by Rachel Tallant
“Nothing clicked til’ running,” Noel says. “It’s very simple: you put your shoes on and get to work.”
Just before her 80th birthday, HAC Member Noel Mary Relyea completed a grueling trail marathon with over 3,000 feet of elevation gain. Less than a month later, she ran the Rehoboth Seashore Marathon, marking two marathon finishes in a single month. Though Noel’s idea of “getting to work” may be more grueling than most, for her, fitness isn’t about proving anything; it’s about being outside, sharing the trail with friends, and trusting that even at her worst moments, she can recover and keep going.
Noel began running during her post doc at Sloan-Kettering while living in New York over 40 years ago. Shortly after the beginning of her running career, she moved to Delaware, where she met Jim Fischer, a former UD track coach, and started running with his track group. Within this group, she made many friends and ran with them often. Later, she moved to California to work for a startup, where running became the release she needed from work.
Early on, Noel was very purposeful in her running. She would not run with people slower or faster than her; instead, she would push on at her own pace. “I’m going to do what I can do. And the hell with everybody else,” she remembers thinking. “But now, (running) has got me a little more patient.” Although most marathon runners like to focus on their numbers, Noel prefers to slow down, look at stuff on the trail, and appreciate the present moment. At her age, she’s just happy to be out there doing it!
A lot of times with running, there are moments where you feel like you just can’t go any further. You hit a wall. While running the Lake Chabot Trail Run in Oakland, California last fall, Noel says sections of the trail saw 1,000ft of elevation gain with no breaks in incline. She also says it was difficult to train in Delaware because of how flat it is around here. It wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine; throughout the trail run, Noel experienced moments of feeling “so incredibly bad”, but patience, persistence, and grit allowed her to recover, push through, and finish the race.
Noel had planned to run a marathon on or immediately after her 80th birthday, but when the timing didn’t align, she decided to sign up for the Rehoboth Seashore Marathon just a few weeks later. Having also raced on her 70th birthday, these milestones had become a meaningful way to mark time by celebrating still being able to move.
Outside of running, Noel says, “I won’t do exercise on my own, except outdoors. I’ll go out and run or hike anytime. But inside, I’m not very diligent.” Through working with HAC Personal Trainer Mike Barlettano, Noel has found a balance between training indoors and spending time outside. Working with Mike gives her the variety she needs to stay engaged while helping her maintain the endurance that allows her to stay active with her grandchildren – from ski weeks in Utah to beach weeks here in Delaware.
When asked what’s next, Noel’s answer was unexpected: getting in the water. As she gets older, she knows her joints won’t always be able to handle running and hiking, but swimming still feels intimidating. Though she grew up in lake country, the pull of the ocean tide has always frightened her. “I’m trying to get to where I can be more relaxed in the water,” she says. With the help of swim instructor Jack Siebold, Noel is facing that fear head-on by doing what she does best: continuing to move forward, even when it’s uncomfortable.
