72-year-old runner plans her 28th marathon on Saturday

Running has taken Margie Stauffer to amazing places - past a mountain lion at 2 a.m., up the side of Mount Fuji for sunrise, trotting by gospel singers in Harlem, and over Heartbreak Hill in the Boston Marathon.

It even brought her to Colorado. After running the Pikes Peak Marathon, she and her husband decided to settle in Woodland Park nearly 20 years ago.

But the most amazing place running has taken her is into a seventh decade with a fit body and a youthful spirit.

"I don't consider myself an older runner," Stauffer said. "I call myself a vintage runner."

She's celebrating the 25th anniversary of her first marathon by running the Country Music Marathon in Nashville on Saturday. It will be her 28th marathon, to go along with three 50-mile ultras.

At 72 she hasn't slowed down yet. Well, that's not quite true. She doesn't run 3:34 marathons anymore, but she's still going the distance.

"I want to run well," she said. "But my goal now is to enjoy the journey of getting to the starting line, and embracing the whole 26 miles, and crossing the finish line healthy and happy."

She has a grandma's friendly smile and warm eyes, but behind them is a steely determination that propels her forward. At an age when many people are resigned to sitting on the couch and watching "Jeopardy!" she is lacing up her Asics and hitting the trails about 45 miles a week.

"A lot of people, when they reach an older age, feel like they should start tapering," said Mike Marty, 50, who teaches at Sierra High School and coaches the cross-country team. "But that's self-fulfilling. They're setting themselves up for inactivity and health problems just by thinking since they're old they can't do things."

Marty is one of Stauffer's many running buddies. She didn't even start running until she was nearly his age.

Stauffer took her first strides when she was 47. The next year, she became a grandmother and decided to run her first marathon. Now, she has 18 grandchildren and (almost) three great-grandchildren.

But she's unusual. Fewer than .5 percent of marathon finishers in 2007 were older than 70, according to MarathonGuide.com, and fewer than .07 percent were females over 70. The average time of those female finishers was about 6:42, an hour slower than the times Stauffer has posted in recent years.

Dr. Frederick Workman, a sports medicine specialist with Colorado Springs Health Partners, thinks we're running away from some of our assumptions about aging.

"Many years ago we underestimated older athletes, but hopefully that thought is becoming less prevalent," he said. "We assumed as we advance in years it was time to slow down. But athletic pursuits give you goals, it gives you focus."

Although he encourages people of all ages to check in with a doctor before starting or changing an exercise routine, he doesn't think age should be a deterrent.

"I would much rather take care of a 75-year-old athlete than a 55-year-old sedentary person," Workman said. "They have fewer problems."

Marty said as he trains for his next marathon he thinks often of Stauffer.

"When you train for a marathon you've got to run a lot of miles," Marty said, "and on those days that maybe you're feeling a little tired, a little sore, I do get inspiration knowing that a woman like Margie is still doing it."

Keep running
The Boston Marathon on April 20 featured 128 runners age 70 and older, including an 82-year-old. And of the 38 entrants from Colorado Springs, nine of them were older than 50, according to bostonmarathon.org.