Hearing Your Stories: Carlos Sanchez

'To me, a marathon seemed humanly impossible... that changed at age 50'

Morning, friends! ☀️

I can’t tell you how happy and excited I am to share this story with you today. In fact, I had the feeling Carlos might be someone I’d want to feature here from the moment he became a paid subscriber to THM just a few weeks ago.

From the start, he was excited to share his experiences and thoughts, and I saw from each post the passion he had for running — a sport, by the way, he didn’t take up until well into middle age, when he was 50 years old.

I love that because today, especially, it’s so easy to think of running as largely a young person’s activity — on social media, on the covers of magazines, and elsewhere, that’s who we tend to see. But Carlos shows that age isn’t a barrier at all, as he’s still running strong now at age 67.

His story is so much fun to read, I won’t dilly-dally anymore other than to say, I think you’ll find his relationship with his grandchildren as endearing as I did, and stay tuned because an interview with his granddaughter Mia, who’s every bit as accomplished and enthusiastic a runner as he is, will follow soon. Enjoy. — Terrell

So, let’s hear a little bit about you! Who are you, your age (if you’d like to share), where you’re from, what you do, etc.

I’m Carlos Sanchez, age 67, and I live in Round Rock, Texas. I’ve been retired for a year now, trading my keyboard and slacks for shorts and the marathon running circuit.

My tech career began in 1980 as a computer programmer on big IBM computers, long before PCs were a household staple. The computing landscape has completely changed since then, but I adapted as programming languages changed.

In the latter half of my career, I transitioned into systems administration. Back then, my job was keeping the computers running — now, I focus on keeping myself running.

Carlos running alongside his granddaughter Mia. (Courtesy Carlos Sanchez)

What does your running routine look like? How many times a week, and how far do you run?

I run six days a week, averaging 40 to 50 miles. Twice a week, I meet my teammates for speed work and quality miles, wrapping up the weekend with a 15-to-20-mile long run.

At age 67 in 2025, I ran a total of 1,808 miles, three marathons, and two half marathons — earning two new PRs and qualifying for Boston twice.

My first marathon time at age 50 in Chicago 2008 was 3:59:48 and my latest marathon in Boston 2026 was 3:54:53, another BQ for Boston 2027. My fastest marathon of 3:50:19 was in July 2025 in the Juneau Marathon. At the other end, my slowest marathon time was 4:42:31 during the 2015 South Padre Island Marathon.

My running routine has looked a little different these past few weeks. I am currently working through my very first running-related injury. An abdominal muscle pain surfaced in February, I ignored it through June; there was absolutely no way I was going to let anything disrupt my plans to share the Boston Marathon starting line with my granddaughter.

Now that the issue is nearly resolved, I am eager to get back to my normal routine and begin training for the 2026 Chicago Marathon. Through the 17 years I’ve been running, I have been very fortunate to not have any running-related injuries until now.

There was, however, a cycling injury in 2023 that kept me from running for about 18 months. I am not a cyclist at all, but did participate in the annual MS150 charity bike ride eight times. This is a 150-mile bicycle ride to raise funds to help folks living with multiple sclerosis.

With 15 miles to go, I was going 18 miles-per-hour on the bicycle and crashed into a pedestrian. Not knowing what happened, I woke up in the ambulance arguing with the medics that I needed to go finish the ride. They said, “No.”

My wife has imposed a life-time ban on cycling for me. As soon as I healed up, I resumed running.

Carlos and Mia, gearing up for another race.

Were you an athletic kid growing up? What are your early memories of what fitness and health were about?

When I was 14, watching Mark Spitz dominate the 1972 Olympics convinced me I could swim. My theory collapsed the moment I jumped into the deep end of a pool and immediately sank. A friend had to dive in, pull me out, and spend the rest of the day teaching me the basics of swimming.

For most of my life, sports were just casual outdoor fun. My running routine was limited to showing up for the Austin’s annual Capitol 10K with zero training or chasing around the cross country race course to see my children run.

To me, a marathon seemed humanly impossible. That changed at age 50 when I finally took up running seriously. Now, 17 years and 38 marathons later, I am proof that anyone can redefine what is possible.

How did you first get into running? Was there something that inspired you — like a performance at the Olympics, for example, or a runner you discovered by watching them on social media or TV? Or was there someone in your own life who inspired you to think, ‘maybe I can do this?’

Watching my son and daughter compete in high school track and cross country, I always deeply admired their talent and dedication. My daughter, Alexis, continued running in college, often mentioning her dream of running a marathon after graduation.

The idea felt completely wild to me, something only superhumans do, but I thought it sounded like an incredible challenge we could try. In early 2008, once her college days wrapped up, I threw out an unexpected offer: if she wanted to run a marathon, I would join her.

We started training and lined up for the 2008 Chicago Marathon. At our pasta dinner the night before the race, I casually mentioned that I’d probably lose time stopping to retie my shoes, which constantly came undone during training.

Right there at the table, she taught me the proper runner’s knot. We finished the race, and in all the miles I’ve run since, my laces have never come undone again. Alexis and I have run three marathons together.

Seventeen years later, in February 2025, I was preparing for the April Mountains 2 Beach Marathon in California. I texted my granddaughter, Mia, asking if she wanted to run her first marathon and possibly qualify for Boston. She had about ten weeks to prepare while attending school at Harvard in Boston.

Running there in the winter is a little tough, but she put in the necessary miles and was ready to run her first marathon. She was a decorated high school and collegiate runner, so she knew how to prepare even in harsh conditions.

Lining up with her at the start line of her first marathon was such a beautiful, proud moment that is seared in my mind. It reminded me clearly of that morning in Chicago when I ran my first marathon with my daughter.

I had a few tears of joy in 2008 and now again in 2025 standing at the start line with Mia. We both finished with Boston qualifying (BQ) times in California. We then went on to make Boston Marathon history and crossed the finish line on Boylston Street in April 2026.

My children and grandchildren inspire me to run. To paraphrase Sir Isaac Newton: if I have gone further, it is by running on the shoulders of these giants.

Carlos at the finish line of the Athens Authentic Marathon in Athens, Greece.

How has your interest in running evolved since then? Do you run farther, or faster now?

From 2008 through the start of COVID in 2020, my training was unstructured, consisting of roughly 15 to 25 miles over three days a week with friends. Despite the lack of a formal plan, I completed approximately 30 marathons, generally finishing around the four-hour mark. I didn’t really know how to run.

My running underwent a major transformation in 2022 when my marathon times dropped to Boston Marathon qualifying levels. The change happened after I started training with a running coach who transformed my approach to training.

My routine shifted to a 40-to-50-mile week over six days, including weekly speed sessions with long runs that included speed work. Surprisingly, at age 67, I am faster now than when I began my running career 17 years ago.

Running remains a great adventure. Whether it is waking up at 4:44 a.m. for an early morning long run with friends or stepping up to the starting line of a marathon, I still find joy in every single mile.

What do you balance your running with? Do you have a family to take care of? Kids, parents or other relatives or loved ones? If so, how do you balance all of it and still make time to run/care for yourself?

With my children now grown and raising families of their own, staying closely connected with my kids, grandkids, family, and lifelong friends is my highest priority.

I am incredibly fortunate to have a wife who is very supportive of my running goals. To ensure my training never interferes with family time or normal life, I set my alarm to 4:44 a.m. and get most of my workouts done first thing in the morning.

Is there anything you’re especially proud of that you can point to your running and say, ‘this helped me achieve ______’?

I feel immense pride — and even a bit responsible — that my six grandchildren love running and excel at it. We all talk about running often and their achievements. While the two youngest are still small, they already show an eager interest in the sport.

My oldest granddaughter, Mia, ran competitively for four years in college, qualified for the Boston Marathon on her very first try, and completed it with me in 2026 to make Boston history. Her three siblings are already setting school records of their own and want to run a marathon with me once they finish college.

Knowing I have a few years before they graduate, I have to stay in shape and be ready for when they finish school and we can find a marathon and get to the start line together.

What have you learned about yourself from your running journey? Is there anything that’s changed about you since you started?

I run year-round, even through the tough Texas summers when morning lows can hover at around 82 degrees. Whether I am putting in miles with friends or going out for a solo run, I find equal joy in the movement.

Over the past 17 years, I’ve discovered that the running community is incredibly welcoming. In fact, I met one of my closest friends when I first started, and we still log miles together today — a friendship that never would have existed without this sport.

Running has a unique way of breaking down barriers, making it easy to meet people and learn about their lives. It has taught me to be a better listener and to appreciate the beauty of shared silence. After all, when you’re running hard, breathing takes priority over talking. Quiet is okay, quiet is peace.

There are amazing people all around us, and a shared passion like running gives us the perfect opportunity to pause, share our stories, and truly connect.

Where would you like to go with your running? Is there anything special you’d like to achieve — like, say, running all six World Marathon Majors, or running an ultra?

With 38 marathons completed — including three majors, a Boston qualification, and a wild stretch where I inadvertently ran four marathons in 100 days — my running days are far from finished.

Racing through Chicago, New York, Boston, Wisconsin, South Padre Island, Austin, Greece, Cuba, and many other cities has been an incredible adventure, but my biggest wish is simply to keep moving forward alongside my friends and grandchildren.

I love catching glimpses of them out on the trails, working hard with their high school cross country and track teams. Eventually, I plan to share a full 26.2-mile starting line with each of them.

More than anything, I want my miles to serve as proof for them that with the right mindset and dedication, even the hardest things in life can become second nature.

What keeps you going? Especially if you’ve been running for a while — do you ever get bored with it? How do you find new things to motivate you, to keep you going?

For me, every run is an adventure, whether I am exploring a new route or winding through a path I’ve traveled hundreds of times. There is something fascinating about marveling at a beautiful, dark morning sky or watching the trails slowly come to life with other people.

I always make it a point to greet the people I pass by. I never wear headphones; I find tuning into the sounds of nature and my own body far more rewarding than any music or podcast.

Of course, my solo runs look very different from my group runs. When I’m out with friends, our miles are filled with endless laughter, lighthearted teasing, updates about our families, and conversations about whatever is happening in our lives. There is truly never a dull moment as I run.

Look back at yourself when you were a kid, maybe say 10 years old. Remember how you felt, what you thought, especially what you thought you were capable of back then. If you could talk to that kid now, what would you say?

If I could speak to my younger self, I’d tell him this:

Right now, as you climb trees or sit at home in the southernmost tip of Texas, watching Mark Spitz make swimming look effortless during the 1968 Olympics, keep dreaming big.

You too will do incredible things in your life and career. Sure, you are about to run wild and barefoot to the local pool — dodging thorns along the way only to sink the moment you hit the deep end — but don’t worry. You will be pulled out by loving friends and family. Remember that moment, and always give back just as they did.

You might not notice opportunities when they first arrive, but every event is shaping an incredible future for you. Never look back wanting to change your past — alter one detail, and you change the destination.

Brace yourself, because you will witness staggering, unimaginable shifts. Computers in every home, the internet, a global pandemic, self-driving cars... the future is wild.

You’ll see TLAs (Three-Letter Acronyms) for everything, Disco will eventually die out, luckily rock and roll will rock on, the Beatles will split up, and country and western will morph into just country. Through it all, live big and enjoy every single moment.

The best part is you’ll have a fantastic family too. A loving wife, two beautiful children, and six amazing grandchildren.

Mia, Carlos, and wife Elizabeth at the 2026 Boston 5K Start

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