Julia Hawkins, Centenarian Sprinter, Dies at 108

She took up running after her 100th birthday at the encouragement of her children, and went on to set two world records in the 100-meter dash.

Julia Hawkins, who took up running after her 100th birthday and went on to set world records in the 100-meter dash, inspiring legions of older athletes, died on Tuesday in Baton Rouge, La. She was 108.

Her death, in an assisted living center, was confirmed by her daughter Margaret Matens, who said that her mother had arranged to donate her body to the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University, which is studying longevity.

Ms. Hawkins was a force on the track, with her trademark flower tucked behind her ear and her arms driving behind her as she shuffled up her lane. She drew loud cheers from fans, who nicknamed her “Hurricane,” and frequent autograph requests.

Beloved by senior runners for her quick legs and her even quicker wit, Ms. Hawkins credited her children with introducing her to running. Her sons signed her up for her first track-and-field event, a 50-meter dash, in 2016, Ms. Hawkins said in an interview for this obituary in 2022.

Even though she had never competed on a track, Ms. Hawkins said that her children wanted to see how fast she could sprint.

Her inexperience did not show.

She ran 50 meters in a speedy 19 seconds at the Louisiana Senior Olympic Games, winning first place in her age group by default, as she was the only competitor over 100.

In fact, she is believed to be the oldest woman ever to compete in a sanctioned track event in the United States, according to the National Senior Games Association, which administers sports competitions for people over 50.

“I thought it would be neat to do it at 100,” she said, “and it was neat.”

After a century of living, her competitive running career had just begun. She competed in races across the country, setting world records in the 100-meter dash in the women-over-100 category, running it in 39.62 seconds in Birmingham, Ala., in 2017, and in the over-105 age group with a 1-minute-2.95-second finish in Hammond, Ind., in 2021, according to World Masters Athletics.

Ms. Hawkins, a longtime resident of Baton Rouge, also set American records in the over-100 categories in the indoor shot-put, the indoor 60-meter dash and the outdoor 100-meter dash, according to USA Track & Field Masters.

Ms. Hawkins’s longevity led track officials to establish a new 105-plus age category for her 2021 world record, said Del Moon, a spokesman for the National Senior Games Association.

She inspired many people, especially older runners, to “seize the impossible,” Mr. Moon said. “As an athlete and as a very wise woman, Julia Hawkins has given a gift to all of us,” he said.

Ms. Hawkins drew more national attention after every race. Interview requests followed, and Ms. Hawkins said she was often asked the same question: What is the secret to a long life?

Her answer, as she told The New York Times, was, “Marry a good man and your life will be wonderful, wondrous — that’s the name of the book that I wrote.”

Ms. Hawkins said she spent more than 30 years handwriting a self-published memoir, “It’s Been Wondrous!” The book, which was published in 2016, chronicles her first 100 years.

Julia Welles was born on Feb. 10, 1916, in Lake Geneva, Wis., the second of three children to Margaret (McGuire) Welles and Julius Welles. When she was a few months old, her family left Wisconsin and sailed from Chicago to Ponchatoula, La., where they ran a summer resort, Ms. Matens said.

Ms. Hawkins studied education at Louisiana State University. On her first day as a student there, she met a young man, Murray Hawkins, at an Episcopal Church party.

“As soon as I saw him,” she said, “I knew that was the person I wanted to spend my life with.”

Mr. Hawkins was serving as a civilian physicist with the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on Dec. 7, 1941. He was commissioned as an officer, and he and Julia were married over the telephone on Nov. 29, 1942.

“He was afraid I might not wait till he got back,” she wrote in her book.

The couple later had two boys and two girls, and spent seven decades together until Mr. Hawkins, who retired as the chairman of the petroleum engineering department at L.S.U., died in 2013, Ms. Matens said.

In addition to Ms. Matens, Ms. Hawkins is survived by another daughter, Julia Battle; her sons, Warren Hawkins and Murray Hawkins III, who is known as Lad; her sister, Mickey McCall; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

When she was asked just about any question, Ms. Hawkins would bring the answer back to her husband.

Why was she so passionate about running, bonsai trees and reading? It was important to stay active and pick good things to do with her time, she would say, but do you know why Murray was sent to Pearl Harbor and how wondrous it was to share a home with him?

Together, she said, they loved to marvel at hummingbirds, sunrises and scintillating books, experiences she described with a favorite catchphrase: “magic moments.”

Ms. Hawkins always kept busy: She raised a family, moved to Honduras for a year in 1940 to teach the children of fruit company employees, and became a competitive cyclist in her 80s.

She also kept a lot of pets, including a monkey, an alligator, an armadillo, turtles, snakes and bunnies.

“We spent a lot of time in the yard,” Ms. Matens said.

In her 11th decade, Ms. Hawkins experienced a lifetime’s worth of magic moments on the track.

“There’s something magic, sort of, about what happens to you when you get out there,” she said. “You just feel like your feet have wings.”

William Lamb contributed reporting.