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9/10/10: Geoff Etherington ’76MD

By the staff | 9:51am January 03 2012

Most of us would be thrilled to run a 20K in under two hours when we’re octogenarians. Heck, most of us would be thrilled to run a 20K in under two hours at any age. But in the 33rd annual New Haven Road Race on Labor Day, 81-year-old Geoff Etherington ’76MD polished off the 20K trek around the Elm City in an hour and 45 minutes. He easily finished first in his age group—and the one below him as well.

Etherington’s time was no fluke. Running Times magazine ranked him last year as the nation’s top runner over 80. In a New Haven Register profile the day after the race, Etherington, who lives in Connecticut and Florida, said he started running at age 50 and still runs about 30 miles a week. His words of inspiration? As he told the Register: “There are always people trying to replace joints and stuff, but you just keep running.”

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