When she was 40, Shirley Horner had a melanoma operation to remove an orange-sized tumor out of her leg. While on crutches, Horner decided to incorporate a new hobby.
Every day, she walked a mile and a half. Once Horner got rid of the crutches, she jogged the same distance five times a week until she was 65. Then she went back to walking — two hours five times a day up until her husband, John, passed away in 2012.
Now, she walks three hours a day.
So, because Horner takes in about nine miles a day, Rebecca Durfee thought she’d sign up her 83-year-old grandmother for her first 13.1-mile half-marathon. On March 16, joined by six of her out-of-state family members, Horner completed the Shamrock Run half-marathon with a time of 3 hours, 51 minutes.
“Those two granddaughters were characters,” Horner said. “They’re both in their late 20s and, I have to admit, this was pretty embarrassing, but in a way it was kind of cute — every time we passed someone going in the opposite direction they’d say ‘she’s 83 and it’s her first marathon!’
“And they must have said that a dozen times. It was kind of embarrassing, but yet I thought they must be proud of me.”
Four generations were represented at the Shamrock Run. Horner was joined by son, David Horner, and his wife; two of her granddaughters — Loren Riley, who brought her husband Travis Riley and Durfee; and her youngest great-grandchild, Evelyn Durfee.
Loren’s sister, Sydney, was planning on joining her grandmother as well, but pulled out of the race the day before due to the flu.
In total, Horner has six children, 23 grandchildren and is expecting her 25th great-grandchild.
Even though Horner would never admit to any favorites, she does acknowledge that she is exceptionally close to her granddaughter Rebecca. So, Horner wasn’t surprised when Durfee spontaneously signed her up for the race.
“No, I don’t have a favorite, but I’m close to her,” Horner said. “I’m very close to her. One year, when she was 13 we had her for a month and took her on a trip with us.”
Durfee and her cousin, Loren Riley, along with their respective husbands, had participated in half-marathons before. Durfee’s father, David, hadn’t, but he wouldn’t miss out on joining his mother for their first race.
“She just had a lot of faith in me that I could do it and my son did, too,” Horner said. “He knew I could do it.”
As soon as Horner was registered for the event, other family members signed up to be part of the momentous occasion with the matriarch of the family.
“They signed up because I was doing it,” Horner said.
The family support isn’t anything new for Horner — they’ve always been super close.
It started with Shirley and John Horner. The pair were high school sweethearts at Amphitheater High. John was the star football player while Shirley was the head cheerleader. The couple was crowned Homecoming king and queen.
They did everything together. By their senior year, they were engaged. They graduated from Amphi in 1953 and got married that December. The following December they welcomed their first child. They would have all six kids within 10 years.
Shirley Horner’s dream was to be a housewife, and she did just that while her children, who all went on to graduate from Sahuaro High, grew up. At 40, during her melanoma scare and right when she started her daily walks and jogs, she started working.
She retired at 65.
After retiring, John joined his wife for walks as much as he could, but eventually had to stop due to his deteriorating health.
The pair continued to attend Arizona softball games. They had attended pretty much every home game since 1992 — before Hillenbrand Stadium was built.
Because the softball team is such a big part of Horner’s life, the family took in the Florida State series the weekend everyone was in town for the Shamrock Run.
John Horner struggled with diabetes and heart issues and eventually passed away from a heart attack after five months of being on dialysis. But if he were still alive, Shirley knows he would have been at the finish line to greet his wife, and the rest of the family, after the half-marathon.
“We were very affectionate — he would have held me and kissed me,” Horner said. “I just would have smiled at him.”
