Roberta Groner's Astonishing Journey
Roberta (third from right) and teammates at the start of the 2026 Washington Heights Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K.
Roberta Groner, 48, is one of the most accomplished masters (age 40+) distance runners in the world, and a renowned coach. But her journey has been anything but conventional.
There and Back Again
Roberta started running in seventh grade and later competed in cross country and track for St. Francis University. After graduation, she stepped away from the sport completely.
“I loved competing with teammates and having friends, but at the time, I just didn’t see the face value of running,” she said. “It didn’t bring anything extra to me. Looking back, I liked the results, but I didn’t want to put in the work.”
Roberta pursued a career in nursing, got married, and had three children before turning 30. One day, a colleague suggested training for a half marathon.
“I was like, ‘Wow!’” she said. “I really had no expectations. It was just to get out the door and do something for me.” She started with easy half-hour runs, gradually built up, and ended up running 1:31 in the 2010 Pittsburgh Half Marathon.
Her training was loosely structured. “I didn’t have a grand plan,” she said. “I didn’t know what ‘coming back’ even looked like, because 5,000 [meters] was the longest I ever ran in college.”
From 5K to 26.2M
She joined local runners for workouts and long runs, and they encouraged her to try a marathon. She ran Chicago in 2011, finishing in 3:12 and qualifying for Boston, where she set her sights on sub–three hours in 2013. She finished in 2:57.
“I liked the challenge of the marathon at that point,” she said, though the demands of work and family limited her training time. A shift came when she moved to New Jersey in 2014.
“The running community out here is so much bigger and more competitive,” she said. “That really drove me to the next level in my racing.” In 2015, she ran her first TCS New York City Marathon and finished in 2:45, good for 19th place.
Faster as a Master
Roberta running the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon, where she finished 13th.
Roberta turned 40 in 2018 and just kept getting stronger, finishing 12th in 2:31:01 at the 2018 TCS New York City Marathon and becoming the Fred Lebow Runner of the Year. She ran 2:29:09 at the 2019 Rotterdam Marathon, her lifetime best.
That performance secured a spot with Team USA at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. She worked with coach and exercise physiologist Steve Magness to prepare for the intensely hot and humid conditions. On race day, she hydrated with four times her usual amount of fluids and finished as the top American and sixth overall—at age 41. Less than two months later, she was 13th at the TCS New York City Marathon in 2:30:12.
She joined the Central Park Track Club Tracksmith and in 2022 took on a role there as part-time coach. The position became full time in 2025 as she stepped away from her nursing career, though she keeps her license current.
Competitor and Coach
Roberta breaking the tape at the 2026 Washington Heights Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K.
“I was looking for an opportunity to pay it forward,” she said of the decision to coach. “For years I couldn’t do that because of everything else going on.” She is certified by USA Track & Field and Road Runners Club of America.
For Roberta, the roles of coach and competitor reinforce each other, “I still love to compete,” she said. “When I’m racing, it’s like we’re just working together and all just trying to see what we can do, right?”
She competed in the 2020 and 2024 Olympic marathon trials and was the 2021 USATF Masters 12K champion. She holds two age 45–49 American records: half marathon in 1:11:27, and marathon in 2:29:32.
Roberta is a familiar face at New York Road Runners races, where she routinely makes the podium. Though she’s decades older than some of her competitors, she competes fiercely to break the tape, such as when she edged 26-year-old Anastasia Dmitrienko at the 2026 NYRR Washington Heights Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K by less than a second. She was the runner-up at the 2026 RBC Brooklyn Half, sharing the podium with winner Fatima Alanis and third-place finisher Maddie Offstein, both of whom she coaches.
“[My partner] said once at a race, 'You know, you could be their mom,'” she said, laughing, “but when I step to the line, I feel I’m an equal amongst all of them.”
The Journey Continues
Roberta (left) and teammates after she placed second at the 2026 RBC Brooklyn Half.
As a coach, she draws on her own experience—including her decade-long break from running. “It’s a journey for everyone,” she said. “If someone needs or wants to take time away from competing, or even running altogether, I’ll never discourage that.”
Roberta will turn 50 in January 2028. Last year she started hormone replacement therapy for perimenopausal symptoms, which led to some uneven race results, though she said she’s adjusting. She dropped out of two marathons—Valencia in December and Grandma’s in June—in seeking to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Trials. She plans to try again to achieve the sub-2:37 standard at a marathon this fall.
“After [Grandma’s], I was like, 'Maybe I’m just better at the shorter distances,' but I remembered what I tell my athletes: Keep trying, as long as it still excites you.”
This weekend, she'll run the NYRR Team Champs 5M. “I still feel the drive,” she said. “I still line up and think, 'What opportunity do I have to see what I can do?'”
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