Episode 36 - Mark Werkmeister | 58 Races. 5 Hundreds. 65 Years Old. No Rush.

In this episode of Run Long After 60, I sit down with Mark Werkmeister — a 65-year-old ultrarunner from New Mexico who retired at 53 after a 25-year career as an engineer at Intel, started running ultras in his late 40s, and hasn't stopped since.

Mark is grounded, humble, funny, deliberate. A guy you'd love to have crew you or pace you or just hang out.

He didn't start desperate. He didn't start chasing records. He started late, built deliberately, and just kept showing up — race after race, year after year. 58 races on UltraSignup. Five 100-mile finishes: The Bear, Rio Del Lago, Run Rabbit Run, Wasatch, and Javelina. One DNF in 58 starts. He stopped at mile 84 at Zion 100 because he was injured and stopping was the smart call.

We talk about:

• Going from 40 pounds overweight to 17 Colorado fourteeners in a single summer
• Watching the Imogene Pass Run from a motorcycle at 13,000 feet — and deciding to race it
• Losing his first wife unexpectedly and raising a teenage daughter alone
• The engineer's approach to 100-mile racing: eliminate the variables, plan for chaos
• Wasatch 100 — still the hardest thing he's ever done, and the dark moment at mile 50
• Prostate cancer, two hernias, plantar fascia — and why none of it has him stopping
• His past work with the New Mexico Off Highway Vehicle Alliance and what it means to steward the trails you run
• Cascade Crest 100, coming up one week after he paces at Hardrock. No real taper.
• The 200-mile question — and why he hasn't signed up yet
• What he says to someone in their 60s who thinks it might be too late

Mark is the everyman ultrarunner in his 60s. Not desperate. Not in a rush. Just deliberate. Just showing up.

At the end of this conversation I told him — I finally feel like I know the pace I need to take. Not a rush. Just get there.

Run Long After 60 is a video-first podcast focused on running after 60, ultrarunning, longevity, and staying active later in life. If you'd like to watch the full conversation, you can find the video version on the Run Long After 60 YouTube channel.

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📍 Hosted by Mark Vega