The Suburban

Here is an article in The Suburban in Montreal about my journey. Here is a link to the article with some pictures

At 69, Shmarya Richler is a marathon runner on a mission

By Dan Laxer The Suburban

Mar 4, 2026

Shmarya Richler was 59 when his doctor raised the alarm about his blood pressure. And he had other issues. He has since turned running into a mission to raise awareness about healthy living.

In March 2016 he took out a new lease on life with a pair of running shoes. Eight marathons later, he is still running, using the empty bottle from the blood pressure medication he no longer needs as a shot glass for a finish-line l’chaim.

Richler, a Chabad Hasid, was 59 when his doctor raised the alarm about his blood pressure. He had other issues: weight, elevated sugars, acid reflux, recurring gout. Theprescription was simple: watch what you eat and get some exercise — or take pills. Thethought of having to deal with a daily pill organizer didn’t sit well with Richler’s aversionto taking pills. So, he decided to try running. He started off slowly. On his regular 5 kmwalk through Hampstead, he decided “I’m going to try to run and see what happens.”

Over time, walk-run-walk became run-walk-run. Jogging just to the next lamppostbecame running past it, until eventually he just kept going until he reached a full-on 5krun. “That was a big day.”

He changed his nutrition. “I cut down on the vitamin K,” he jokes, “Kichel, kugel,knishes, kreplach, karnatzel…” He didn’t go on a diet. “Diet is a four-letter word,” hesays. He just cut down. “I still eat potato chips; I just don’t eat the whole bag.”

There was a time when Richler would eat nearly a whole tray of sandwich cookies. Now,he doesn’t keep them in the house. He ate smaller portions. “I did what it says inMaimonides,” he explains. Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon – Rambam – the 12th centuryreligious philosopher and physician, wrote that one should eat with the stomach, notwith the eye, and that one should eat only until about three-quarters full. To satiety, asnutritionists advise, not to fullness. The weight started to come off. The gout and acidreflux disappeared. The next step, he decided, was a half marathon – 21 km. He ran thatand more on Mount Royal. “That’s when I went meshugane,” he laughs. “After that I said‘You know what, I can do this. I’m going to try’.”

His first full marathon was the Course des Pompiers, the Laval firefighters’ race. He’sdone that one twice, the Montreal marathon once, and the New York marathon fivetimes. Marathons nine and 10 – the next Laval and Montreal – are on the way. “It’schanged my life,” Richler says about running. “It saved my life. I’m 69. I feel like I’m 45.”

He has since turned running into amission to raise awareness abouthealthy living, eating well, andexercising, to show through his examplethat it’s never too late, and that thereare no excuses. “The biggest satisfactionI have now from running, I mean otherthan the health benefit, is peoplecoming over to me and telling me, youknow, I started doing something becauseI saw you doing that.”

He now gives talks about healthy living.“I tell people, you know, you don’t haveto run. You don’t have to become crazylike me. You don’t have to run amarathon. But three or four times aweek do some form of exercise.”

It starts with a change of mindset, he explains. Don’t think of how much weight youthink you need to lose. Just go for five pounds. Worry about the next five pounds afterthat. It’s the same with running. Don’t think about much further you have to run, thinkabout how far you’ve run already. “That’s how I did it.”

He runs in full regalia. He started out with sweatpants, gym socks, and an old T-shirt. Now he wears moisture-wicking socks, compression pants, runners’ jerseys, and a variety of shoes for different conditions and different distances. “Don’t tell my wife how many pairs of shoes I have,” he says with a wink. He has eighteen – chai (18 is the numerical value of the Hebrew letters in the word “chai,” which means “life.”).

Richler doesn’t keep track of how long it takes him to finish a marathon. He likes to stopalong the way to take pictures and talk to people he meets. “For me, a marathon is mycelebration of my good health.”

He runs on the street; all runners knowthat asphalt is easier on the knees. Heruns on the bicycle paths which, he addsas an aside, are installed in odd places.“I mean, Terrebonne Street. Why is it onboth sides?” Cyclists don’t give him anyguff about running on the bike paths.And when he reaches an intersection, hesays, drivers and cyclists always givehim the right of way with a friendlywave. “I get a lot of respect,” he says.“Maybe it’s the white beard.”