Since 2004, we’ve published 148 “I’m a Runner” interviews with famous and/or accomplished individuals. For our special 50th anniversary issue, we asked some of them if they continue to rack up the miles. Happily, we found that most of these musicians, pro athletes, writers, and heroes really are—still—just like us.

Summer Sanders 
43, TV host and Olympic gold medal swimmer (July 2004)
“Running is my heart and swimming is my soul. I run to see the world at my own pace and to connect with my friends on a level that takes me away from electronics, away from distraction, and strikes at my core. You can feel the weight of your person and sometimes you can feel your lightness as a person. You feel the connection to the ground. You feel yourself sweating—which as a swimmer is so foreign. You can see the sun rise and set. I run at least four times a week, and the biggest change for me in the last couple of years has been my willingness to vary. My girlfriends get me out of my comfort zone and into our awesome Park City trails, even in the middle of winter!”

Kyle Petty
56, Retired NASCAR driver, NBC Sports analyst (March 2007)
“In 1991, I was in a racing accident and suffered a compound fracture in my left femur and cracked my hip. After 25 years, my hip began to bother me as I ran so I switched to the elliptical and now work out four to five times a week. It’s always somewhere different—at my local gym in Charlotte or a hotel gym on the road near race tracks. I usually do about five to seven miles on the elliptical. I miss running, but this is a great way to stay in shape and take care of my body.”

Kim Alexis
56, Supermodel (April 2007)
“I ran my first of five New York City Marathons in 1986 six months after giving birth to my first son. Now, over 30 years later, I still find that I love to run. It makes me feel good about myself. I am blessed that all my joints and bones are still healthy and that I can get out and run wherever I am in the world.”
    
Nutrition - Weight Loss
46, Neurosurgeon and CNN’s chief medical correspondent (December 2007)
"I am still running—even more than back in 2007. I do it because it makes me biologically younger. Also, because I travel around the world, it is the one exercise I can do easily wherever I may be. My running shoes are always packed and ready to go.”

Mario Lopez
43, actor and host (June 2008)
“Once you start, running becomes a part of your life. It’s addictive, and you feel weird when you don’t do it. The biggest difference now is they have these jogging strollers. I run with my five- and two-year-old–and my two French bulldogs, when I’m able to multitask.”

Natalie Morales
44, TODAY Show anchor and Access Hollywood host (August 2008)
“Running is my peace of mind, my sanity, my joy. It is my ‘me’ time, my Zen, my breath of fresh air, my moment to dream, my time to pray, my time to problem-solve. As long as my knees hold out and my body doesn't ache, I will always be a runner. There is no better way to celebrate what my body is capable of than by running!”

Ed Hochuli
65, NFL referee (October 2008)
“I’m still running, but unfortunately, most of my running these days is inside on a treadmill. The treadmill is less ‘abusive’ to this 65-year-old body; remember, I’m not exactly built like a runner, so I try to avoid repeated excess force on my joints. Why do I still run? Silly question—that’s like asking me why I still eat!” 

Jennifer Beals
52, actress (June 2009)
“I have always loved running. I've loved the sense of freedom, that sweet spot when it feels like you're flying, like your legs are turning over of their own accord in time with some invisible rhythm. Then a few years ago I cracked my sacrum snowboarding and for the first time I felt like running was painful, if not a little frightening. After a series of tentative runs I reached out to my friend, Derek Hanson, an amazing running coach. He helped me get back on the trail with a series of rehabilitative drills. I'm not running quite as far just yet, but I'm running free. I now also enjoy running with friends. Before I was a soloist. No voices, no music, only the sound of my breath and my feet hitting the earth. Now I'm just as inclined to run with a partner. We push each other with intervals and hills, but mostly it's a time to connect. That, I've learned, offers a freedom all its own.”

Dr. Drew Pinsky
58, Dr. Drew host (February 2010)
“I am still running but not as much as I would like. My schedule has heated up and my joints have become more of an issue when I run, particularly my lower back —but I persevere! I miss it when I go too long without getting out there.”

Kenneth Feld
68, Owner of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (August 2010)
“I am still running, four to five days a week, about 20 miles. Mostly because I still can and it sets me up to feel good all day. I don't think that I will be doing anymore full marathons; half-marathons are definitely in my future plans.”

Dr. Jill Biden
65, Second Lady of the United States and college professor (September 2010)
“Of course I’m still running! Regardless of what’s happening in my life—whether I’m teaching a full day at school or traveling across the country or around the world on behalf of the administration—I make time to get outside and run. It’s such an important part of my life. It keeps me healthy and balanced. And I hope others find what works for them, what they're passionate about and gives them confidence—just as running has worked for me.”

Pam Oliver
55, Fox NFL sideline reporter (March 2011)
“I am unfortunately running less and less. I’ve had knee and hip and back problems that are related to old injuries, and it’s all sort of come to a head. I run as much as my body will allow, even if it’s a run-walk type of thing. It still feels good.”

Susan Orlean
60, Author and New Yorker staff writer (December 2011)
“I took a hiatus for a few years during which I walked, biked, zumba-ed, yoga-ed, played squash, and sometimes just sat still. And then it dawned on me that I really missed running. Nothing else I was doing made me feel as fast and strong and challenged and happy. So I found my old watch, bought new shoes, got a treadmill so I could run even when the weather didn't want me to, got new headphones so I could blast something lively to keep me going, ordered a new running log (because I love keeping track of my runs), and got started again, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.”

Kit Hoover
46, Access Hollywood host (January 2012)
“Once a runner, always a runner. It's my therapy and I'm addicted to the way I feel after a great run."

Ziggy Marley
47, Grammy-winning reggae musician (September 2012)
“I’m still running because it makes me feel good. I run in nature, and it’s a mind/body/spirit thing going on. It’s something that is mandatory for me. When I was working on my new record [“Ziggy Marley” released May 2016] I was running all the time for inspiration and to clear my head and get out of the studio. I’ll sing some of the stuff I’m working on. Like, with the song “Amen,” I remember running and singing and seeing the creation, seeing mother nature. The song is bigger than a song when I’m running. It opens up the universe.”    

Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger
65, hero pilot (October 2012)
”Absolutely, I’m still running—in fact, I’ve managed to do a better job of scheduling my workouts more in the last year than in the last few before that. It’s a priority for me. I’ve picked this one series of hills near where I live in Northern California that are very challenging, very steep. My overall health is better for it; I sleep better, my balance is better. I’m trying not to stop the clock but keep the hands from moving forward quite as fast.”

Nicholas Kristof
57, Running Shoes - Gear columnist (January 2013)
“As long as I'm alive and staggering forward, I'll be running—not just for my health, not just to keep off the pounds, not just to keep limber, but also simply for the glory of striding along and working up a sweat and gliding by a creek and through a forest on my regular running loop. When I'm running, I'm sometimes tired and aching, but I'm also smiling, and my machinery hums in a way that it never does in the gym. So am I still running? Until you read my obituary, absolutely!”

Laila Ali
38, TV host and former world champion boxer (March 2014)
“I take breaks from running in order to mix up my workout routine, but I always come back to it. I like getting out on the road, breathing fresh air and thinking. I don't have to worry about my form or keeping track of repetitions, et cetera. Running also gives me results quick when I want to lean out or raise my fitness level.”

Sakyong Mipham
53, Shambhala Buddhist community leader (August 2014)
“I still run every day. Running, especially when combined with meditative discipline, is very helpful for body and mind. Even after what seems like a lifetime, there are still new trails to discover and new ways to strengthen our sense of well-being and confidence. The world needs us at our best, and running will help us get there.”