‘I Just Go Along At My Own Pace’
Molly Warren has decided to mark her 70th birthday by running – a lot
Molly Warren is marking her 70th year with 70 races
HOW TO MARK 70 years on earth? Option one: go on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday. Option two: learn a new language. Option three: run 70 races.
Molly Warren chose option three and with only a month to go, she’s on course to do it, too. ‘There are quite a few races between Christmas and new year, so I should be able to squeeze in about five during that period,’ says Molly, who lives in southern Spain with her husband, 10 dogs and six cats. ‘Either I’ll just do it, or be short by one or two.’
With such a busy schedule, most people might be tempted to keep these races as short as possible. Not Molly, who recently completed a 101km ultramarathon. ‘It was just amazing,’ she says of the Ronda
Ultra. ‘I had no idea what I was doing. I just jumped in at the deep end and thought, “If it works, it works.”’
Molly’s ‘70 at 70’ challenge feels like the work of a lifelong runner. Not so. ‘When I was at school, nobody ever wanted me on their team. I was the one sat there thinking, “I hope you don’t pick me because I’m going to be rubbish anyway!”’
So why did she decide to lace up her trainers in her late 30s?
‘My youngest daughter will kill me for saying this, but the reason I started running was that she was such a difficult baby! My husband persuaded me to join a gym. The thing I loved about it was that I could close the door and [my daughter] couldn’t get in!’
As glorious as that child-free gym was, after five years of treadmill running Molly was growing bored. So she did what many runners do when they are looking for a new challenge: she applied for the London Marathon. And, like most runners who apply through the ballot system, she didn’t get a place. Undaunted, she signed up for the Liverpool Half Marathon instead. ‘I didn’t even know how long a half marathon was, to be honest,’ she says. ‘I did that in 2005 and we moved out here [southern Spain] in 2006.’
Molly’s running began in earnest about four years ago when she ‘foolishly’ decided to run 26 races in one year. Clearly, that wasn’t enough, because the next year she ran 40, and last year she ran 52. However, running more races than there are weekends in the year has thrown up some logistical challenges.
‘Last weekend, I ran one on Friday night, Saturday morning and Sunday morning,’ she says.
Isn’t she completely knackered? ‘I just go along at my own pace, and I run the race for me.’ How about injuries? ‘I’m not a good enough runner to get injured. I’d be made up if I could get an injury! Sprain an ankle or something.’
Surprisingly, for such a start-line veteran, Molly says she still gets nervous before a race. If, however, you notice her sidling up next to you in a starting pen, it’s not necessarily a compliment. ‘To make me feel less anxious, I always try to find someone fatter and older to stand next to,’ she says. ‘It’s impossible to find someone older than me now, so I just try to find someone fatter!’
One of the benefits of attempting to do this challenge in Spain rather than the UK is the price. ‘I did three races last weekend [in Spain]. The first one was free, the second one for four euros and the third one was five euros. All of them had food, drink and medals.’ By contrast, Molly thinks some UK races are too expensive. ‘If somebody is trying to get into running – say, a single mother with children, on a tight budget – and they have to pay £20-£30 for a 10K, it’s prohibitive.’
Molly has a message for other older runners who might be thinking of taking up running. ‘Give it a go because the benefits of running are immense. Everybody thinks that runners are like Eliud Kipchoge.
But you do not need to be fast to give it a go. And you don’t need expensive gear, either. You can do it whenever, wherever.’
Molly’s last race will, fittingly, be on New Year’s Eve, in a nearby village with a beautiful castle. How will she celebrate? ‘I’ll come home and go to bed, because I want to get up the next day and walk up to the highest point in Andalusia.’
‘GIVE IT A GO BECAUSE THE BENEFITS OF RUNNING ARE IMMENSE’