Karla Del Grande set the 70 and 100m records this summer at the World Masters Championship in Sweden. She has a few thoughts about longevity, racing and fun
“Fun speaks to longevity in the sport. If you’re not enjoying it, why keep doing it?”
The most lauded runner in Canada with the most world records very well may be Karla Del Grande, 71, who laughs easily, trains hard, and is an active, vocal booster of her community. The wisdom she offers is equal to the times that she runs—revelatory, as if the secret of life is right behind an unlocked door, just waiting for us all to walk through.
“You have to enjoy your running, because there’s work involved. Effort. Stuff that’s painful. You have to get up early and put your body through things so, OK, how do you get enjoyment from that?” she rhetorically asked. “There’s the age part of it. To say: I did that! You know, do hard things. And to do something you didn’t think you could do, to exert effort and become part of this wonderful community—it’s joyful. The whole process of doing it, competing. Phenomenal.”
Del Grande ran the 100m in 14.7 seconds, almost 16 miles-per-hour, and when discussing it, she laughs. “I like pushing myself, feeling that drive,” says the former 5K, 10K and half marathon runner who recently considered taking up indoor hurdles and pole vaulting as a fun challenge for when she turns 72. “Sprinting, just running to the next tree or trying to go just a little bit faster, there’s something special about that. I feel like a kid.”
Kids get it implicitly. Go to any park and watch them, or check a recess whenever you get bitten by the running blues. Children run and jump; they’re skipping, climbing, chasing: it’s exercise, but it’s called ‘play.’ When you reframe running as a gift—like Karla, a chance to show off your health and salute your good fortune—training becomes joyful, not tedious, and racing is a celebration, not something to keep you up in the middle of the night.
“The fun comes from all the different parts of it, the coolness of doing it with other women around the world the same age as me; the joy of the effort; the camaraderie, there’s so many places to find that joy,” says Del Grande, sharing her mantra—positivity in, negativity out. “I’m competitive when I get to the line, but when someone beats me, they’ve worked hard and put in their best effort. I respect and salute what they’re able to do.”
Rarely around the world does anybody beat Karla, and the Grande Dame of Racing shows zero signs of hanging up her spikes anytime soon. Why would she stop playing with friends?
“I eat popcorn, ice cream and chocolate, go for hikes, bike rides, and all the other stuff is still there,” says Del Grande, “but I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I stopped racing. I can’t imagine there’s anybody who’d want to stop having fun.”
Photograph by Alex Rotas at the 2024 World Masters Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.
