Margaret Hagerty

Margaret W. Hagerty, a world-record marathon runner, died at her home in Concord, NC, on August 1, 2015, at the age of 92. The cause was complications of a stroke.

The Guiness Book of World Records listed Mrs. Hagerty as the oldest person to have completed a marathon on each of the seven continents, just shy of her 82nd birthday. In pursuit of that record, she ran the original marathon route in Athens, Greece, scaled the Great Wall of China, climbed Mount Everest, and hitched a ride to the Antarctica Marathon on a Russian icebreaker. She started running at the age of 64 as part of a successful attempt to quit smoking. She completed 81 marathons, dozens of triathlons, innumerable 10K and 5K races, and a single walk-and-wag this June at Beech Mountain. She inspired fellow athletes with her enthusiasm for sports and her joy in competition. Her last marathon was in November 2014, where she won the Gwendolyn Clark Award as the oldest finisher of the New York City Marathon. At her death, she was training to compete with the Cabarrus County team in the North Carolina Senior Games in October. In 29 years of Senior Games participation, she set 14 state records in track and field events. In 2013 she and her father were the first father-daughter duo to be inducted into the Cabarrus County Sports Hall of Fame.

Margaret Florence Widenhouse was born in Union County, NC, on March 25, 1923, the eldest daughter of Carl A. Widenhouse and the former Florence G. Long. Her father began his career as a state highway engineer and later founded the C. A. Widenhouse Concrete Company in Concord. Margaret graduated in 1940 from Concord High School and in 1944 from Emory University, Atlanta. She married the late James Alexander Hagerty in 1949 and they made their home in Concord. A registered nurse, she worked in pediatrics until the birth of her son.

In Concord, Margaret was active in the Junior Charity League and the U.D.C., where she served as chapter president. She was an avid golfer, a competitive bridge player, and a gifted gardener. She played in the hand-bell choir at Central United Methodist Church and participated in church mission trips. Immediately following her father’s death, she managed the C. A. Widenhouse Concrete Company. She worked in accounting for many years at Cabarrus Memorial Hospital and, following her retirement, she traveled the world. In recent years she was a familiar sight in Concord, getting in her 6-mile daily runs and walks.

She is survived by one son, James Alexander Hagerty, Jr. (Reston, VA and Lake Norman, NC); a granddaughter, Katherine D. Hagerty (Alexandria, VA); a grandson William A. Hagerty (Birmingham, AL); her companion, Richard Hamilton; three nephews, Richard Gibson (Mooresville, NC), William Gibson (Greer, SC), Charles Hagerty (Mooresville, NC); and nieces., Lynn Hagerty Jenkins (Gastonia, NC), Jean Ellen Bridges (Loganville, GA), Margaret Hagerty (Cramerton, NC) and , Mary Hagerty Ward ,(Charlotte, NC). She will be missed by her family, by runners nationwide, and by her beloved neighbors.

Her memorial service will take place Sunday, August 9 at 3:00 p.m. at Central United Methodist Church in Concord, NC. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to Girls on the Run International (girlsontherun.org ). Margaret believed in the power of sport to prepare young women to assume their rightful place on this planet.

Hartsell Funeral Home of Concord is serving the Hagerty family.

Online condolences may be made at www.hartsellfh.com