The October, 2024 day Lisa Kuliczkowski was running in Tyler State Park, suffered a misstep and began to limp quite a bit, the last thing on her mind might have been competing in another marathon.
She knew something was wrong with her ankle but reality really didn’t hit until later when X-rays were taken and a fracture was confirmed.
It would take her the better part of a year for the situation to fully right itself.
And when the former Council Rock High School and Indiana University of Pennsylvania track and cross-country star finally did get back to a semblance of her former training plan this past August, she set her sights on the 2025 Philadelphia Marathon not knowing how things would turn out.
Well, all’s well that ends well.
The 60-year-old Yardley resident exceeded her hopes on Nov. 20 by winning her age group in the incredible time of 3:33.05, more than 21 minutes faster than the runner-up.
That, according to the Runner’s World Magazine age-graded calculator, turns out to put her at 82-plus percent, with 80 percent being national class.
“To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect,” she said in a telephone interview. “I broke my ankle and I was lucky enough that I didn’t need surgery but I was on crutches for six weeks.
“Being off for nearly a year, it drives you nuts. When the alarm went off (for Philly) at 3:45 a.m., I really did question what I was doing.”
Kuliczkowski said limiting her training to about 50 miles a week was a big part of why the ultimate outcome was in doubt.
“It was just one of those fluke things,” she recalled. “My ankle went into a rut, I went flying and I was about a mile from my car. I figured I just twisted it until I got back to the car and took my shoe off and realized there was more damage than I expected.”
Fast forward to this past summer and she realized there wasn’t much time to put in a whole lot of mileage.
So she relied on her experience of her past six marathons to pick her spots. Knowing when to throw in a speed workout or hill training in places like Tyler proved productive.
After taking a number of years off to raise a family, Kuliczkowski got back into serious running about eight years ago.
She’s competitive in just about every race she runs. Logically, people ask her how the heck she keeps doing this at a rather, ahem, advanced age.
As it turns out, those off years probably worked in her favor, saving wear and tear on the knees, back and feet.
“I think that (long break) kind of helped me,” she said. “Not being run down and so beat up. No bad knees or bad hips.”
What keeps her going?
“I think you really have to listen to your body,” she said. “I definitely try to get more sleep. I am conscious of my diet. And I try not to overdo the mileage. I enjoy doing it and I’m super-competitive.
“Being aware that I’m not 20 anymore and some of the things that you used to do you just can’t do anymore. You have to be smart about it.”
Two years ago she ran a personal best 3:26 at Philadelphia. In big races, she’s beating most women half her age.
Back in the day at Council Rock, she went by her maiden name Lisa Heffner and she competed on some highly competitive teams with coach Cliff Robbins at the helm. Coaches such as Robbins, Bill Preston and Dave Marrington were instrumental in getting the running programs into a highly competitive place.
One of the reasons Kuliczkowski, who works as a human resources manager at Pennswood Village in Langhorne, wanted to get back into running was to see how she would do in the marathon. That question was answered when she qualified for Boston and handled that well.
Now that she’s in a new age group, there’s even more incentive to keep her training consistent.
“When you reach a certain age, people aren’t expecting things from you,” she said. “You can surprise them.”
Kuliczkowski’s three adult children comprise a great support group. Tiffany, Emma and Jack all offer encouragement. That can help in the confidence department.
“They’re very supportive,” Lisa said. “My daughter (Emma) lives in West Philadelphia and she was there (for the Philadelphia Marathon) to cheer me on.”
Tiffany’s family now has three children so that makes Lisa eligible for a “Go, Granny, Go!” sign.
“People ask me why I’m still doing this,” she said with a chuckle. “Because I’m a little bit crazy. It’s just in my blood. I love it!”
>Race calendar
Thursday
Holiday Hustle 2-Miler, 7 p.m., New Hope. Contact www.scoogieevents.com
Saturday
Candy Cane 5K, 10 a.m., Langhorne. Contact www.runsignup.com
Sunday
Freeze-Up 5K, 10 a.m., Perkiomen. Contact www.perkiomenwatershed.org
Be the first to comment