When Carole Radziwill decided she was going to move from her hometown of Suffern, New York, to New York City and work for Peter Jennings at ABC News, everybody thought she was crazy. She had no journalism experience, no connections, and no money. But she wasn’t going to let any of that stop her.
Radziwill worked her way up at ABC News and then got a job working on Jennings’ documentary unit where she spent 15 years doing everything from negotiating with military officials in Thailand to patrolling SCUD missiles in the Middle East to flying in C-130 planes with troops fighting the war in Afghanistan.
Races - Places New York City Marathon.
“As I got into my 50s, I didn’t feel as strong as I did in previous decades,” Radziwill told Runner’s World by phone. “I’ve never been one to just go to the gym and exercise, so I needed a goal.”
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If you’ve watched her on Stravas 2024 Yearly Report Is Here, you may have picked up on the fact that she’s never been one to make exercise a priority. In fact, if napping were an Olympic sport, she says she’d win a medal.
“I never so much as ran across the street, so people think me running the NYC Marathon is crazy. But you have to take chances and risks in life,” she said. “New York City has given me every opportunity to create and reinvent myself, so the marathon is my way of honoring it.”
Radziwill joined The Dogpound, a gym five blocks from her New York City apartment, where she spent six weeks strength training to work up to having the stamina to run.
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And while she still does weights three to four times a week, she has since incorporated running into her routine.
“My first time on the treadmill, I was nervous. I didn’t understand how long 26 miles actually was. But I think that worked to my advantage,” she said. “Life is a marathon and you have to pace yourself. I believe that slow and steady wins the race, so in that way, I’ve been training for a marathon my whole life.”
Being a writer herself, Radziwill naturally found inspiration from an essay by Anne Lamott. Lamott writes about her brother who waited until the last minute to write a book report on birds and then became overwhelmed when he realized he was under so much pressure. In an effort to calm him, their dad told him to just take it “bird by bird.”
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“That’s how you have to go about life,” Radziwill said. “I’m taking it bird by bird, mile by mile.”
With that philosophy in mind, she ran her first mile. And although she ran a pace of 18:49, she used it as motivation to improve.
“I thought, ‘If I can run a mile in 10 minutes, I’ll be able to finish the marathon.’ Mentally, I have a 100 percent clear mind. Physically, it’s a little harder.”
Radziwill has worked up be able to run four miles so far, and her fastest mile time is 10:41, putting her goals right on track. To help make it easier, she’s been walking with a 10-pound weighted vest so she’ll feel lighter when she runs.
“Running is something you can do and be alone in your thoughts, and I like that,” she said. “Maybe I’ve been a runner my whole life.”
And she has already noticed that she’s gained muscle.
“I’m really proud of my body and that it’s able to run four miles with six weeks of training. I’m much more grateful for what it can do.”
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“It has made me be more me-centric,” she said. “I’m much more aware of how I spend my time. You have to know and understand your own needs and wants and desires to have healthy relationships.”
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“I used to eat what I wanted when I wanted,” she said. “I like carbs and I like junk food, and I don’t gain any weight from them, so I’ve been slightly abusive of my body because of this. But I’m not eating Pringles anymore. I have salads now, which is shocking to anyone who knows me.”
Radziwill is running the NYC Marathon on behalf of the North Shore Animal League, a shelter where she got her two cats. And while she jokes that she’d like to finish before they start packing up the race, she’d ideally like to have a time between four and five hours. And she’s used to defying expectations.
“Recently, I met a man who raced America’s Cup. His background was in engineering, so he set out to build the fastest boat. Everyone told him, ‘That’s not how you win,’ but he won anyway. The people who do those sort of things are the people I look to for inspiration.”
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