Devoted Marathoner Keeps Running and Inspiring at Age 79

Every day, early in the morning before driving to teach at UT’s College of Education, Karen Ostlund runs laps around a track near her neighborhood. She’s run 100 marathons and nearly 400 half marathons, and she continues to race almost every weekend.

She coaches new runners at Austin Fit, where she specializes in marathon training, often running more than 30 miles per marathon as she tracks back and forth across the course to keep pace with each of her trainees.

She’s also 79 years old.

Other 79-year-olds are also thriving (Joe Biden, Paul McCartney, etc.), but few aren't going to be eating Ostlund's dust in a footrace.

You can imagine how humbling this is for me, a 20-year-old college student, supposedly in the best shape I’ll ever be. I should add that I’m pretty much your average runner — I track around 20 miles per week. This person four times my age is showing me up, but more so, showing me how it’s done.

Ostlund started running at age 40, which is notable in itself. She didn’t grow up racing or hold a lifelong running dream. Her first encounter with running was essentially random: while pursuing her doctorate in science education at the University of Minnesota, she cross-country skied all winter, and when the snow melted, a friend encouraged her to try running. She was immediately hooked. One year later, she skipped her graduation ceremony to run her first marathon: Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth. “I knew I would get my degree anyway, whether I walked or not, so I went ahead and ran the marathon,” Ostlund says. “I felt like if I can do this, I can do anything.”

Not wanting to endure another Minnesota winter, Ostlund made the move to Austin in 1985. She joined her first running group – the Hash House Harriers – who pride themselves on being “a drinking club with a running habit.”

Soon, though, she realized she prefers sweat to spirits and joined Austin Fit, where she participates and has worked as a coach for the past 15 years. “I probably get more out of seeing someone else complete their first marathon than I do when I complete a marathon,” Ostlund says. "My approach is, don't leave anyone behind. … Don't let anyone feel badly, you know, make sure that they all feel good about what they're doing. And you stay with them and help them do it.”

This past October, Ostlund ran the Boston Marathon with her son. Despite severe stomach cramps, she crossed the finish line.

“I’ve never ever entered a race I didn't finish, not ever. That was a dream to run Boston," Ostlund says. "There's just no other experience like it, just the support and the people that are out there. I'd say it was my greatest accomplishment.”

At organized races, runners are ranked within their age group. Because most runners are younger than Ostlund, she doesn’t worry about the competitive component to racing. “The challenge is becoming accustomed to the fact that you are going to slow down,” Ostlund says. “I think a lot of people my age just quit running because they can't run as fast as they used to. I just keep running. If I show up and do it, I'll probably place.” A little bragging is certainly in order.

So how does she stay motivated through so many miles? What playlist? What podcasts? Turns out she never listens to anything. (Counterpoint: I’ve been known to get to the gym, mount the treadmill, and turn right around to go home if I forgot headphones.) “It's too exciting,” Ostlund says. “[Running] is an opportunity to get together with my friends and talk with them, you get exercise and camaraderie with other people.”

Mothers’s Day weekend, Ostlund ran two women-only races: the Texas Flower Country 5k in Fredericksburg and the Run This Mother 10k in San Antonio. She aims to clock her next marathon at 5:20, which is about an hour longer than your average marathoner. But Ostlund is far from average.