Greetings from Running City USA: Joyce Hodges-Hite Shines in USATF Cross Country Championship at 87
Joyce Hodges-Hite didn't picture herself as a runner for the first half of her life. But when she turned 43 and her two sons left for college, she decided the empty nest life wasn't for her. She took up running and let her competitive nature fuel her for the next 44 years.
Now at 87 years old, she competes on Atlanta Track Club's Masters Team and recently won the overall 85-89 age group title at the USATF Cross Country Championship in Lubbock, Texas. The Millen, Georgia, resident has grown as a competitor over the years, proving that age is no barrier to making a name for herself in long-distance.
What made you decide to start running once both of your kids went to college?
There was a guy at the school I was teaching at who was a runner and would run about five miles to work, and I always thought that was interesting. When my second son was graduating from high school, I realized I needed some kind of hobby. I took a coach's advice to take it easy and started by running 100 steps the first day and walking back.
The next run, I ran 200 steps, turned around and walked 100, then ran the next 100. I kept doing that until I hit four miles and started racing.
That all worked until I discovered a hip problem when I was racing in Savannah. I couldn't go any further than four miles. I had to start over, but I made sure I did it right with the correct shoes and training. I knew in my mind I had to have a reason to run, and for me, that's to race and try to win.
When did you start to take running seriously on a competitive side?
Around 1983, I was running with a friend through a university when we saw a large group of students also out for a run. I suddenly just wanted to pass all of them. My friend told me, "You need to back off. We're not racing. You're one of the most competitive people I've ever met." But I always thought to myself that if I see anyone running, I should pass them.
I guess I always had that trait in me. I wasn't always fast, but I was always competitive.
In fact, some of my favorite memories on the Club's Masters Team is when I finally beat another woman I had been competing against since I was in my 50s. That felt like such a success for me because I had been chasing that goal for a long time.
Even though you're not local to Atlanta, what made you want to join the Atlanta Track Club Masters Team?
My second husband was a runner , and he wanted to be an official which introduced him to other members of Atlanta Track Club. He eventually became the Masters Chair for Atlanta Track Club while we were both officials.
I didn't want to miss out on that, even if I didn't run a lot of Atlanta races. We both joined and I was introduced to track events, specifically long-distance races that I started winning. I think it was the early '90s when we first joined.
It's early in the year and you've already won a USATF Cross Country Championship. What are your goals for the rest of 2025?
I'm going to try to compete in as many competitions that are in driving distance for me, such as the USATF Masters Indoor Championships in Gainesville, Florida next month and the World Championships in March.
With the World Championships, I'm happy to hear that in America, they count everyone no matter what time you cross the finish line. When I competed in the same meet in Sweden last year, that counted me as a DNF (did not finish) because of my time. I thought that was insulting, because the only time I would DNF is if I was in the hospital, which I wasn't. So luckily, they will let me finish the 10K this year.
Other than that, I have some 5K races planned, and I'll keep going depending on how I feel. I want to compete as long as I can, especially on the team, because being on a team just makes you want to be better. You're running on your own, but it's also for others.
