Her idea of fun is . . . Running the Marathon

A 78-year-old woman from Fresh Meadows will step to the starting line in Staten Island at 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning for one purpose - to compete in the New York City Marathon, the highlight of the racing calendar in New York City for the year.
The first of several waves in the crowded field of men and women goes off at 9:40, but this Achilles group, to which Rosalie Ames belongs, gets going much earlier. The course is the same for all entrants.
All eyes will be on Ames, who will use a hand cycle for her journey. She is the oldest female runner from Queens and will be competing in her 25th New York City Marathon.
She doesn’t have a specific goal; she just wants to have a good time and complete the course with three volunteers - Julie Lerner, Amy Astrowsky, and Ann Vick.
A member of the Achilles Track Club since 1986, Ames has three disabilities, including arthritis beginning in 1978, and a hip replacement in 2005.
Her personal best time for the marathon is 5 hours 20 minutes using a hand cycle, which she has relied upon for the last four years.
“My strategy is to go out there and do the best that I can,” she said before exercising at the Meadow Spa, where she builds up her muscles three times a week in preparation for a race.
“I’ll take it easy for the first half. Once I come off the bridge (Queens Borough Bridge), I will be with the huge crowd along First Avenue in Manhattan. The race contains a lot of hills. It is hard on the hills but the crowd is so exciting that they carry me over when I think I will ‘die.’ Instead, they let people pull you through,” Ames said.
“The crowd, cheering and calling your name are the best part of the race. We wear our names on our t-shirts.”
To prepare for the race, Ames goes into Manhattan’s Central Park every weekend to do six miles. “I don’t train that much, do some 10ks, and stuff like that. To qualify for the marathon (just like any other runner) I have to run (a minimum of) nine races.”
That is a relatively new ruling, instituted a few years ago by the New York Road Runners Club, the organizers and directors of the New York City Marathon.
“This is a good idea, because so many people apply to run in such a race,” she continued. “The New York Road Runners Club needed to eliminate some of the entrants. I think the maximum they could have is 39,000. Since it will be heavy on the bridges, they would collapse. And that’s why they have staggered starts now.”
Ames practices by walking in Queens during the week. “Running lifts my spirits a lot especially if I have a bad day,” she said. “No matter what I do helps me emotionally and physically.”
Marathons are not her only distance. Over the years she competed in such races as the Alley Pond 5-miler, College Point Half Marathon and 5K, Hope and Possibility Achilles Run, and New York Mini Marathon of 10K.
Her best time for a half marathon is 2:11 coming in the Brooklyn Half. Her favorite distance is 10K in the Legs Mini Marathon with her best clocking 1:01.
Born and raised in Hollis, and now residing in Fresh Meadows, Rosalie attended Mary Louis Academy, Packer Institute of Brooklyn for two years, worked as a secretary for 30 years at Olin Corporation, a corporate chemical company where she was a member of the company’s running team, and retired in 1992.
Ames began running at the age of 47 in 1977 after surgery and has collected 22 trophies over the years. She has been working as an inspector for the Board of Election for the past 10 years and will be busy on Election Day.
“I started running to do something for myself and haven’t stopped,” she said before exercising at the Club, exclusively for females. “I like to run with a group, for it makes my time go fast. And during my life I did a lot of bicycle riding and swimming,” said Ames adding that she doesn’t have any goals for herself this year and is just running the marathon for exercise and enjoyment.
Now you can cheer the runners on from a new “Queens Cheering Section.” See Sports inside Kidz Section.