When Natalie Grabow grew up in the 1940s and 50s in New Jersey, there were not a lot of opportunities for girls to do sports.
“We were cheerleaders,” Grabow said. “I begged my mother to give me gymnastics lessons, but parents at that time didn’t give you any lessons. We just ran around outside and rode bikes.”
But Grabow always has had a competitive spirit, and that shined through last Saturday when Grabow crossed the finish line on Ali’i Drive.
“You are an Ironman” the announcer said as Grabow, at age 80, became the oldest female ever to finish the Ironman World Championship in Kona.
The previous oldest was Cherie Gruenfeld when she finished the championship race at 78 years old in 2022.
“I had a good day and I’m just really pleased with myself,” Grabow said Thursday.
The mother of two and grandmother of four said her goal when she entered the water at Kailua Bay a week ago for the swim leg was to complete the grueling 140.6-mile triathlon before the 17-hour cutoff.
She did, with just under 15 minutes to spare, completing the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and the 26.2-mile run in 16 hours, 45 minutes and 26 seconds.
Of the approximately 1,600 females in the championship race, she was the only person in her 80-84 age group.
It was her 11th Ironman race despite not learning to swim until she was 59 and not starting triathlons until she was 60.
“I’m still not comfortable with swimming,” she said. “If you haven’t grown up swimming, it feels like an awkward endeavor.”
During the first leg of the race, Grabow said Kailua Bay was choppy and congested with swimmers. But her only thought was to be out of the water before the cut-off of 2 hours and 20 minutes that would have eliminated her from the race.
Grabow said she is familiar with the conditions on Hawai‘i Island.
“It’s hot, humid and windy,” she said. “You really need to watch your nutrition and salt intake so you don’t cramp up.”
Grabow worked as a software engineer. While raising her daughters, she played tennis and did step aerobics.
Grabow’s daughter, Amy Rousseau, said her mom was her track coach from ages 9 to 13.
“It was amazing that she would put her time into it,” Rousseau said. “Maybe because she didn’t have access to that, she wanted to make sure the next generation did.”
After going back to work full time in her early 40s, Grabow started running to stay active. However, she seemed to never be completely healthy and would get regular knee injuries.
A friend turned her on to the triathlon as a way to stay active and mix things up.
“I like to do something every day,” Grabow said. “If something bothers me in the swim, I can get on the bike.”
Grabow said that had she been able to participate in a sport growing up, she speculated it might have been a sprint-distance runner because she loves to move.
“I think girls and young women today don’t realize how lucky they are with the options they have,” Grabow said.
And, participating in triathlons is an “excellent” opportunity, because amateurs like herself can race side-by-side with the pros.
Grabow, who competed in three 70.3 Ironman races this year, said as she’s gotten older, she’s slower, especially as she hit the 80 milestone.
With that in mind, hitting the time cut-off was critical to her. She said she had a slow swim (1:47:41) and bike (7:51:27), but finished strong with a faster run (6:40:11).
“I didn’t have any dark moments,” Grabow said. “I did have some hamstring tightness before the race, but didn’t have time to rest it. I knew I wouldn’t bike as hard, but in the long run, I think it helped. I took more time and took in nutrition and salt.”
Once she started the run, Grabow felt fine. Her coach and daughter, Amy Rousseau, were on the sidelines cheering her on and keeping her on schedule. As she approached the finish line, she tripped.
“That was such a surprise,” Grabow said. “I guess I just didn’t pick up my feet, or the carpet was wrinkled there.”
It didn’t take long for Grabow to pick herself up and cross the finish line, where the announcer declared her an “Ironman.”
“It didn’t bother me, it was just embarrassing,” Grabow said of the fumble.
Rousseau tracked her mother throughout the race, saying she looked strong the entire time. Despite the trip at the end, “she did bounce right back up and kept going and didn’t stay down.”
“For many 80-year-olds, that (fall) would break a hip or collar bone,” Rousseau said.
But not her mom.
“She showed her spirit throughout that part,” Rousseau said. “I’m so proud of her.”
After the race, Rousseau and Grabow were walking around Ali‘i Drive when her mother declared triathlon racing “was what I was meant to do.”
“It’s a great fit for her,” Rousseau, 50, said. “She loves the training. Triathlon has occupied her mind in a good way.”
Rousseau has been to Kona as her mom’s cheerleader about five times, including the first race in 2006.
This year, Rousseau created a system to follow Grabow throughout the course, watching her finish the bike and start her run: “I rode my bike on the shoulder, keeping an eye on her and making sure she was OK. This was just a race against the clock, and she looked strong the whole time.”
In the past, Rousseau said her mom would jog, then walk through the aid stations, but “she ran the whole thing.”
“I don’t know how she does it,” Rousseau said. “What a great role model and example of what working hard and sticking with something and riding out the highs and lows. You just keep going. You never give up. She’s demonstrated that throughout my life.”