I think I need to start this blog with a little background. I am a 58 year old mother of two. I am happily married (primarily because my husband puts up with a lot), I coach, I race and I work for an outdoor retailer.
I did not “discover” fitness later in life. I ran and swam competitively in high school and I have been doing it on and off ever since. I took a lot of years off for all the regular reasons: I had small children, I was finishing my degree, I was trying to get ahead at work…you know the story.
I went back to running seriously the first year my children were both in school at the same time. It was 1999 and we were living in a small town in southern Germany. I decided I wanted to run a marathon so I downloaded a program from Runner’s World and I ran while the kids were in kindergarten. On long run days I could just manage to get my run in if I dropped the kids off at school and ran from there. I would run all morning and then show up hot and sweaty to pick them up. German moms do not show up at school hot and sweaty, they show up well dressed with their make up in place but I was the strange Canadian anyway so they just assumed it was what people from Canada do. I ran every km alone and I had no idea what I was doing.
I ran the Prague Marathon that year. My parents and family joined me and my father who is a runner ran the race as well. I hit “the wall” at 32k so hard I could not even run straight and when my waiting husband and children greeted me with flowers at the finish I rushed to the nearest garbage can the threw-up. I was hooked and now 45 marathons and 5 Ironman races later I am still hooked.
Racing and Traveling over 50. 
That is an impressive running resume, particularly to somebody who only uses the word running in phrases like “running out to the grocery store”. In future blogs, I would be interested in hearing what other fitness regimes you follow, such as yoga or spinning, to keep your body and mind marathon-ready.
Thanks, I will try and get that in. I will confess now that I do not do yoga! I probably should but I can’t stay still that long!
I admire your passion for running. I was in the military for 22 years. Running was part of life and I never developed a love for it. My sister though, is like you, running has become a possion for her and her dream is to run the Boston Marathon. I’ll share your blog with her. 🙂
Tell your sister to keep at it! My mother qualified for Boston and ran Boston the year she turned 65. Newton awaits!
I am the sister and I do have a passion for running. I love to hear about 65 year old Boston Qualifiers. I tells me that I still have 20 years. Thanks for sharing your stories. I had to smile when you talked about picking up your kids right after a run. I do that all the time. I notice the looks from other parents but – it is just that important to me to get that run in. I can relate.