Sophie Raworth:
“I’m fitter and stronger than ever in my 50s!”
She started running to lose weight after the birth of her second child 14 years ago – and Sophie Raworth says taking up exercise in her late thirties completely transformed her life.
The BBC newsreader, who lives with her property guru husband Richard Winter and their three children, Ella, 15, Georgia, 14, and Oliver, 11, explains, “Running has given me strength, and the belief that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. It’s the most special thing to discover and it’s completely changed my life!”
Sophie – who lost a stone after running a 150-mile desert ultra-marathon two years ago – reveals she’s better mentally and physically than she was three decades ago. She adds, “I’m happy and proud to be 51 – I wouldn’t want to go back to my twenties. I’m fitter, faster and stronger than I’ve ever been and I’m enjoying that. You learn everything from experience.
I’m much more confident than I ever was – running has given me that.”
BALANCING ACT
The TV star, who has worked for the
BBC for a whopping 28 years, combines exercise with family time by going on jogs with her children.
“I take my kids running with me – they’re all faster than me now!” she laughs. “I believe it is possible to juggle it all. I’m lucky that I have help, but it’s not always easy. Saying that, I’ve managed to have a full-time job, three kids and run a lot! It’s been hard at times but I’m really glad I stuck with it.”
Sophie has been married to her husband for 17 years and believes the key to a good relationship is being great mates.
“You learn that relationships are ever evolving,” she reflects. “It’s important to be with your best friend, who you love to bits. There’s no golden recipe for success – it’s different for everyone!”
Now Sophie, who is in the England over-50s running team, says she wants to inspire others to take up running and enrich their own lives.
ADDICTED
She says, “Running is my biggest achievement, apart from my children obviously. I’m 51 years old and I just got myself an England shirt and I never thought I’d be able to say that.
“I’m running my 16th marathon in April and I’m doing another ultra marathon next month in South Africa – it’s 57 miles. I’m totally addicted!
“I didn’t start running properly until I was 42. I never thought I’d be able to do this. I’d never done any real exercise before I started. People would say to me, ‘I wish I could run like you’ and I’d ask them how old they were. They’d often be in their late forties and I’d say, ‘Just try it!’ People tend to underestimate themselves and they never should.”
● The Virgin Money London Marathon will celebrate #The40thRace on 26 April. Closer’s Katie is running for Cancer Research, visit www.justgiving. com/fundraising/katie-banks5