‘IT HAS NEVER OCCURRED TO ME THAT I’M TOO OLD TO DO ANYTHING!’
Former seamstress and running coach Mimi Anderson, 61, is an endurance athlete and motivational speaker. She is a mum of three and lives in Kent.
I first started running aged 36 – initially, out of vanity to tone my legs. I had never run in my life – apart from around a netball court at school – and I remember standing on a treadmill feeling terribly self-conscious, thinking, ‘I’ll try a mile.’ Before long, I was managing three, then 10. Working as a seamstress and raising my children, life was hectic. However, it felt amazing to have running as an outlet.
Eighteen months later, I found myself on the start line of the Marathon des Sables, preparing to run 156 miles across the Sahara Desert. It was like running in an oven, plus I got a bug and collapsed at the end of day three. At the finish line, I had to be given five bags
