By Dr. Thomas A. McCarty, Au.D. (About | YouTube | Facebook)
Date Published: April 2026
“Aren’t you a little old to be running marathons?” I get some version of that question at least once a month — from patients, from friends, sometimes from strangers on the bike trails here in Anchorage. I’m 73 years old. I’m heading back to the Boston Marathon this April. And the answer is no. I’m not too old. I’m just getting started.
The Short Version: I ran my first mile at 57. I weighed close to 300 pounds and wanted to get healthier. That one mile turned into a 5K, then a marathon, then 14 straight years of running Boston. I was there during the 2013 bombing. I came back the next year — and every year since. Now I run with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute team, raising money for cancer research in honor of my brother-in-law who died from colon cancer and my father who has battled prostate cancer. Running taught me something I now tell my patients every day: it’s never too late to change your life. One step at a time.
Prefer video? Alaska’s News Source recently featured my story — watch it here.
How It Started — One Mile at 57
I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Before I started running, I weighed close to 300 pounds. I was in my late 50s, and I knew something had to change. I wasn’t training for a race. I wasn’t chasing a personal record. I just wanted to get healthier.
So I ran a mile.
That’s it. One mile. And when I finished, I thought — maybe I could go a little further. So I did a 5K. Then I thought, maybe I could do 26 miles. People laughed when I said I wanted to run the Boston Marathon. They’re not laughing now.
I first ran Boston in 2012. The thing that hit me right away was the energy. In over 50 years of practicing audiology, of traveling to remote Alaska villages, of volunteering on medical missions in the Dominican Republic — I had never experienced that kind of positivity. Not anywhere. The spectators, the other runners, the sheer collective will of thousands of people pushing through something difficult together. It changed how I thought about what’s possible.
The Day Everything Changed — Boston 2013
My second year running Boston was 2013. I was about five miles from the finish line — right around Heartbreak Hill — when everything stopped. Race officials told us there was trouble at the finish line. People were dead. Nobody knew what had happened.
The unthinkable had happened. Two homemade bombs had gone off near the finish line. Three people were killed. Hundreds were injured.
Everybody was just in shock. When you’re running a marathon, the only thing on your mind is finishing. That’s your entire focus. And then suddenly there’s no race. There’s no finish line. Just confusion, fear, and a weird emptiness that’s hard to describe.
Afterward, another runner asked me a simple question: “Are you going to come back next year?”
There was only one right answer. Absolutely. I’m not going to let a couple of terrorists stop me. That’s a given. I’ll be back.
And I have been. Every single year since 2013.
The year after the bombing, more than 55,000 people showed up to run Boston. That’s what resilience looks like. They might have stopped it that day, but they weren’t going to stop it from carrying on.
Why I Keep Coming Back
People assume there must be some dramatic reason I keep running at 73. There is — but it’s not dramatic in the way they expect. It’s personal.
My brother-in-law died from colon cancer. My dad has battled prostate cancer. Cancer has touched my family the same way it touches most families in Alaska and everywhere else.
For the past eight years, I’ve been running as part of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute team. In 2025 alone, our team of more than 500 runners from around the world helped raise $8.5 million for cancer research. It’s just a small way I can do something. Help raise funds. Maybe they’ll come up with a cure.
One of the guys on my team is about 35 years old. When he was a kid, he went to Dana-Farber with leukemia — and they cured him. He dedicated his life to cancer research at the University of Illinois and now runs every year to raise funds for the place that saved his life. Stories like that keep you going when mile 20 hits and your legs are telling you to stop.
Training in Anchorage isn’t easy, either. I run on the bike trails — sometimes on glare ice with studded running shoes. I’ve run Boston with a sprained ankle. I’ve gotten hypothermia during the race. None of that stops me. Because when you’re running for people you love, a little ice and pain aren’t the hard part.
Running for Something Bigger Than a Medal
I have about 15 medals hanging in my office at Audiology Associates. Patients notice them. They ask about them. And that conversation almost always leads somewhere meaningful.
Because here’s what those medals really represent: they represent the belief that it’s never too late. That all things are possible. That one step at a time is enough — whether you’re running your first mile at 57 or dealing with hearing loss at 70.
Boston isn’t just a race for me. It’s a roadmap for getting through life. You don’t have to see the finish line to keep moving forward. You just have to take the next step.
What Running Taught Me About Treating Patients
After more than 50 years helping over 100,000 patients with their hearing, I can tell you — the patients who get the best outcomes share one thing with marathon runners. They show up. They stay consistent. And they don’t quit when it gets hard.
Hearing loss and tinnitus are a lot like training for a marathon. The first step feels overwhelming. You wonder if it’s even worth it. But the people who take that first step — who come in for a treatment consultation, who commit to a rehabilitation plan, who wear their hearing aids consistently — those are the people who get their lives back.
If you’re negative and you don’t think you can, then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. I’ve seen it in running and I’ve seen it in my clinic. The mindset matters as much as the treatment.
That same one-step-at-a-time approach is how we work at Audiology Associates. We don’t rush. We listen first. We figure out where you are and build a plan that works for your life. Whether that’s hearing aids, tinnitus treatment, or addressing the connection between hearing loss and cognitive decline — we take it one step at a time.
What This Has to Do With Your Hearing
If you’re in Anchorage, Eagle River, Palmer, Wasilla, or anywhere in the valley — and you’ve been putting off dealing with your hearing — I understand. Taking that first step is the hardest part. I know because I’ve been there.
But I also know what happens when you finally take it. You go from one mile to a 5K. From a 5K to a marathon. From struggling to hear your grandkids to being fully part of the conversation again.
The research is clear: untreated hearing loss accelerates cognitive decline. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to get the most from treatment. That’s not a scare tactic — it’s the same principle I’ve learned from running. The sooner you start, the better the outcome.
About the Author
Dr. Thomas A. McCarty, Au.D. is a board-certified audiologist and founder of Audiology Associates, Inc. in Anchorage, Alaska. He was the first Doctor of Audiology in the state of Alaska and has helped over 100,000 patients across more than 50 years of practice. Dr. McCarty holds a Doctor of Audiology from the University of Florida and a Master’s in Audiology from the University of Maryland.
He is a 14-time Boston Marathon finisher who raises funds for cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. McCarty leads annual medical mission trips to the Dominican Republic and has been recognized with Best Audiologist awards from the Anchorage Daily News and the Channel 2 Viewer’s Choice Award. He is a certified member of Excellence in Audiology and a member of the American Academy of Audiology and the Academy of Doctors of Audiology.
Audiology Associates is a family-owned practice — Dr. McCarty’s daughters Elizabeth and Alyson both serve on the team alongside hearing instrument specialists Viola Cox and patient care coordinator Alyson Ruley.
Links: About | YouTube | Facebook
Reviewed/Edited by: Dr. Thomas A. McCarty, Au.D.
Date: April 8, 2026