5 'Not Too Late' Questions: JEAN CHATZKY

She's one of the country's most well-known financial experts and TV personalities. Now she's tackling the NYC Marathon — at age 59. Here's how she's getting it done.

Warmup

This week, I’m introducing a new feature for the newsletter.

It’s called “5 ‘Not Too Late’ Questions for [insert name of cool person doing super interesting thing.]”

Shared learning is core to this newsletter. What tools, tactics, tips and stories can we swap to inspire us to try new hard things — at any age?

Jean Chatzky has mastered the art of appearing on TV (she was the NBC TODAY show’s financial editor for 25 years) writing best-selling books, and being CEO of her own financial education platform for women, HerMoney.com.

But on Nov. 3, Chatzky will face something far out of her comfort zone: running 26.2 miles around the five boroughs of Manhattan in the world’s largest marathon.

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I met Chatzky recently when she invited me on the HerMoney podcast to talk about shared lessons that come from training for something athletically and keeping our financial house in good shape.

Things such as:

• Discipline and restraint.

• Commitment when faced with a big hill or mountain of debt.

• Breaking bad habits — be it how we waste money or how we misplace our feet when we run.

During a particularly rough patch of her own training recently, Jean reached out to me for counsel, and I introduced her to my trainers at Grit Coaching. Asking for help is hard — particularly as you get older — but it’s a powerful lever to get unstuck. She talks about that more in our Q&A.

Please welcome Jean as our inaugural guest for N2L’s “5 Questions.”

Let’s get it done.

Jean, what have you decided “It’s Not Too Late” to try  — and what are your goals for this endeavor?

I’m running the NYC Marathon on November 3 – four days before my 60th birthday.  This is my second marathon…but it feels like a first.  I was prepared to run New York in 2012 when Superstorm Sandy got in the way.  The Philly marathon folks graciously opened up slots for New York runners who were ready to go, so I did that and loved it.  But New York has still always been on my list.  My goal is fairly straightforward: I’d like to finish running, i.e. run (not walk) the whole thing. 

What’s your intrinsic motivation for doing this? (For instance, I always felt physically weak as a kid, and obstacle course racing helped me change that.) 

Honestly, Wendy, I’m struggling with this question a bit.  I don’t enjoy competitive sports. I got into running on the high school cross country team, but I basically did it to make friends in a new town and drop a few pounds.  I hated the races, largely because I’d usually come in last.  As I’ve gotten older and settled into the fact that I’m okay not caring about my time, I’ve gotten faster and now I’m a solid middle of the pack runner. 

I think my intrinsic motivation for running – in general – is that nothing else makes me feel as strong or as calm. 

As I’ve gone through training, the feeling that longer runs (7 miles, 10 miles) no longer feel like slogs has been incredibly rewarding.  Regarding this race in particular, I feel like I’ve been thinking and talking about it for so many years, I can’t let the fact that I was able to get a (hard to obtain) bib slip away.

How has your age worked to your advantage in tackling this new endeavor?

My age feels like a big hurdle.  I know I’ll be far from the oldest runner, but I’m also feeling the years between now and 48 when I ran my only other marathon.  I’m actually using it as a motivating factor…as in, if I don’t do it this year, I’ll just be older next year and the year after that.  In other words, it’s certainly not going to get any easier.

Chatzky on a training run a few weeks before the 2024 NYC Marathon.

What’s the biggest “dip” you’ve faced so far — and which of your attributes (patience, humor, grit, etc.) helped you get through it?

I had a couple of weeks where the long training runs – 14 miles and 15 miles in particular – got really difficult.  I found myself starting to walk around mile 13.  What got me through it was my willingness to ask for and listen to help and advice.  I leaned into my years of being a reporter.  First, I reached out to you and you connected me to the GRIT coaches. Jess [one of the owners] has been really helpful in adjusting my training schedule around my work schedule and helping me incorporate some much needed hills and intervals to break up the week. Andrew, a trainer at Leverage (an amazing gym I belong to in Philly for semi-private strength training) helped me figure out where my nutrition was letting me down.  And Sara, a seasoned marathoner turned me onto some alternatives for the GUs [a popular brand of energy gel] that I just can’t tolerate.  

What’s one thing you wish you’d known before you got started?

I wish I’d wrapped my head around the fact that there are so many elements that are out of my control.  I know that sounds so obvious (particularly after my Sandy experience), but I am usually a believer that if I take all the steps, do all the prep, whether it’s a panel I’m moderating or a story I’m reporting, it will all work out.  On race day, if it’s hot or cold or rainy or the Ferry runs late or whatever, I’m going to have to roll with it.  I think that’s a pretty good lesson to try to carry through the rest of life. 

Cooldown

You can follow Jean — and cheer for her Nov. 3 — on her various social platforms at the handle (@jeanchatzky.)

While she’s bounding around the boroughs, I’ll be in Sparta, Greece racing in the Spartan Race Trifecta World Championship. More on that soon.

Thanks for reading. Let me know if there’s someone you’d like to nominate for “5 ‘Not Too Late’ Questions. And as always, find something you love. Dig in. Stick with it when things get hard.

Wendy