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Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours. Thunderstorms likely in the afternoon. High 87F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms before midnight. Low 73F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.

Lizabeth Lee recently returned from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with three first-place medals in the National Veterans Golden Age Games. She won in the 200 meter, 800 meter and 3,000 meter running races.

Lizabeth Lee recently returned from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with three first-place medals in the National Veterans Golden Age Games. She won in the 200 meter, 800 meter and 3,000 meter running races.

When Lizabeth Lee was a young woman, she could get away with eating what she wanted, and she wanted foods like hamburgers, fatty fries and sugary sodas.

The now 67-year-old admits she never gave a second thought about what she ate. Regardless of what was on the menu, she stayed slender.

And then she had a daughter with a genetic medical condition that made it difficult for the child to properly digest food and get the nutrition she needed to grow. Doctors were not optimistic about her future.

For the first time Lee had to think about healthier foods for her child and diet strategies to get as many calories into her young body.

With life-threatening medical complications likely in store for her daughter and not knowing what the future held, “I had to keep in shape to take care of her.”

Years later, living in Citrus County, Lee is now an avid runner and triathlon competitor, having recently won three races in the National Veterans Golden Games in in her age group, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, this summer.

Lee’s life as a runner, and also a yoga instructor, including teaching classes at the Lecanto YMCA, was mostly the result of happenstance.

Up until her daughter’s birth, she had lived a relatively carefree life.

In her early 20s, with no firm career plans and while visiting her grandmother in Texas near the New Mexico border, she joined the U.S. Air Force at her grandmother’s urging.

After basic training she was assigned to collect weather data in planes as their pilots flew through hurricanes and storms and sent that data to Miami weather stations.

“The rides were bumpy,” she told the Chronicle smiling.

“We flew at a 10,000 feet. You didn’t want to fly too high. We didn’t have parachutes,” she said.

But she loved the work.

“The job was creative. Every day was different,” she said.

After being honorably discharged and becoming a single mom she went back to school and attended Manatee Community College and became a legal assistant.

Until then, the only time she ran was while back in basic training. She enjoyed the comradery but didn’t enjoy running alone after her military service. So she put her running shoes in the closet.

The path that led her to the National Veterans Golden Games was taken by random chance.

In Fort Myers, while working for a law firm, a co-worker’s husband was an avid runner.

The husband wanted his wife, Kathy, to get a little more exercise and convinced her to walk in Walt Disney’s half marathon.

Kathy wanted a walking buddy and told Lee she was it. By then, Lee was in her 40s.

They trained by walking and finished the 12.5 mile half marathon, running the last few yards.

“I was ecstatic. I loved it,” she said about finishing the half marathon.

The next year Lee ran the half marathon.

In 2003 she moved to Orlando and went back to college and earned a bachelor of arts degree and became a paralegal.

She also volunteered at an Orlando running club and learned running strategies and proper training techniques.

“It clears my mind,” she said of running. “I love it. ... It’s a runner’s high.”

She had also learned yoga to help her run better. After several years she began to teach yoga too, wanting others to benefit from it the way she had.

She volunteered as a yoga instructor at the Baldwin Park VA Clinic in Orlando, teaching yoga free to military veterans and the VA staff there.

She now teaches yoga at the YMCA and Anytime Fitness.

She enjoys competing when she runs, but also enjoys the comradery of being with other runners. She runs three or four times a week.

She’s also expanded and now competes in triathlons, incorporating cycling and swimming in addition to her running,

She enjoyed her trip to South Dakota, especially spending time with other veterans who also enjoyed running.

If there are any lessons to be learned from her life and joy of running, Lee offered a couple.

“If you are not sure about your future, try joining the service,” she said. “It gives you a sense of purpose and helps people with their future.”

She also said, “Be active, no matter what sport (or) activity, (or) volunteering it is, and let it be throughout your life. You will learn more about yourself.”

As for those in their senior years, she said, “It’s never too late to start.”

Fred Hiers is a reporter at the Citrus Chronicle. Email him at fred.hiers@chronicleonline.com.

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