When do you know youve had a great run?
Running just makes me happy. I love the freedom of running. I ran until I was seven and a half months pregnant with each of my babies. When I gave birth to my first son, my doctor said I couldn’t run for six weeks. I was sneaking back out after eight days.

You’ve been running since you began your modeling career in 1978. Was it unusual for a model to be a runner then?
I didn’t do anything (when I first moved to New York) except try to starve myself. I was losing muscle. The girls were all naturally thin; they could eat junk that I couldn’t. For me, it was always watching what I ate and paying more attention. Then I started running.

What first inspired you to take up running?
When I was 20, my husband at the time looked at me said, “You’re fat; go run.” There weren’t a lot of tools at the end of the ‘70s to lose weight. It took me a while to realize what kind of exercise would make me happy and I would look forward to doing. And running became it.

Did you ever run or work out with other models?
Heck no. Models looked good and they did shoots (for fitness products or to demonstrate exercises) for magazines like Glamour and Vogue but they didn’t work out. Being thin doesn’t (necessarily) mean you’re healthy. That’s one reason I decided to start doing marathons. I wanted to prove that I was a real athlete. For me to be healthy, I have to work out and eat a certain amount of good food.

When did you decide to tackle a marathon?
I ran my first marathon in Florida in 1985. I had never run more than nine miles. Then a friend asked me to run part of the Jacksonville marathon with him. I was just going to run the second half. Then I went to the expo. It was a whole new world to me, and the energy of the expo got me excited. I decided I would just do the whole thing. I heard my friend and my husband at the time in the next room whispering, “She’ll never make it.” I thought, “I will prove it to them.” I did it in 4:20. I remember being sore afterward, but I ran with my friend the whole time. He kept me going.

What was your next marathon?
I gave birth to my first son in April 1986. I thought it would be a good goal to get back in shape after having a baby if I ran the New York City Marathon. I ran in it November 1986. I had just shot the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, so I was in great shape. I’m sure near the end I hurt. I had another baby three years later, at the end of May 1989, and that one was harder. The marathon in the fall nearly killed me. But when I was up in Harlem and hit the wall and someone said, “Blondie, you’re looking good,” I knew nothing was going to stop me.

How many marathons have you done? What’s your PR?
I’m training for my eighth, the New York City Marathon. Best was my last one, 3:52 in the 1992 NYC Marathon.

Do you run with your kids or husband?
I have run with my oldest son, Jamie, who’s 20. We ran together when he was in Miami, working as a model and trying to keep fit. I would meet up with him and run four miles on the beach. I would tell him, “There aren’t that many 45-year-old moms who run with their sons,” and he would say, “I know, mom.” I used to run with my husband (former NHL player Ron Duguay). We ran quite a bit together when we were dating and first married. Then I got pregnant with my last son, Noah, who is now 12. My last marathon was November 1992.

Your husband was a professional athlete. Are you competitive with him?
Yes, we’re competitive in everything. But he’s a professional athlete, so he will always be stronger, bigger, and faster than I am. I don’t compete with him on running because he’ll destroy me unless it’s real long distance. Then he would admit that I can go longer than he can. He’s also a born coach. He knows my body. We’re a team and working together for the same thing. He looks at my whole schedule and he and I map everything out together. He’s very supportive.

In November you’ll run your fifth New York City Marathon. Why do you keep coming back?
I love the NYC Marathon. I grew up in Buffalo. I’m just a New Yorker and feel very at home there. I met my husband there. New York is a part of who I am.

What’s your favorite part of the New York City Marathon?
The finish line. I don’t like all those bridges. It’s hard to train for that, living in Florida.

How is your training for a marathon today different than when you first did marathons in the 1980s?
I’m fitter overall now. For the last two years, I’ve had a personal trainer. We do a lot of resistance, core, and weight training. I do stability work. Everything is aimed at strengthening the core so there is no injury and I have a certain basic strength. Now, I’m increasing the running. It has to be more scientific as I get older.

In November youll run your fifth New York City Marathon. Why do you keep coming back?
I’m using my husband as a coach and Toby Tanser (a coach in New York) to run things by. And I have a personal trainer, my girlfriend Lynn. It’s like a support team.

Are you as good of a runner as you want to be?
For shorter distances, under an hour, I feel great. But when it comes to the marathon, I’m trying to get my body prepared for longer runs. I’m becoming a better runner for longer distances.

You’ve suffered from hypothyroidism. How has that affected your running?
For years, I almost couldn’t train. There was a time after I gave birth to my third son, Noah, that I needed to sleep two hours during the day with him. My system was really run down. I was a mess. I worked toward getting my health back by looking at my diet and nutrition. So many Americans want to take a pill to treat a symptom. I don’t want to mask a symptom with a pill; I want to find out why something is happening, go to the root of the problem to heal myself. I did cleanses and watched my diet and had support with some natural supplements. I no longer suffer from hypothyroidism.

When did you decide to tackle a marathon?
I’m learning that I enjoy eating raw food. I eat about 75% raw food. But I do cook my meat and fish. You won’t see me dig in and eat raw hamburger. I won’t eat a lot of pasta the night before a long run; I don’t eat a lot of bread or starches. I might have a baked potato or raw cabbage and cooked salmon.

Where do you run?
When I travel, I enjoy going for a run because it’s my way to scope things out. It’s my freedom to wander around. I’ve gotten lost a couple times. It’s a nice way to venture out and see things. It’s always nice to find new places to run. When I’m in New York, I stay close to the West Side Highway, so I run along the Hudson River.

Running From Substance Abuse Toward Recovery?
I do both. I prefer open road because then my mind can wander. On the treadmill, I’m always looking at my watch.

DAA Industry Opt Out?
Finishing a marathon and having my two sons sitting at the finish line. One was in a stroller, Jamie was about four and Bobby was one.

She Runs to Reclaim Her Identity After Assault?
Any time I hit the wall or have a bad blister. It’s just a bummer.

How does hitting the wall during a marathon compare to a crisis at work or home?
Hitting the wall is worse. You still have to keep going and run through it. If I have a stress at home, I can walk away or go for run and things will look different. When you’re doing a marathon, you still have to keep pushing through, even though that same pain is still there.

How is your training for a marathon today different than when you first did marathons in the 1980s?
I run solo. No one can keep up with my schedule, my moods, or my pace. If I’m not feeling good and want to go slower, I don’t want to worry about someone else. And if I’m feeling good, I don’t want to wait for anyone. It’s time for me. Everything else I give is for someone else. Running is for me.

What’s your long-term running goal?
My running ambition is to still run when I’m 80 or 90. I want to keep active. There was a woman on the treadmill walking next to me at the gym and she was 90. She looked great.

Health - Injuries?
Running is part of who I am and what makes me happy, so I make it happen no matter where I am. If I’m taking a car from the airport to the hotel, I’m already looking for good routes and I’ll ask the driver or at my hotel for places to run.

Any post-run rituals?
I take a cold seaweed mineral bath after a run. Or I’ll go in my pool and tread water. It helps move the fluid around.

When do you know you’ve had a great run?
After a great run, everything in my body feels efficient, like it’s running well.

What’s the perfect weather for running for you?
Whats your favorite part of the New York City Marathon.

Running Was His Life. Then Came Putins War?
Look at running as a positive. It’s something to look forward to. It’s not a burden. Running should be thought of as a reward, me-time, not a punishment.

Do you have any running idols?
Fred LeBow. I met Fred when I was living in New York. Fred got me to do the New York City Marathon the first time. I was a spokesperson for the marathon. He said, “You need to come up and do this for us.” He was my buddy.

Do you look like a supermodel when you’re done running?
I look like the rest of us when I come back from a run. I sweat a lot. Beauty comes from the inside, and running makes you feel good about yourself. That shows.

How big a deal was it for you when you appeared on the cover of Runner’s World in the ‘80s?
Being on the cover meant a lot to me. Running is a big passion of mine. To be on a cover not just for what I look like but because of something I accomplish myself was important. I want to be on the cover (of RW) again!

How do you define your career these days? Do you still model? And where does running fit into all this?
I’m coming back after a hiatus of raising my kids. My family still comes first. But my boys are almost grown. The youngest is 12. It’s my time where I’m repositioning myself to encourage women about fitness, body image, and self-esteem. I host TV shows, represent products, make appearances and give speeches. Even when I’m on the road, I always make time to run.