Pace Setter : October 2025

Athlete Profile of Christine Varley

What is your age, occupation, background, hobbies, or other facts?
I’m 61 and have been an RN at Albany Medical Center for 37 years. It’s such a pleasure to care for people for a living!

I have an adult son, and I’m proud to say he’s starting to get bitten by the running bug too.

I live in Latham with my boyfriend, Chris. We love that the Colonie bike path is literally in our backyard. We enjoy music, yoga, and traveling—especially to places where we can hike and explore or catch a concert. And of course, we’re part of the local running scene!

I also love taking long walks and doing chores while listening to audiobooks. Lately, I’ve been “reading” up to three books a week!

I feel truly blessed and try to give back to the community by volunteering for local agencies that serve the food insecure. Hopefully, after retirement, I’ll have even more time to give back.

When and why did you start running?
I was a chubby kid with a big appetite! I started jogging when I was 16, and the pounds melted away as I got hooked on the thrill of getting healthier and stronger.

When I started college at UAlbany, I walked onto the team as a jogger (it was Division III then). Under the patient guidance of my beloved coach, Ron White, I learned how to train and race. It was wonderful to be part of a team! The 5K and 10K were my track events, and I loved the camaraderie of cross country.

What’s your favorite race to date, and why?
So many favorites!

But if I have to pick just one, it would be the Stockadeathon—the original course (sorry, Brian and Jess!). This race always wrapped up my season, and it felt like everyone was there. I loved digging deep to get up that State Street hill, and then really turning it on after cresting it. For me, it was always pretty emotional—a celebration of all the hard work I’d put in that year.

What is your approach to training? Do you follow a plan or work with a coach?
I cherish the years and friendships I built while running with Team Utopia for more than 10 years. Training under Jim Bowles and having supportive teammates helped me reach goals I never could have achieved on my own.

Life changes, injuries, and new priorities happened, but I’m forever grateful for that crew.

These days, I’m mostly a solitary runner with no real plan. I hop into random races just to see old friends and check in on where I’m at.

As a consistent runner for 45 years, I like to compare myself to a metaphor from Christian Vande Velde: the engine is okay, but the chassis is pretty beat up! I’ve dealt with a lot of compensation injuries that even make yoga a challenge. Still, I keep at it and have been adding some strength training, because I know I need to.

Running consecutive days or logging high mileage doesn’t work for me anymore, so I alternate running days with indoor cycling on my Peloton. Their training challenges keep me motivated to improve my cycling strength—and they’re just fun! I’m still too chicken to get out on a road bike, but when I do, I hope I’ll be able to hang with the group.

During our cold winter days, do you run outside or stick to the treadmill? What safety measures do you take?
Our new treadmill has only been used a handful of times because I love winter running—as long as it’s not windy. Getting a blast of cool, fresh air keeps the winter blues away.

My favorite running weather is a cold, sunny winter afternoon. Just pack on the layers and go! I’d pick cold weather over hot any day. At night, I always wear a reflective vest and headlamp for safety.

What are your personal bests? Race, time, year

• 5K – 19:42, Arsenal City (2000-ish)
• 10K – 40:45, Freihofer’s (yes, at one time they had a 10K!) (1986?)
• 15K – 1:06:12, Stockadeathon (2012-ish)
• 10 mile – 1:10:50, Spring Has Sprung (2014)
• Half Marathon – 1:33:54, MHR (2012)
• 30K – 2:16, Price Chopperthon (1985). Ha! I was in the middle of track season and my coach was so mad at me for running this—I was sore for a week!
• Marathon – 3:24:17, MHR (2013, age 49)

Yup, all of these were years ago, but it was a fun trip down memory lane digging them up!

What is your favorite distance?
In my 20s and 30s, I lived for the 5K and especially the FRW.

From my 40s to now, I’ve loved the half marathon. If I counted them all up, I’ve probably done over 75! For two years straight, I even kept a streak of running at least one per month.

These days, I aim for two or three a year.

Your favorite shoe for training and racing
I’m all over the place on this one—I keep trying new ones, hoping to magically fix my injuries!

Recently I picked up a pair of Asics Novablast, and they’re really springy and fun. I wear those for longer runs or racing. I alternate them with two pairs of Karhu Fusions.

What are your favorite pre-race and post-race meals?

Night before: Pad Thai for salt and carbs

Morning of: A banana and half a bagel

After: A poke bowl!

What challenges, races, or adventures are you planning for the coming year?
I’m taking a stab at the Boilermaker this year—it’s been so long!

As injuries allow, I also hope to keep up with my perennial favorites: the MHR Half and the Stockadeathon. Maybe we’ll even do the Key West Half in January again too.

What is the greatest piece of advice you’ve ever received in the sport?
Cross-train, cross-train, cross-train!

I wish I had followed the advice to strength train when I was younger—but better late than never.