Luis Dorfmann was in his late 40s when he decided to take up running. In the 18 years since, he has completed 42 marathons. He’s also transformed from a self-described “couch potato” to a fit 67-year-old whose cholesterol, blood pressure, and heart rate readings are the envy of others his age. 

A professor of civil and environmental engineering, biomedical engineering, and mathematics, Dorfmann shares how joining the Tufts Marathon Team changed his life.

From age 20 to almost 50, I did almost nothing when it came to exercising. When I came to Tufts in 2005, I did a bit of running—but not beyond my block. I was overweight. I had high everything: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high heart rate.

Then I found out that the university has its own marathon team, a group of students, faculty, staff, and alumni who run along the Mystic Lakes twice a week, training for the Boston Marathon, and also raise funds for research. I thought, ‘Why not reach out to these people?’ 

I was a bit naive. I did not know about proper training, nutrition, hydration, and many other issues affecting performance.

I started running with the team at 7 a.m. on Wednesdays and 8 a.m. on Sundays, rain or shine, and on my own most other days. I ate better and aimed to get more sleep each night. 

I also learned that cameraderie and support made all the difference. I still remember the team’s coach, Don Megerle, and the former president of Tufts, Larry Bacow, waiting at the finishing line of my first marathon, in April 2008, to compliment each Tufts runner. 

Following that race, another runner from the team asked if I would run the Sugarloaf Marathon one month later. I accepted immediately. On that course, not wearing a watch, I missed the 2009 Boston Marathon qualifying time by 44 seconds. Game on! Qualifying for Boston became an annual ritual, and I have been running regularly ever since. 

Becoming an avid distance runner has improved my health immeasurably. If I try on my clothes from when I was overweight, I fit twice. I don’t need medications to control my cholesterol or blood pressure. In most ways, my body is outperforming my contemporaries. 

Still, injury is part of the game, and as you get older, it takes more time to heal. You meet people out there who keep going until 60, 70, 80, and beyond. To celebrate turning 65, I did something different: I flew to Edinburgh with my wife and some friends, and I ran the marathon there on my birthday.

You realize if you look back a few years, ‘Man, I was faster then.’ That can be frustrating. But that’s part of life. I keep finding the motivation to continue. As my friend, the ultramarathoner and coach Jeremy Singh, says, ‘How will you feel tomorrow if you quit today?’