For Alice Kearns, running was an expression of joy and resilience
Alice Kearns crossed her final finish line the day the Boston Marathon was run. It was a poetic departure for a woman who qualified for the race an astonishing 16 times and competed in it three times. She died at 2:05 p.m. – uncannily close to this year's winning race time of 2:04:45. For her family, it was a quiet, symbolic close to a life lived with spirit and relentless motion.
Born Alice Heaney in Dublin to blind parents, she learned resilience and independence early. One of her favourite stories was about her father bringing home a roast from the butcher, only to discover it was mostly fat. Her childhood was shaped by hardship, but also by determination.
Alice, a gifted student, had to put her education on hold to support her family. She later resumed her studies in Canada, completing a joint program between the transportation industry and the University of Toronto. Like many from Ireland seeking a better life, she immigrated to Canada in 1967, settling in Toronto.
She met Jack Kearns at a Dublin dance hall in her early 20s. Just months earlier, Jack had made a life-altering decision: to leave the seminary after years of training to become a Catholic priest. Instead, he began retraining as an optician. That choice, that dance, changed everything.
It was the beginning of a partnership that would last more than 60 years. They championed each other's ambitions, raised a son, Alan, and found their shared rhythm not just in marriage, but on the roads and trails where they trained side by side. Running became a metaphor for their life together: steady and always in stride.
Alice built her career in the offices of the male-dominated transportation industry. She was known for her wise counsel, quiet strength and no-nonsense standards. She became a trusted administrative and HR advisor to executives.
As a working mother in the 1970s and '80s, Alice faced challenges she would later reflect on honestly. 'I don't think I could be both a great mother and a great employee,' she once told her son. 'It might have been easier to choose one.' But she led by example. Her legacy was less about lunches packed or school pickups, and more about what it meant to live with conviction. She modelled excellence, persistence, intellectual curiosity and integrity.
Running became her spiritual practice. She joined the Markham Centaurs and the Running Room, where she found her second family. Her mornings began with long runs and ended with bagels and coffee in the company of her running tribe. From her 40s onward, she regularly ranked near the top in her age group across 5ks, 10ks, half and full marathons. She and Jack travelled the world to combine racing and exploring – Dublin, Iceland, Chicago, China, Greece. Races were expressions of joy and resilience.
Even a serious accident in her late 60s didn't stop her. Though her stride slowed, her spirit never did. Running remained, for her, an act of connection between people, places and the inner voice that said 'keep going.'
She could be candid, strong-willed and fiercely loyal. Her friendships were long and deeply rooted. Her conversations were unfiltered and honest.
During her final weeks in palliative care, her two grandchildren, Aidan and Aine, sat by her bedside, asking life's big questions and soaking up her presence. Just a week before she died, Aine completed a half-marathon. She called her grandmother right after the finish line. Alice told her, 'It's not about the time you get – it's about taking in the moments you have while you're in the race.' That was Alice in a sentence.
Alice died of complications from Norovirus. It was a short journey from diagnosis to death – unwelcome and fast – but also mercifully gentle.
'I was in a hard race,' she reflected in her final days. 'I told myself I wanted to finish it – just for me.'
Alan Kearns is Alice Kearns's son.
To submit a Lives Lived: lives@globeandmail.com
Lives Lived celebrates the everyday, extraordinary, unheralded lives of Canadians who have recently passed. To learn how to share the story of a family member or friend, go online to tgam.ca/livesguide
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