90-year-old runner tackles first marathon in San Diego

Bill Schwarz spent a year preparing for one race that many runners never attempt at any age: his first marathon at 90.

The Mesa, Arizona, resident took on the Rock ’n’ Roll San Diego Marathon on Sunday, May 31, 2026, starting at 6:15 a.m. at Sixth Avenue and Quince Street near Balboa Park and heading toward the finish in downtown San Diego. Schwarz, a retired engineer who once worked on rocket parts for NASA’s Apollo space program, has run since high school in the 1950s, but the 26.2-mile distance was a new frontier.

His preparation was as disciplined as the effort itself. Schwarz trained three days a week at EōS Fitness in Mesa, mixing running with Pilates, strength work, mobility, stretching and recovery sessions. Over the past year, he also completed five half-marathons, turning shorter races into steppingstones for the full distance. He said his cardiologist was impressed by what he was doing.

Schwarz’s push toward the marathon came after a 60-mile hike through Spain and Portugal, an experience that convinced him he could handle more than he had been asking of himself. It also came after a harder turn in his personal life. After the death of his first wife, Janice, about two and a half years ago, he returned to running as a way to rebuild purpose. He later remarried Tammy Ceroni, a nutritionist he has described as his biggest supporter.

The marathon fit into a bigger event that has become one of San Diego’s signature endurance weekends. The Rock ’n’ Roll Running Series San Diego also included a half marathon and 5K, with organizers expecting more than 30,000 runners. The course began in Balboa Park, wound through as many as eight San Diego neighborhoods and ended downtown, a long public route for a personal milestone built from years of repetition, recovery and resilience.

Schwarz has said he wanted only to finish, not chase a time. After the race, he said, he would probably take a nap.