When she took up running at 50 years of age, Rosemary Brown didn’t think she’d still be competing in 5ks
and half-marathons thirty years later.
But the 83-year-old continues to surprise her family, friends and neighbors, preparing for races by
running about five miles every other day, rain or shine.
"It keeps me fit, it’s good exercise and it used to be very helpful with stress," Brown said.
"I don’t have as much anymore now that I’m retired."
Brown worked as a secretary at the Crisis Center for The Link, which has since been taken over by
Behavioral Connections.
Born and raised in Thames Ditton, a village along the River Thames in Surrey, England, Brown moved to
Bowling Green after marrying her first husband, Charles Schultz, who was from Fremont, and worked in
computer services at Bowling Green State University.
She started running after attending a race her daughter, Annemarie Graham, was competing in as a student
at Bowling Green High School.
There, Brown talked to a 50-year-old woman who had just taken up running and was motivated to follow in
her footsteps.
"I thought it was neat. I had never thought about it before," she said.
Since then, Brown has become a figure of fitness, prompting son Mark Schultz, Graham and her daughter,
Alison Graham, 14, and countless community members to pick up the pace.
"She’s an inspiration to me," Schultz said. "I thought if she can do it, I should be doing
it, too."
But Brown doesn’t think of herself as an inspiration, chalking her 34-minute time in her last 5k race to
good fortune and health.
"When people call me an inspiration, it’s nice when it happens. But I don’t think it’s remarkable at
all," she said. "I think a lot of it is luck. A lot of people I know had to drop out of
running because of knee problems. I’ve been lucky enough not to have to do that."
Brown has competed against her children and granddaughter in several local races, such as the Sexual
Assault Awareness Month 5K and Dog Walk on BGSU’s campus and the Couch Potato 5k in Bowling Green.
But her mother cares more about the act of running the course than her time completing it, Graham said.

"She tends to beat me. She’s very consistent. I like to keep her ahead of me and know she’s doing
well," she said.
Alison Graham shares her family’s love of running, participating in cross-country at Otsego High School
as well as 5ks in the summer.
While her grandmother may be well known as a runner in Bowling Green, Alison Graham says she’s a
"great person," too.
"She has a great personality. She’s nice, caring and non-judgmental," she said. "I look up
to her."
Brown will next compete in the Erie Shores Council of the Boy Scouts of America Sixth Annual Boy Scout
Half Marathon in Bowling Green at the end of August.
She prepares by pacing herself and taking a day to rest in between running.
"It gives your body a chance to recuperate," she said. "I also learned about Tai Chi soft
running, where you don’t use your heal but land on the ball of your foot. It’s supposed to be better for
your joints."
Taking care of herself and staying healthy is important to Brown, who took a tumble during a half
marathon last year.
But she was more worried about holding up her competitors than her road rash, she said.
"It was the most embarrassing thing. I thought I’d never run again," Brown said.
"But I got over it."
Graham credits her mother’s persevering spirit as the secret to her success.
"Not everyone is going to be in her shape at 83 but she’s put in the efforts to get there. It’s
possible to do this in your advanced years," Graham said. "When I don’t feel like running, I
think of mom and what she would do – she would run."