At 90, He Raced His First Marathon. These Training Habits Helped Him Reach the Finish Line.

Surrounded by a huge pace team dressed in neon T-shirts, 90-year-old Bill Schwarz is fighting through the last mile of his first marathon. After hours of running and receiving encouragement from dozens of supporters, he is about to break the long-awaited custom-made finish line tape of the 2026 San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. With cowbells blaring along California’s sun-soaked beach, he completes the distance in just over nine hours to the cheers of friends, coaches, and family members congratulating him on an incredible run.“I was just … tickled to death that it was over,” he says. “It was such a struggle, but I was just amazed that I actually had pulled that off.”Bill, who only returned to running two years earlier, is far from your average nonagenarian. He started running in high school and continued using the sport as a meditative practice at different points in his life. After his wife Janice died about two years ago, Bill’s daughter, Sandy, suggested running as a way to cope with the loss. “That helped me pull out of that situation,” Bill says.On a 2-mile loop near his home in Mesa, Arizona, the retired engineer used the run/walk method developed by Olympian Jeff Galloway. “I got one of his timers where you’d run for 10 seconds and rest for 30, and I just worked my way up from that,” he says.Drawing from a decades-long running base, it took Bill a year to run continuously again. From there, he started racing 5Ks and eventually completed five half marathons in one season. Last year, he hiked a 60-mile stretch of the ancient pilgrimage, Camino de Santiago, in six days. After successfully navigating the steep mountain passes and rolling hills in Spain and Portugal, Bill decided to train for a marathon. “I realized I had to be in pretty good shape to be able to have done that, and so I developed a gratitude for my health, my body, and my relationships,” Bill says. “I enjoy the fact that I’m capable of doing this—and if I don’t, I’m going to lose it.”Gratitude is a big motivator in Bill’s life. “Anytime I’m feeling down, I just think of the things that I have to be grateful for,” he says. “Part of that came from the loss of my wife. We were together for 30 years … I was given a gift, and what I’m doing is appreciating the gift I was given.” Bill found love again. About a year and a half ago, he was checking his mailbox when his neighbor, Tammy Cereoni, was checking hers. He introduced himself and asked her out on a date. They fell in love and got married in January.To prepare for the marathon, Bill started working with a running coach. His buildup to San Diego included four days of running each week—four miles on Mondays, six on Wednesdays, four on Fridays, and a long run over the weekend, usually about 10 to 16 miles.At Tammy’s encouragement, Bill started incorporating strength training into his routine. For the last year, he’s worked with the strength and mobility trainers at EōS Fitness in Mesa. In addition to running, he does eight hours of strength training, Pilates, and assisted stretching each week. He credits his trainers with helping him build his upper- and lower-body strength to the point where he can now hold an 8-minute plank.When mobility trainer Christine Hopkins met Bill, she was astounded by the goals he set. At the time, she was also training for her marathon debut and was thrilled to support her oldest client chasing the same goal. “I knew that if anybody had the stamina, the guts to finish a marathon, it would be him,” she says.One of the major things they worked on was increasing flexibility in his hamstrings, quads, and hip flexors to prevent him from bending over when he becomes fatigued on runs, which causes him back pain. “We wanted to make sure that all of those muscles were as loose as we could possibly get them, so that he was able to run more upright,” Hopkins says.Christine surprised Bill as one of many supporters in San Diego. He started the race with Sandy and a friend pacing him. At mile 17, 11 of his daughter’s training partners from West Coast Road Runners joined him on the course. He used his heart rate as a pace guide, remaining in zone 2 to avoid overextending himself for the entire distance.At different points, Bill battled through doubt about his ability to finish, but he focused on his primary objective: to complete the distance. Time didn’t matter. “I thought that I would have the endurance and determination to just keep going until the race was finished, and I did that,” Bill says.Throughout the race, Bill received several compliments from spectators who admired his effort. “People would come up and say, ‘I want to be like you when I’m old.’ Well, you can be; just keep running,” he says.Bill was able to keep pushing thanks to the pacers who encouraged him in the final stretch, he says. He didn’t officially finish within the race’s time limit, but he still covered the full 26.2 miles and was welcomed at a special finish line set by race organizers.Following San Diego, Bill is already looking ahead to his next big goal: running the Boston Marathon. Racing one of the world’s most prestigious marathons is something he has wanted to do since he started running in high school. “Boston has always been the ultimate goal,” he says.With unwavering determination, Bill is confident in his ability to run long distances for years to come—and he’s not slowing down anytime soon. “If I continue doing my strength training and my running, 100 should be a piece of cake,” he says.For the past decade, Taylor has reported on sports, health, and wellness for leading fitness publications including Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, and Outside. She’s also a podcast host and film producer focused on amplifying the stories of women and other underrepresented communities in endurance sports. When she’s not writing, you can usually find her running—or eating breakfast tacos with her family in Austin, Texas.