Betty Lindberg, Atlanta’s favorite 101-year-old athlete, has news to share

The competition in the women’s 100-plus age group for the Northside Hospital Peachtree Road Race is wide open.

The race’s queen has decided to renounce her throne.

Probably.

That would be Betty Lindberg, the 101-year-old former world-record holder and beloved Atlanta running legend who has completed 35 Peachtree races since completing her first in 1989 at the age of 64.

“I’m not comfortable with not doing it, but I have to say I’m not going to do it because I honestly don’t feel I’d be able,” Lindberg told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I mean, not at the present time.”

You may know of Lindberg’s exploits. Her journey to world-class athlete began in 1988 at the age of 63, when she and husband H.O. dropped off and picked up their daughter and her husband at the Peachtree. To that point, she was a self-described coach potato.

But watching the thousands of runners experiencing the joy of participating in Atlanta’s Independence Day staple, she realized it was something she herself could do. She joined the Atlanta Track Club, trained with H.O., and the next year joined the sweaty horde streaming down Peachtree.

Over time, she switched to race walking. She has worked out as many as six days a week, walking in her Chamblee neighborhood three days and going to the gym three days. (She continues to live independently in the home that she and her late husband moved into in 1960.)

The dedication and her competitiveness elevated her to an unlikely peak. In 2016 at the age of 91, she broke the world record in the 800 meters for women 90-94 (six minutes, 57.56 seconds). As a 97-year-old in 2022, she obliterated the 5K world record for the 95-99 age group, finishing in 55:48, more than a half-hour ahead of the previous standard.

Her exploits have been documented by Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal and the CBS Evening News, among other outlets. This mother of two, grandmother of three and great grandmother of two (with a third on the way) has become a celebrity of the Atlanta running community, accepting selfie requests and words of praise with humility. Her Team Betty cheering section at the Peachtree has consisted of family and friends, but it in reality is much larger than that.

“People come up to Mom and say, ‘You are my inspiration,’” said Kerry McBrayer, Lindberg’s daughter.

Friday, Lindberg said she didn’t think of herself as an athlete, but she was reminded that her running accomplishments include world records.

“Well, for my age groups, yeah,” she said in an impressive attempt at self-deprecation.

Regardless, her pursuit of Peachtree glory may have reached its end. She missed the 2025 race after being diagnosed with spinal stenosis, which halted her walking routine.

This past July 4, she happily woke up at 9 a.m., not having to rise before dawn to make the race start at Lenox Square. After successful treatment, she is feeling better, but she isn’t sure her legs can cover the Peachtree’s humid and hilly 6.2 miles.

“Right now, I don’t think I can,” she said. “I maybe will join the Team Betty tent at Trader Joe’s (along the course) and cheer everybody as they go by. But that means I’ve got to get up at 4 o’clock. Sheesh.”

This is not to say that the beloved Lindberg has backed off her commitment to fitness and health.

This is not to say that … at all.

Indeed, Lindberg spoke with the AJC on Friday after an hourlong exercise class at LA Fitness in Buckhead, where she trains twice a week.

In a class of perhaps 50 seniors, Lindberg followed the lead of the instructor, slinging around a pair of 2.5-pound dumbbells in lengthy sets of curls, presses and punches, toning her arms with resistance bands, working her lower body with squats and calf raises, and performing other exercises to strengthen her balance and core.

This is the kind of fitness level that Lindberg cultivates at 101. At one point, she jokingly stuck out her tongue as if panting, which is the sort of thing you only do if you are actually breezing through the workout. On a couple exercises, she started the set with just one dumbbell but, the challenge insufficient, paused to grab the other one.

“I don’t know why I’m so lucky that I’m still healthy, but I always say my motto is, ‘You’ve got to keep moving,’” she said.

It is our privilege that such a marvel lives among us, demonstrating the benefits of exercising and that there is no wrong time to commit to health and fitness.

You might be unsurprised to learn that Lindberg has started back on a walking program, getting her steps on a treadmill at the gym in her size 9.5 Mizunos. She knocked out 15 minutes Friday.

“I don’t think I’ll ever do the Peachtree again, but who knows?” she said.