87-Year-Old Runner Aims for 1:21:34 in Sunday 10K

Sandra Folzer, 87, will attempt to set an American record at the Cooper Norcross Run the Bridge on Sunday, November 1.

The Chestnut Hill resident is targeting a time of 1:21:34 for the women's 85 to 89 age group in a road 10K. That mark was set by Ginette Bedard in 2018. The event is a sold-out race that begins at 8:30 a.m. over the Ben Franklin Bridge between Camden and Philadelphia before continuing through Camden. The race benefits The Larc Norcross School in Bellmawr, which serves students and adults with severe and profound disabilities.

Folzer believes the course favors her chances. She finished the same race in roughly 68 minutes last year and 67 minutes the year before. Both times are well below the record she intends to break. Her confidence stems from a long history of distance running that began with the 1976 Philadelphia Marathon. She has also completed the JFK 50 Mile in Maryland, a race she finished in nine hours and one minute.

Her current training routine involves about 20 miles spread across three days each week. Tuesdays are reserved for interval training in Doylestown with a group where her daughter lives. On Thursdays, she runs with a rabbi friend or other companions on Forbidden Drive. Saturdays see her running with the Shawmont group in the Wissahickon. She notes that some of her running partners have been active for 35 years or more.

Folzer maintains her physical condition with weekly tennis, yoga, and knee exercises. Her partner, John Dulik, accompanies her to races in northeastern Pennsylvania and New York. The two met while teaching at the Community College of Philadelphia, where she taught mental health and social services classes and he taught music. They also share interests in local theater and Philadelphia Orchestra concerts.

Folzer has run for decades, including a mid-1990s Race for the Cure after her breast cancer diagnosis. She recalled running while bald from chemotherapy, surrounded by friends wearing T-shirts her daughter had made. She described the moment as quite emotional and really nice. For those who feel too old to start, she encourages trying running if their health permits. As for her own future, she has no plans to stop. If she cannot run, she will walk. If she cannot walk, she will crawl.

She has already broken a world record for her age group in the Rothman Orthopaedics 8K two years ago. She completed that race in 50 minutes and 36 seconds. She called her daughter from a borrowed phone to share the news because her daughter was not present to witness the finish.