old, you just show up and most likely you'll win your age group.” Starting Line 1928 https://www.startingline1928.com/ <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/39110135/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/item/39110135