9 Sep 2020 | Women's endurance running history, Women's marathon history |
Imagine a time when women did not run in road races. Imagine a time when women were told distance running would harm their health. Imagine a time when running in a marathon meant risking being jeered at or even assaulted. This time was in my lifetime. I was born in...
11 Apr 2020 | Running after fifty |
Vanessa Walker chose to celebrate her 60th birthday in 2019 by competing in the Dukeries 30 ultra race with her two sons and six friends from her running club. Despite a very early start and 30 miles of running, she had enough energy left to attend her own birthday...
19 Apr 2019 | Women's endurance running history, Women's marathon history |
On 3rd August 1980, 200 women from 27 countries lined up in Battersea Park in London to run a marathon: the third Avon International Marathon. Maureen Fitzpatrick was one of those women, excitedly waiting at the start and hoping to complete her first marathon at the...
9 Jul 2018 | Interviews with women runners over 50 |
It’s unusual to meet a runner who’s been running for over 40 years, and it’s particularly unusual for that runner to be a woman. The RunBritain rankings website lists 31,600 active runners aged 60 and over, but only 28% of them are women. There has been a significant...
23 Aug 2017 | Interviews with women runners over 50 |
Nikki Love is a 50-year old runner from Nottingham who loves adventure. Her motto is “chasing extraordinary” and this encapsulates her drive to set herself challenging goals, and her desire to encourage others to become active and discover their own physical and...