She's tackled half marathons, full marathons and has even qualified for the Boston Marathon.
But unofficially pacing her daughter Molly, who was 12 at the time, during the Good Life Halfsy in Lincoln unlocked a new passion — helping other runners reach their goals.
"I loved that," Olberding said. "It was a whole new way of running for me. It wasn't based on my time but on somebody else's time."
Olberding, who lives in Lincoln, started pacing half marathons in Lincoln and around the Midwest.
She's paced the Halfsy for six years. Sunday, she'll coordinate a crew of 25 to 30 pacers who will lead about 5,500 runners to the Halfsy's finish line in Lincoln's Haymarket area.
The 13.1-mile race, in its ninth year, is sold-out.
Two pacers are assigned to each finish time in 5-minute increments. Finish times start at 1 hour, 30 minutes and run to 2 hours, 45 minutes.
Olberding will make sure pacers have packets, swag and large sticks with their projected finish time on them. She will run bits and pieces of the course on race day.
Most of the race's pacers are from Lincoln or Omaha. They have become a tight-knit group over the years.
"Once you're a member of the Halfsy pacing family, it's like its own secret club," she said.
In past years, she has paced the 1 hour, 50 minute and 1 hour, 55 minute times. Olberding, 49, also has paced the race alongside her husband, Matt.
For Olberding, pacing is all about the energy. She jumps around in the starting chute, chatting with people in her pace group. She tries to encourage runners and make them feel comfortable.
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This year's course will be the same as in past years, starting at Seacrest Field near 70th and A streets and heading west and north to the Haymarket finish line. The course takes runners past Lincoln landmarks, including Holmes Lake, Union Plaza and downtown stadiums.
As runners descend the pedestrian bridge toward the finish line, they're met by a crowd of spectators cheering them on, and they can see themselves on a big screen.
Cheer and entertainment stations will be set up along the course.
"Lincoln is a running city, and people like to get out and support their runners," said Jason Bakewell, race co-director of the Good Life Halfsy. "People love the excitement and the atmosphere."
The race, which is sponsored by Certified Piedmontese, is known for a having a fast, net-downhill course.
Olberding said she loves seeing all of Lincoln along the course. Support from the crowd and the finish line atmosphere are like no other race, she said.
Because the course is runner-friendly and isn't technically challenging, many runners are able to achieve personal records.
left some runners disappointed when it was canceled less than an hour after the first athletes took off from the starting line. A storm cell had developed that produced thunder and lightning, forcing the cancellation. It was the first time the race had been canceled.
Even then, Olberding said, pacers teamed up to help corral runners who still were on the course.
Sunday's weather should be sunny, windy and dry. Although the day's high is expected to be in the low 80s, temperatures at race time will sit just shy of 60 degrees, said Taylor Nicolaisen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Valley.
The morning will see wind gusts of about 15 mph, Nicolaisen said.
Olberding said everyone has needed a helping hand along the race course at some point.
"Running is hard. To have somebody say, 'I know you can do this,' that's teamwork at its finest," she said.