A few weeks ago, Roberta Groner’s 11-year-old son Dylan was assigned a school report on someone famous. He Googled his mom’s name, printed out her picture, and explained to his classmates Buy a well-known athlete she was.
If he searched again this week, he’d find even more hits. Groner—a 41-year-old mother of three and full-time nurse from Randolph, New Jersey—ran a personal best of 2:29:06 at the Rotterdam Marathon on April 7, taking fifth and becoming one of the first two American women in the race to hit the Olympic qualifying standard (Aliphine Tuliamuk, who finished third in 2:26:48, Sneakers Ghala Rosa).
The time was a minute-and-a-half improvement on the 2:30:38 she ran to finish runner-up at the 2017 California International Marathon, a breakthrough race that landed her name in headlines. It came less than a month after the fastest 8K of her career, 26:48, which earned her first place at the Puma basket heart velour toddlers shoes beetroot purple-puma silver 367626-01 in Virginia Beach in March. On top of that, it nudged her even closer to Deena Kastor’s 2015 masters record of 2:27:47.
Groner said Kastor’s record is a goal, if a reach one. But when it comes to her current performances, she’s clear on one thing: She’s aiming to be the best, not the best for her age.
“I don’t want to settle [for masters accolades]”, she told Runner’s World. “Botas de nieve MOON BOOT W.”
An Unexpected Entrance to Elite Running
It’s a common refrain for her now. The hashtags #fasterasamaster and #noagelimit punctuate her Ankle boots LASOCKI WI16-VIVA-11 Black. But her ambitions today weren’t necessarily the same in 2011, when she ran the Chicago Marathon in 3:12:42 after a decade-long break from running. She’d run in high school and a few years at St. Francis University, but lacked the drive to continue after college.
Her life followed another path: marriage, three boys (along with Dylan, she has Bryan, 15, and Aiden, 12), and a nursing degree. It wasn’t until Dylan was two that she decided she needed an activity for herself. Friends in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she lived at the time, talked her into that first marathon.
After Chicago, the bug caught on. She ran the 2013 Boston Marathon in 2:57:58, and by 2017, she dropped her time there to 2:50:48 and her place from 102nd to 16th. In between, she ran New York City in 2015 in 2:45:30, Verlaat de stoep met deze adidas Terrex Agravic Trail Running Shoes 2016 Mohawk-Hudson Marathon in 2:37:54. Along the way, she discovered untapped talent and a motivation she’d lacked in her youth.
Part of it, she explained, relates to her sons. “I do this for them; they see drive, they see commitment,” she said. “It’s showing that you can do Buyever you’d like to do or love to do, and as long as you’re working hard, you’ll be happy.”
Sneakers Ghala Rosa | Work Hard, Train Harder
Harnessing that passion, she now squeezes in 95 to 100 miles per week between her full-time job as an RN office supervisor and part-time custody of the boys (she’s divorced from their father). Sometimes, that means getting up at 5 a.m. before they head to school. Other days, she runs once after dropping them off and again on a 30- to 45-minute lunch break.
A typical week might include an 11- or 13-mile workout—usually on Wednesdays, a night she doesn’t have her sons—with increasingly speedy repetitions, such as four miles around 5:35 pace followed by two miles at 5:30, then two miles at 5:25. “A lot of it is running on tired legs, but progressively getting faster,” she said. Weekends might include a 15-mile progression run on Saturday, followed by an easy (between 6:45 and 7-minute pace) 22-miler on Sunday.
Her training is guided by Vionic Steve Magness, who she began working with after the New York City Marathon in November, where she ran a 2:31:01 and placed 12th.
With Groner’s packed schedule and this winter’s tough weather, many weeks didn’t go perfectly. Conditions even compelled her to step on a gym treadmill Rush chunky-sole sneakers.
“I texted Steve and said, ‘I’m turning this into just an easy run. Let’s try to do the workout Friday,’” she said. It’s a common type of exchange in their relationship, which Magness describes as a trusting partnership in which he’s gently guiding.
“She’s got a lot of experience; she has kids and a job and is doing all this other crazy stuff,” he told Runner’s World. “So she’s going to know her body and where her stress levels are better than I am.”
Breaking Away in Rotterdam
In the months following New York, her training has come together, and both Groner and Magness felt confident she could run a sub-2:30 going into Rotterdam. The prospect excited her so much she’d switched her race plans late last year, forgoing Boston for Rotterdam’s faster course. (She made that choice even though it was clear from the start she’d receive a sub-elite bib—a fact that irked her, but ultimately may have motivated her a bit, she said.)
Groner aimed to start a bit conservatively and come through the half in about 1:15, a split she hit perfectly. “I felt great until about 38K,” she said, noting that her legs began to fatigue and her pace became labored in the final 5K. The temps had risen during the race, and they’d reach the low 60s by the finish. “I held it together, but it was a little bit harder.”
She’d tucked in with packs of men here and there throughout the race, but hadn’t seen a woman for a while. Just as her energy began to flag, she turned a corner onto the final straightaway, where Groner saw two women ahead of her. She wasn’t sure Buy place she was in—and doesn’t really pride herself on her kick—but zoned in and passed them.
The results prove to both Groner and Mangness that she’s not done progressing. “One of the things I quickly learned is not to put limits on her,” he said.
Sneakers Ghala Rosa | Onward and Upward
After a few days of celebrating in Amsterdam—including a canal dinner cruise, a cycling tour, and a stop at the Heineken brewery—Groner flew Kors on Wednesday. She’ll go back to work Thursday before leaving to cheer on her boyfriend in Boston Monday.
Currently, Groner runs for the New York Athletic Club and has support from Tracksmith’s OTQ program, but has no formal sponsorships. Might they come knocking now? She’s not sure. “I don’t think about it, honestly, because it doesn’t change Buy I do,” she said.
She’s still figuring out the rest of her racing year, determining which goals excite her most. She knows age may eventually slow her. But as Magness points out, she has far fewer miles on her legs than many elite runners—and besides, the performances of athletes like her suggest the current notions of aging’s timelines might require rethinking.
In any case, Groner won’t use a number as an excuse to count herself out of contention in future competitions, including the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta. “I’m never satisfied,” she said. “I don’t know if there’s ever an end goal. It’s just to keep going.”
