At the 2024 Tokyo Marathon, 69-year-old Filipina Ruthie Veater capped off a six-year journey to complete all World Marathon Majors.

"Trying to make it to every cutoff was super hard," she recalled. "But I still tell myself, ‘You know what? I can do hard things. I can finish this. I am tough.’ And then, it took me to the finish line.”

Veater and her husband Royce are based in Alpine, Utah.

They started the marathon mission in 2018 and since that time, they have crossed the finish line at each of the six majors.

“It’s been an amazing journey for us to be on together as husband and wife," said Royce. "We really enjoyed all of the friends that we’ve made along the way and all the experiences we’ve had."

He added: "It’s really helped bring us closer together too.”

But like a 26.2-mile course, the road to the coveted six-star medal was long and demanding.

Royce said it involved several challenges to qualify for the different marathons.

"[In] Boston, you have to qualify. It's very hard to qualify. You have to train, at least 12 to 16 weeks," he said.

Veater, meanwhile, said it also required overcoming injuries, including a torn meniscus that she tried to run on in Tokyo last year.

“I did not finish," she said. "I made it to mile 18 before I decided to quit. So this year, I was really anxious about it, but then I thought, ‘Well you know what? This is my sixth star. I need to finish this.’”

Thanks to her determination, the Manila native joined an exclusive group of athletes to have earned the title.

“If I can do it, everyone can do it, because I’m an old woman," Veater added. "It’s just a matter of just doing it. Just believe.”

Now that Veater has reached her goal of finishing each of the six World Marathon Majors, she plans to complete all six again in the next two years.