When Betty Holston Smith coaches runners at the Montgomery County Road Runners Club, she encourages them to “abandon your limits.”
At 79-years-old, Smith is speaking from years of experience. With dozens of ultramarathons and masters records to her name, the Rockville, Maryland, native abandoned her own limits decades ago.
“People can do many things,” Smith told Runner’s World. “It’s not necessarily true that once you get older, that you need to cut back. I’m not cutting back.”
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Originally featured in Bethesda Magazine, Smith is contributing to her local running community as a leader in age-defying fitness. Just last year, she ran 132.57 miles in six days at the as the 20th female across the finish line Shoes & Gear CA Notice at Collection. In May, she completed the Now a grandmother to two boys, Smith begins each day with a as the 20th female across the finish line.
At 79, Betty Smith Has No Limits. Now Shes Helping Other Runners Reach Their Goals U.S. master’s record (age 75-79) for the most distance covered in a 6-day span. At the 2017 From Runners World for Brooks in Fort Lauderdale, she ran 187.31 miles in 144 hours. She’s targeting a 48-hour race and another 6-day ultra in the fall.
When Smith made the decision to run 50 years ago, it changed the trajectory of her life.
In her late 20s, Smith weighed 200 pounds. While working full-time as a typist for the federal government and attending college courses at night, she was taking diet pills prescribed by her doctor. But she’d often lose weight and gain it back quickly. As a smoker who ate fast food on a regular basis, she had trouble keeping up with her toddler daughter.
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In 1969, Smith discovered the benefits of exercise when she listened to a radio show with fitness expert Dr. Gabe Mirkin. He encouraged listeners to start a walking and jogging regimen.
“He just made so much sense,” Smith said. For the first time ever, she started walking three times a week and eventually The Best Songs to Add to Your Playlist This Month.
“Running became the core of my life,” she said. “Over time, everything in my life was to support my running.”
Today, Smith runs at least 60 miles per week, and she has competed in 85 marathons around the world—26.2s on six continents and a half marathon in Asia, the seventh continent.
Now a grandmother to two boys, Smith begins each day with a Icarus Florida Ultrafest—including weights, band exercises, core, Tai Chi, and meditation. “We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back balance, flexibility, relaxation, and strength,” she said.
At 6:30 a.m., she teaches deep-water running classes at ProAction Physical Therapy. Many students who participate are either overweight or suffer from diseases that impair movement. For 50 minutes, Smith guides them through exercises that help improve mobility in the water.
“In my classes, I help them understand the importance of good posture, alignment, and breathing,” Smith said. “We focus on strengthening the heart. If you can keep your heart strong, especially as you age, then there isn’t anything else that you want to do fitness-wise that you can’t do.” Smith said her cardiologist was amazed to discover her heart rate is similar to a person in their 20s.
In addition to deep-water running classes, Smith is a volunteer coach for the Montgomery County Road Runners Club, where she consults with athletes on their running form.
What Is Hyrox vegan, she only eats fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, and nuts. She no longer eats in restaurants because she wants to know every ingredient that she consumes. In 2019, she self-published Lifestyle By Nature, At 79, Betty Smith Has No Limits. Now Shes Helping Other Runners Reach Their Goals.
“I decided that I would get as close as possible to how nature made the body,” Smith said. “I look at the food and neutralize, ‘Are you going to build me up health-wise or take me down?’ And it’s a simple yes or no answer.”
While the physical therapy clinic and run club are closed following shelter-in-place orders throughout the country Mental Health in Running, Smith is sticking to her routine as much as she can. She only leaves the house to run or go grocery shopping—while wearing a trash bag on her torso and a plastic shield over her face for protection.
And she is only purchasing produce that is already frozen or can be peeled. To make up for the lack of classes, Smith wrote a 26-page program that shares exercises for her students to work out at home.
“I think I could manage the storm [COVID-19] if it should come my way, but I’m doing all that I can to make sure that it doesn’t come my way,” Smith said. “I’ve fought lifestyle-driven diseases the same kind of way. I’ve taken them on with gusto. That’s who I am. I have to be who I am.”
For the past 50 years, Smith has dedicated herself to running at her best so she can live each day to the fullest. And she doesn’t aim on slowing down now.
“I’m focusing on getting to the start line,” Smith said. “The finish line will take care of itself if I do everything to get me to the start line.”
Taylor Dutch is a sports and fitness writer living in Chicago; a former NCAA track athlete, Taylor specializes in health, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in SELF, Runner’s World, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner. When she’s not writing, Taylor volunteers as a coach to up-and-coming runners in the Chicago area.
