ANGELA, THE SUPER-FIT SUPER-AGER
ANGELA COPSON was 59 when she first put on a pair of trainers. Now, at 71, she is a World Masters athletics record holder.
She was an ‘accidental athlete’ — after her husband Harry’s life-saving heart surgery, she ran the 2007 London Marathon to raise funds for the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. With little formal training, she completed the course, aged 60, in just three hours and 57 minutes — well under the average time for women of any age.
Angela joined Rugby and Northampton Athletic Club to train seriously, focusing on cross-country running to build stamina.
‘I loved it,’ she says. ‘I felt so much better physically. The weight I was carrying dropped off.’ Gardening and housework got easier, and looking after her granddaughters, aged five and six, is a doddle.
At 5ft 1in, Angela weighs seven-and-a-half stone, with an athlete’s muscular frame — something she works at. ‘I’ve just come back from a 30-mile bike ride,’ she says. ‘I might go to the gym for strength training, and once a week I do group hill sessions.’
Exercise is vital for the brain, too. Studies suggest even moderate activity — walking or swimming, say — for 120 minutes a week can improve memory in just six months. Other research has found the brain’s white matter deteriorates more slowly among those who exercise, meaning they have fewer age-related cognitive problems.
As she rattles off times and distances, it’s clear Angela’s memory is in fine form. Now she is preparing for the World Masters Athletics Championships in Spain next month, where she’ll defend world records in her age bracket, including the 10,000m.
Does she feel younger for being so fit? ‘Oh yes. I think getting strong is the best way to prevent accidents. People my age fall and break hips. Not everyone wants to race or do as much as me, but I know that as you get fit you will feel good about yourself.’