#119: George Greco on running ultra marathons in his 70’s

Listen to the full episode on
Spotify or Apple

George is certainly one of a kind, and today we are celebrating his 74th birthday! George has lived to the brim in those years and he’s not even close to being done yet. So far he’s put scaffolding up on the sides of ships, driven cab, been a Teamster, fought wild fires in the U.S. Forest Service and polished off the last 25 years of his career as a Software Engineer before signing on as a Sales Associate at the Carlsbad Running Center.

You’ll hear in the podcast the story of how one conversation with his 6 year old daughter changed the trajectory of his life completely. At 45 years old he traded in “smoking” for “running”, poor health for optimal health and the well being that comes with a positive lifestyle and all of those awesome friends and experiences along the way. George believes that EVERYTHING goes better with health. 

Since then, he’s run an amazing 623 races, and amassed an impressive 379 1st place, 123 2nd place, and 47 3rd place finishes in his Age Division. He ran a 6 min, 7 second mile at the State Street Mile, only 3 seconds off the all-time record for his age division. You can check his full bio in the show notes, it’s worth a read!

We talked all about his life, his mindset and perspective that allows him to be honestly one of the most vibrant, colorful, happy, and truly healthy people I’ve yet to meet. 

If you liked this podcast go check out #089 with Sharaz Dalal, or #65 with Rusty Osborne. 

George’s FULL Bio

73 spins around the Sun, I ain’t done and what a ride! So far I’ve put scaffolding up on the sides of ships, driven cab, been a Teamster, fought wild fires in the U.S. Forest Service and polished off the last 25 years of my career as a Software Engineer before signing on as a Sales Associate at the Carlsbad Running Center.

The most important thing I’ve learned along the way, is to enjoy the journey with all of its ups, downs and the occasional sideways thrown in for good measure. To accept what shows up in my life, because in some way, shape or form, I set it in motion and it’s here for a reason. Also, as much as I want to change everything "out there", my job is to change “in here” into the best version of myself. I wake up “most" morning’s feeling grateful for all of the wonderful things in my life, such as family, friends, work and a “wild ass” tribe of amazing runner’s that regularly "kick my ass" out on the roads and trails.

I was a Chemistry Major in the 60’s and combined that with Advanced Cigarette Yoga for 22 years, until my beautiful 6 y.o. daughter took my face in her tiny hands, turned it towards hers and with the most innocent and beautiful blue eyes, asked me if I would stop “smoking” (cigarettes) for her Birthday. So, at 45 I traded in “smoking” for “running”, poor health for optimal health and the well being that comes with a positive lifestyle and all of those awesome friends and experiences along way! That transformative moment, served to teach me that EVERYTHING goes better with health. So, towards that end, nutritious fuel via an informed vegetarian lifestyle for 27+ years, weights, balancing/strengthening/stretching yoga, dance and running in beautiful places with amazing people, is what works for me.

623 Races have brought me face to face with every terrain and weather condition imaginable. I’ve raced up 14,000+ foot mountains, up and around the rim of a Volcano, through deserts, over suspension bridges, across and through rivers, mud, sand, rain, hail, sleet, ice and snow, as well as a blizzard between 11,500 and 14,115 at the 2008 Pike’s Peak Ascent, to the tune of 379 1st's, 132 2nd’s and 47 3rd’s in in my Age Division.

I was out of the game for 2 years, until I learned how to manage a condition called “Morton’s Neuroma” in the 8th month of my 65th year (never, ever, give up)! I started with a 5k and slowly worked my way up to the ultra distance at 69. In the 8 years since coming back I’ve averaged 22 miles per week, raced 201 times and 34 of those have been from 50k to 100k, with 9 “Fat Ass” 50k’s to boot. In the age division category I’ve come in 1st 144 times, 2nd 35 times, 3rd 7 times and WTF 12 times, along with 3 DNF’s, that were awesome opportunities to fine tune what wasn't working.

From a time perspective, since turning 70, these were my 3 best races:

6:07 at State Street Mile (All time record for 70-79 y.o. is 6:04)

1:39:22 at Heavenly Half - 8:34, 8:49, 8:08, 8:31, 8:30, 7:47, 7:52, 6:37, 6:21, 6:15, 7:56, 6:49, 6:16 and .14 at 6:15 pace

Guess which half included a "butt plant" and was "snowy and icy---AF"?

1:33:28 at Big Bear Half - 6:51, 6:55, 6:56, 6:51, 6:50, 6:51, 6:53, 7:23, 7:11, 7:24, 7:23, 7:37, 7:39 and .11 at 8:29 pace (All time record for 70-79 y.o.’s for any Revel Half Marathon ever by 4 minutes)

With that said, the thing that really fires up my afterburners, is seeing all of the lives that have been transformed by the positive, encouraging and supportive environment we’ve chosen to create for each other, including mine - AMAZING! I often say to myself and friends, that the world could learn a lesson or two by observing the positive influence runners have on each other’s lives!

George