Holocaust Survivor Marathon Runner Inspires Others

Pini Haroz may have never heard the English expression, “better late than never.” Nonetheless, into his seventh decade, he dipped his toes into the running universe.

After just 17 days of training, he ran his race, and said, “At the age of 62, I ran my first marathon in October 2009 in Hartford. I completed it in a better time than I expected and realized that there is nothing in the world that I would have rather done that Sunday than running that race.”

Now 77, he has since completed 67 marathons in all 50 U.S. states and on seven continents, including the Antarctic Ice Marathon.

On Thanksgiving in 2008, he sat down for dinner with friends. He recalled, “The food was delicious and when we discussed what we did that that day, the husband-and-wife hosts mentioned that very morning they ran a marathon. After finding out that the distance of a marathon is 26.2 miles, I thought that it was almost inhuman to be able to run that distance in the morning and then serve a great Thanksgiving dinner, all while eating and discussing art, music and politics. I wasn’t a couch potato. I still couldn’t understand how someone could run 26.2 miles.”

At that point, he committed to do the work and attempt to run a marathon, He found a training book and followed it “to the letter,” and a 16-week training schedule. When he started training, his goal was to prove to himself that he could run one marathon. Weeks went by and he registered for yet another in Palm Beach for December 2009, saying, “I don’t know what made me do that!”

He ultimately ran that race faster than the first one and felt fantastic. So, he registered for a third marathon in Goodyear, Ariz., in February 2010. When he completed that race, he mused, “I didn’t know then, but looking back I was hooked. From that point on, it was history. I decided to run a marathon in each of the 50 states and then in each of the seven continents.”

Words of advice from Pini, who wants to inspire others. “I know that some of you get tired running one mile, but believe me, everyone can do it. It takes ‘C-C-C’ meaning: commitment, commitment, and commitment.

“Commitment to train. I train by running, on average, 30 miles per week. I also exercise twice a week. A strong core is the most important trait to prevent injuries.

“Commitment to have a healthy diet and lifestyle. Commitment for time management for the demanding and time consuming training.”

Haroz also is fulfilled by the rewarding camaraderie with other runners during and after races.

Haroz’ personal journey is equally fascinating. He was born in Germany in Landsberg am Lech in a U.S. Displaced Person’s camp for Holocaust survivors. He later served in the IDF in active duty in the infantry, from 1965 to 1968. He participated in the Six Day War, and the 1973 Yom Kippur War (while a graduate student at Georgia Tech), the Lebanon War in 1982, and made it back to his own wedding the night before.

Haroz came to the U.S. and was undergraduate student at the University of Texas. He and wife, Stef, have three children and four grandchildren. He is president of Conversion Technology, Inc., an environmental and safety consulting firm.

Haroz concluded, “It is all worth it. The reward is the excitement at the beginning of the marathon and the high that you will have when crossing the finish line. You will get a partial taste of the high every time you complete a training run.”