British runner Sarah Roberts celebrated her 75th birthday with a new 10k world record. She crossed the finish line of the Standalone 10k in Hertfordshire on October 6, 2024, in 44 minutes and 33 seconds.
Sarah, of Hemel Hempstead, who also holds several other record titles for the 70 to 74 age group, also smashed the British W75 10k record by more than five minutes.
She tells me: “I was very happy with my time in the Standalone 10k. It is the third time I have run this annual race and the first time I didn’t need to walk the hills. I was very pleased that I could run all the way this time.”
Sarah was faster than the men’s 70+ runner and beat her own PB in the race by more than two minutes. Her pace per kilometre was a very impressive 4:27.
Sarah Roberts only started running aged 67.
Late-comer to running
Surprisingly, the Dacorum Athletics Club member only started running at the age of 67. Sarah says: “It was a friend who introduced my husband and I to parkrun while we were on holiday in Cape Town in South Africa in 2017. We walked that first parkrun.
“When we came home, George and I decided to run the local parkrun, Cassiobury, and that was the start of my running.
“Before that, my main exercise was going to the gym. I really like gym classes.”
In 2019, Sarah joined the Dacorum runners and she reveals her times for races up to 10k distance have improved ever since.
She says: “I have gradually become faster over the years and I ran my fastest PB at the Cassiobury parkrun [5k] this year in 21:29.
“I hold the Masters World Championships records for W70 in the 800m and 1500m, which I achieved at this year’s event in Sweden. I also won gold in the 5000m in a time of 20:58:33, which was a championship record but it was 2.2 seconds outside of the W70 world record.”
Sarah also took a silver medal in the 400m race at British Masters Championships.
What does it take to run fast at 75?
Sarah’s longest race is 10k and she runs on the roads, rather than trails. She says: “I would worry about twisting an ankle on the trails, so I stick to the tarmac.”
Her weekly programme includes three running sessions, including track training. She says: “I enjoy running at the track and this is where I do faster reps. I also do longer runs with my club.
“Apart from this, I just go to a variety of gym classes, such as legs, bums and tums and circuits.
“Running was not something I had thought about until that first parkrun and while I remember being quite a fast runner in primary school, my secondary school didn’t do athletics.
“I really enjoy running now and especially downhill. I like going fast!”
Over her eight-year running career, Sarah, who wears Nike Vaporfly shoes, has suffered one achilles tendon injury that required six months of recovery. She says: “I have not had many injuries and people tell me it might be an advantage to have started late with running.
“I don’t pay much attention to my nutrition either. I did have a bit of a weight problem when I was younger but now I am the lightest I have ever been.”
George is still running, too, and the couple, who have two children and five grandchildren, attend their local parkrun together but they do not run beside each other. Sarah says: “I am faster than my husband but he is 78.
“I hope to continue to run and I will take part in next year’s world masters championships in my new age group. I hope to compete in the 10,000m at that event. I like running and winning.”
