Among the unfunny cliches aimed at the middle-aged on reaching milestone birthdays – references to old wine, elasticated waistbands, 60-is-the-new-40 etc – lies the happy fact that, for the midlife runner, age and wisdom bring rewards. As a V50 parkrunner, for example, you can be well placed in your age group despite finishing near the back of the pack. For some veteran runners, every milestone birthday earns them more bling at the finish line, as these three women champs in the V50, V60 and V70 categories have proved with some panache.
Clare Elms, 52
Elms holds the world age group record for running a mile very quickly indeed (5:07.32). Officialdom (or lack of it) stands in the way of her claiming a sub-five: “I did actually run much faster outdoors, breaking five minutes and the world W50 outdoor record, but it wasn’t validated because of lack of officials present.”
Elms was also first woman in her age group in the Virgin Money London marathon last year (2:53.52). She is proud of being the first finisher in all 116 of her parkruns to date and of scooping her first W50 in the World Sprint Triathlon in 2013.
When you talk to her, though, it’s clear that her family is her biggest source of pride. She is the mother of 16-year-old triplets, and lives with them, her husband, and her parents in a busy south London household. Her 84-year-old father is her biggest fan. He used to mind the babies so she could run, and is still cheering her on at every parkrun: “When my triplets were babies, running became an important part of my life, my father and good friend, Clare, would look after them so that I could run around the block to clear my head. It became part of my daily routine, most days I would somehow find the time to run.”
It was off the back of this unstructured, head-clearing training that she ran a 10k race, to raise money for Rett UK (her niece had been born with Rett syndrome, a serious neurological disorder) and finished in 42 minutes. That’s when she was advised to train seriously with a club.
When her children were seven, she won each of them a gold medal (for the 1,500m, 5,000m and the 800m) at the British Masters championships, but her proudest running moment came with a milestone birthday attached: “I won my age group at the Masters international in Nottingham 2014 [for 6km] after many attempts. My mum and dad had surprised me and arrived in Nottingham just before the race started, and I won it in the last 100m ... the fact that I didn’t give up, I was so proud and delighted.”
It’s still a struggle to fit in structured training with a household like hers, but she runs most days – having a dog that needs a run helps, as does cycling everywhere and scheduling Wattbike sessions as crosstraining. She advises setting in stone three essential runs a week: “I have never run a lot of miles, especially during the track season. I have now done three marathons where I have increased my miles, but the crucial sessions remain Tuesday track, Thursday hard tempo and the long runs with marathon pace included in them. I have always raced a lot but many of the races, including for example the parkruns are more tempo runs than flat-out efforts.”
Without being too precious about it, Elms’s lifestyle and diet is typical of your average athlete: nothing faddy, but fruit and veg loom large, including “… an avocado with every meal … I am addicted to them. I eat piles of fruit every day. Mango, grapes, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, figs and also dried fruit like apricots. I love honey and my treat is manuka honey, I have a big spoon in my porridge every morning. I also have malt loaf for energy most days, also with honey!”
Combine this with eight hours sleep a night, a dark-chocolate habit, a general avoidance of alcohol apart from the odd glass of prosecco, iron and glucosamine supplements and brief flirtations with nitrate-rich beetroot, and Clare ticks most of the healthy-lifestyle boxes that those NHS post-50 checks would have us live by. The fact that she leaves all other women runners, whatever their age, trailing in her wake can only be that she was born to run, and, as she approached her 53rd birthday, is still looking for personal bests. “Deep down I feel if I am consistent and wise with my training I can definitely PB at certain distances. I am keen to try new sessions maybe changing the recovery and to introduce more miles, I think I can still improve!”
Angela Copson, 69
If Elms was a late arrival to the running party, Angela Copson’s debut jog at 59 was positively maverick. When I contacted her she was excited about her selection for the W65 team in the British & Irish Cross Country championships in Glasgow, next month, but was happy to elaborate on what drove her to run her first marathon, back in 2007, following her husband Harry’s life-saving heart surgery: “I was so impressed with John Radcliffe hospital, I wanted to give something back. Harry left hospital with [instructions to] get plenty of exercise; he took up cycling, so I jogged with him to make sure he was OK.”
The jogging led to a charity place in the London Marathon, throwing herself into raising money for Heart Research UK rather than running the miles in training. So she was as surprised as anyone else when she completed her debut marathon, aged 60, in 3 hours and 57 minutes, with “lots of chatting on the way …”
It was suggested that proper training might be a good idea, so Copson joined Rugby & Northampton athletic club and went on to smash practically every distance in her age category, going on to run a marathon PB of 3:14.51. This put her in the elite/championship start of the race, although the word elite does not sit comfortably with her. “I am not elite, I don’t get paid for racing, so I don’t have to be strict with myself, or deny myself anything I like, such as cakes, or a glass of wine. My family come first; I have three grandchildren and when I spend time with them it’s not a problem if I don’t run.
“I do love healthy food: fish, chicken green veg, salads, pasta, brown rice and all fruits. I don’t take supplements and I am lucky not to be on any medication as this has to be declared at World & European Masters races. I have tried different gels for marathons, but I find a bowl of porridge with honey is more beneficial. I am 5ft 1in and weight seven-and-a-half stone. My ideal running weight could be a few pounds lighter but then I start to look gaunt. I try to get eight hours in bed, I don’t always sleep but it makes me rest and it’s good for reading.”
Kate Williamson, 70
Next year’s Virgin Money London Marathon will be Angela’s first in the W70 category, a fact which I was very excited to discuss with 70-year-old Kate Williamson, who currently holds the British record for that race, having run London last April in 3:42.42… so can we look forward to the Kate and Angi W70 smackdown? Sadly, Williamson can’t be doing with all that training this season: “Not a hope. I’m not intending to go for another marathon … I’m getting slower, my marathon PB was 3:33 in 2008.”
Williamson loves to run, it lifts her mood, so she goes out to train four or five times a week, but now she’s running for sheer enjoyment. She went for her first run at 35: “[I was] challenged by my son, who was fed up with doing the Jane Fonda exercise tapes in the garden … A few years later I joined Eynsham Road Runners, there is no way I would have achieved any records without their endless support and encouragement.
“I only trained very hard for the London marathon this time (even bought a runner’s watch!) as I had been second in my age group three times previously and I really wanted to be first this. I enlisted the help of coach Tony Lock, who wrote me a schedule.”
And what would Williamson advise for the midlife newbie building a long training programme for a first marathon? “Obviously for longer races the long runs are important but I think speed work, including hills, is essential. I also think stretching is important. I also love to cycle, walk and work in the garden.”
As far as nutrition goes, Williamson isn’t in the market for self-denial. She doesn’t take supplements, drinks moderately and “loves food, especially bread, hot cross and chelsea buns, and fruit”.
Which will no doubt fuel her onward and upward to the next age category milestone, V75 and counting.
