media_artricles :: 2017

Granny Luces: I’m 90 but I feel like 40

Today the famous Lynette Granny Luces turns 90.

Fondly known as Granny Luces, the T&T runner has won hearts across the country, and perhaps even the world with running.

On Sunday, she hosted a pre-birthday celebration at the Roslyn Hall and Lounge in Tunapuna, where she danced with her son, hugged her grandchildren, and took pictures of such a special occasion in her life.

Her love for running came by accident. She says her mother often sent her to the shop to buy items, and would tell her to hurry and get back home.

"Without looking left or right, I would run to the shop, buy the items and run back home," she told the media.

Granny Luces said her body might be turning 90 today, but she felt like she was in her 40s.

However, her strength goes beyond her body. She has a spiritual strength that she has taken with her throughout her life, and it is a message she spreads with whomever she speaks with. Before going to bed each night, she says the Our Father.

It is one of several traits she wants T&T's young people to adopt.

"Before they go to sleep in the night they must pray; when they get up in the morning they must pray. They must respect their mother, grandmother and neighbours. They must have that kind of respect, they must know when to say 'excuse me 'and 'thank you' and 'good morning'."

Born in 1927, Granny Luces entered the world two years before the Great Depression struck.

It wasn't until 1984, when she was 57, that she ran her first marathon.

Since then, she has been one of the attractions in any race she runs. In 2013, she was awarded the Hummingbird Medal Gold, and she continues to be a loyal servant of the soil.

At her birthday celebration, she wore the national colours to reflect her love for T&T.

She said: "When I am running overseas, all my thoughts are Trinidad and Tobago is running. I could have been living in America, but I just love Trinidad."

Granny Luces was surrounded by friends and family at the function which included tributes, speeches, poems and songs, celebrating a woman who is far from finished, and wants to accomplish more well into her 90s.

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