Posted: November 9, 2005

Athletics: Grete Waitz - Still Running (And Now Battling Cancer) After All These Years

By James Raia
www.ByJamesRaia.com

Grete Waitz, nine-time winner of the New York City Marathon and a global inspiration to women runners, recently disclosed her diagnosis of cancer at age 52. Although her specific form of cancer is not public, Waitz told the Associated Press results of a blood test revealed the disease.

Nearly a decade ago, Waitz served as the corporate spokesperson for the Chase Corporate Challenge in San Francisco. On two occasions, I had the opportunity to meet with Waitz one-on-one in the Hyatt Regency Hotel and discuss her life and running after her competitive career. I hold the two independent sessions as highlights of my reporting career. Waitz was relaxed, cordial, humorous and gracious.

Following are excerpts from one of the interviews. I've left the interview dates and other timely and prophetic references intact. Best wishes, Grete.

Nearly 15 years after earning the silver medal in the inaugural women's Olympic marathon in Los Angeles, Grete Waitz is still at the forefront of the running world.

Waitz, 45, has been retired from competition since 1990. But the former marathon world record holder is an international spokesperson, running ambassador, author and founder of the world's largest women's-only running event, the Grete Waitz Run for Women in her native Oslo, Norway.

With her husband Jack Waitz, she maintains residences in Oslo, Atlanta and Gainesville, Fla. She spends several months of the year in the U.S. working on behalf of Adidas and Chase Manhattan Bank, title sponsor of the country's largest corporate road race series.

A nine-time New York City Marathon winner, Waitz began her Olympic career in 1972 in Munich when she competed in the 1,500 meters - then the longest distance available to women. She won the World Championship marathon in 1983 in Helsinki and was the world's top-ranked woman runner eight times at distances ranging from 1,500 meters to the marathon.

As she has for more than a decade, Waitz visited San Francisco recently as the spokesperson for the Aug. 11 Chase Corporate Challenge.

Casually dressed and with her haired pulled straight back in her trademark ponytail, she sipped coffee and spoke at ease for nearly 90 minutes while relaxing in a quiet downtown hotel lobby.

Waitz's second book "On The Run" was published in 1997 (Rodale Press, Inc., $19.95) and is subtitled, "Exercise and Fitness For Busy People."

James Raia: Why did you write a second book?

Grete Waitz: I didn't really want to do one. I didn't think I had anything to say. But the more I got into it, the more I had to tell. I started working on the draft and I realized I had a lot to say. In middle age, a lot happens with our lives and our bodies and with everything. It's the point, in least in my mind, when we make up our minds what our life is going to be like in 20 years.

JR: Could you elaborate?

GW: When I was 20, I thought when I was 40 life would be over (laughter). When you're 20, you look at your parents and you think they are old and how boring life is when you reach that age. But now I am that age, and I think life is great. I see myself down the road and wonder, 'what will I do when I'm in my 60s?' I think the life you lead now when you are in your late 30s and early 40s very much determines what kind of life you will have 20 years from now.

JR: How difficult was it for you to retire from competition?

GW: In 1990, I felt I wasn't 'hungry' anymore. I loved what I was doing, but I felt I didn't belong up there with those people who wanted to win races so badly. I felt it was probably time to move on. I was 37, and I was doing my running twice a day and a long run on the weekend, but it was sort of half-hearted. It was on April 1, and I went to my husband and said, 'Jack, this is no April Fool's joke. Today, I am officially retired. I was scared, to tell the truth. I knew that life, and I didn't know what to expect. What would I do? But I'm one of those people when I make a decision, that's the decision. I didn't want to be one of those people who has a second comeback, then a third comeback.

JR: What's your running like these days?

GW: I had 20 years of competitive running, so now on a good week, I run 50 miles. I give myself one day when I give my legs a rest from the pounding. On that day, I will ride a bike or do the Nordic track or whatever. For me, I feel that if I want to have running as my main activity for the rest of my life, I need to take a break one day a week.

JR: How do you keep motivated?

GW: Over the years, I've learned about myself very well, and I'm very honest with myself. I'm the kind of person who if I haven't run or done my exercise before 7 a.m., just forget it. In the morning, I don't have any other distractions. It's either sleep or go out for a run. I know if I go out for a run, I feel so much better for the rest of the day, I will have more energy. The morning is like a sacred time for me.

JR: When you're in public, like at the Boston Marathon or other events, you are very personable. Do you enjoy your appearances?

GW: Well, it's part of my contract with adidas, but when I meet these people, they have such a positive impact on me. It makes me feel very privileged I have done what I've done. When you are Boston, for example, you might meet a woman who has just qualified for the marathon. She's so excited , and when you meet those kinds of people, it makes me appreciate my own life much. When I was running competitively, I didn't ever think about what it would be like to run a marathon in 3 1/2 hours, it was more like 2 1/2 hours. But now I understand better. I'm happy on their behalf because I can see it means so much to them.

© Copyright 2005, James Raia

Posted with the permission of James Raia.

James Raia is a journalist, author and publisher in Sacramento, California. Sign-up for his free electronic newsletters Endurance Sports News and Tour de France Times on his web site: www.ByJamesRaia.com.