Carrie Hoskins is 50. She is married with two grown up children and two grandchildren, aged six and two. She works part-time from home as a credit controller, which also gives her the flexibility to exercise.
Defying the idea that we get slower as we become older, Carrie, who lives in Henley-on-Thames, has been scoring impressive Personal Bests (PBs) for running in recent years.
She says: “I ran my best time in the marathon, in London, with a time of 2:57 aged 49. I was first in my age category and it felt like a fantastic achievement.”
She turned 50 in December and followed this with a PB at a half marathon early this year. She says: “That was a great surprise, too.”
She believes she is mentally much stronger than she was in her 30s and early 40s. She says: “I think the mental strength has helped me in my progress more recently.”
Carrie’s PBs show that age is no barrier.
Age is no barrier
Carrie is sure that age is not a barrier to fitness or improving your times. She says: “We all have to get older and even if we do get slower that is just a normal progression and mentally it’s about learning to cope with it.
“I do feel that my hormones are changing and so far my body has not really changed but I suspect I may have to start training in a different way at some point. I think we can gain a lot of positive results from staying fit as we get older.”
Carrie has a busy running schedule. An average week include two swims, three to four run sessions, with different mileages depending on what she is training for.
She also swears by track sessions for fitness and fits in one a week. Carrie tries to fit in cycling, too, but she admits: “I am a fair weather cyclist.”
Carrie in her England kit.
There is more to Carrie’s training than aiming for race goals. She says: “When I am having a down moment, going for a three or four mile run does help so much. It’s great to have the ability to stay fit and look after you physical and mental health, at any age.”