66-year-old extreme athlete: This is how he stays fit

Hubert Karl

It was the adventure of a lifetime: Shortly after his 66th birthday, Hubert Karl from Zeil am Main in Franconia got on a plane and set off for Chicago. From there he wanted to run along Route 66 to Los Angeles in 66 days – 4,000 kilometers across the USA. In the end, he mastered the extreme run in 60 days and crossed the famous Santa Monica Pier almost a week earlier than planned.

“Perhaps it is because of my lifestyle that I was able to complete this project and because of the discipline I have shown over the years,” says Karl, who has been running sports courses and training running groups as a fitness coach since 2004, in an interview with Business Insider (BI). He tells us which superfood he relies on and why he drinks up to four beers a day. His lifestyle, Karl says in the interview, is “simple but effective.”

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The extreme run through the USA crowns Karl’s career – and makes him famous

Since he started training to run at the age of 25 and started preparing for marathon competitions, the health aspect has always been his priority. “I was never interested in great success, in first place on the winner’s podium. It was simply fun to improve my own performance and eat healthier.”

The qualified running therapist says he has run around 198,000 kilometers in his life, recording every route in a diary and now in an Excel spreadsheet. Karl says he has completed over 700 competitions, including 132 ultramarathons, which exceed the usual marathon distance of around 42.2 kilometers.

Now, between March and May, Karl jogged 60 kilometers a day along the legendary Route 66 highway. Accompanied by his wife and brother in a camper van, he overcame mountains, crossed steppes, the desert and ran towards the Pacific Ocean on his last legs within the metropolis of Los Angeles. The senior citizen shared photos and videos from the trip on Instagram – they immediately went viral.

In it, Karl introduces his America provisions to his now almost 90,000 followers: a corn-based carbohydrate powder, numerous water bottles, high-fiber power snacks such as energy bars and gels, energy drinks that he reaches for after half a day of running, avocado-egg sandwiches and chocolate for calorie intake and pretzel sticks for sodium balance.

“Primal food” from the organic garden

Karl tells us that he usually eats natural, unprocessed foods at home and away from running competitions. He also promotes this lifestyle on his own website and on social media: “I want to get the message across to people that the best way to eat is to eat the simplest foods.”

Karl basically relies on what is known as “primal food” from his own organic farm. This provides him and his wife with vital substances in a natural way. “We get most of our food, energy, minerals and vitamins from our three gardens.” From May to September they like to eat strawberries, currants, josta berries, raspberries and blackberries, and from August onwards they eat grapes. In autumn they eat butternut squash and in winter carrots and kohlrabi leaves. Whatever the gardens don’t produce seasonally they get from the supermarket refrigerated section.

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Nettles for breakfast

From spring onwards, the Karl couple start their day with a special morning drink. “In the evening we pour mineral water over nettles and soak them. The water then draws out the minerals overnight.” This nettle water contains not only iron and protein, but also vitamins A and C, which strengthens the immune system. Nettles also provide flavonoids, which help protect the body’s cells, and anti-inflammatory tannins, as the magazine “Fitbook” writes.

According to Karl, the healthy drink is followed by a hearty protein breakfast, “the recipe for which my wife and I developed with lots of seeds.” Their special porridge is based on ten percent Greek yogurt, “which has high-quality protein, which is important for the intestinal flora.” They add linseed oil and seeds to the yogurt, which, among other things, regulate blood pressure and prevent inflammation. For Karl, as a runner, these “real omega-3 fatty acid bombs” are therefore particularly important.

Four yeast beers a day: “Enjoyment is part of life”

Karl also warns: “Enjoyment is part of life and I have never given it up. Then life is no fun,” says Karl, adding: “I just love beer.” Yeast beer in particular, with its B vitamins, offers “everything that keeps our vascular system clean.” He opens a 0.5-liter bottle of this kind up to four times a day, a non-alcoholic beer for lunch and an alcoholic beer for dinner – unless he is training, of course.

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The vitamins in yeast are generally considered to be very healthy. Just last year, researchers at Graz University of Technology highlighted the “crucial role” that B vitamins play in vascular health. According to the scientists, they also contribute to functioning metabolic processes and keep nerves healthy. However, one or two yeast beers a day are probably not enough to cover the daily requirement of B vitamins, as 100 milliliters only contain two to five percent of the daily requirement.

Like Karl, the commercial health insurance company also recommends unfiltered, naturally cloudy beers as a “sensible dietary supplement”. They particularly recommend the non-alcoholic versions. And if you don’t like yeast beer, Karl has a tip: “Then get the yeast flakes from the health food store and add them to your muesli. Then you’ll have the same effect.”