While there's no definitive secret to longevity, centenarians and super-centenarians are clearly doing something right to extend their lives that much longer. One of these impressive agers is Julia Hawkins, who passed last week at the age of 108. That number may speak for itself, but to reach that age, Hawkins previously cited a few key things that helped her get there.
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Hawkins is now remembered as a record-breaking runner, but even more interesting, she didn't pick up the hobby until after her 100th birthday. Her sons signed her up for a 50-meter dash during the 2016 Senior Olympic Games, which she finished in just 19 seconds. While she came in first because she was the only competitor in her age group, it kickstarted her competitive running career, per her obituary in The New York Times.
Hawkins went on to win several titles and even broke world records. Staying active was also a key part of her lifestyle before reaching her triple-digit age. As she told Guideposts.org, she was a camp counselor growing up and did horseback riding and golf while teaching in Honduras for a year.
"It’s been an adventurous life and an active one," Hawkins told the outlet. "I’ve been always doing something."
But while keeping her body moving contributed to her super-ager status, Hawkins said she also focused on life's "magic moments."
"That is something that I have done in my life—think of the things that are magic moments that happen to you, like sunsets and sunrises, rainbows, beautiful birds, music and people’s lovely comments to you," she told theNYTin 2019. "All of those are magic moments and they are free for all. Be sure to keep your eye open for them."
In her 2016 book, It's Been Wondrous: The Memoirs of Julia Welles Hawkins, she described these moments as those when "you see something or feel something or hear something that affects you very much," Guideposts.org reported.
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Beyond her active lifestyle and observation of magic moments, however, Hawkins also prioritized sleep and her diet.
"I'm careful about what I eat. I sleep well. I don't smoke or drink. I do all the right things," she shared withThe Washington Post in 2019. In terms of personal life, Hawkins once said it was important to be choosy there as well.
"Marry a good man and your life will be wonderful, wondrous—that’s the name of the book that I wrote," she told the NYT.
Hawkins met her late husband, Murray Hawkins, at an Episcopal Church party while studying education at Louisiana State University.
"As soon as I saw him, I knew that was the person I wanted to spend my life with," she told NYT of her husband, whom she was married to for 70 years. The pair tied the knot on Nov. 29, 1942, over the telephone while Murray was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy.
