Why 50 Isn't The New 40 - From Invisible To Empowered With Tasha Thompson

What happens when you refuse to be invisible, especially as a midlife woman? 

At 49, Tasha has run 9 marathons, completed a grueling 100 kilometer ultra run, and built Black Girls Do Run UK, a thriving community of 200 women who are rewriting the rules of who belongs on the starting line.

Tasha shares her running journey from treadmill to the 100k, building a community from a weird experience with a friend during a race and her hate love relationship with other types of exercise.

In this episode you'll learn:

• The truth about running as a midlife athlete and how to reclaim your power
• Why representation in running spaces matters more than you think 
• What it takes to run for 24 hours
• How to start running at any age
• Why 50 isn't the new 40 and why you shouldn't hide your age

This episode is about visibility, community, consistency, and refusing to age quietly.

Whether you're a seasoned runner, thinking about lacing up for the first time, or just need a reminder that your best years aren't behind you, this conversation is for you.

Find out more:

Tasha and Black Girls Do Run on Instagram @tasharunstings @blackgirlsdorunuk

Website www.blackgirlsdorun.co.uk

Follow the podcast on Instagram  @unshrinkablemidlfemoves

Find out more about Onika on Instagram @lifeopenedup

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:09

What if life's most powerful transformations happen when we're told we're supposed to be slowing down? This is a story about a woman who turned a single medal into a movement, who spent over 24 hours running 100 kilometers through the oldest road in Britain, just to prove to herself that she could. But this isn't just about running. When Tasha Thompson started Black Girls Do Run UK with two friends and an Instagram account, she had no idea she'd build a community of over 200 women. Women who were tired of being invisible at starting lines. Women who needed to see someone who looked like them, talked like them, understood life from their perspective, doing the impossible. Today we're exploring what happens when you refuse to be the forgotten woman of midlife. When you lead with first aid kits and professional qualifications because you know you'll be held to a different standard. When you tell 18-year-olds at race start lines, I've been running since before you were born, and I'm still here. This is a conversation about ultra distances and inner strength, about motivations not so popular, cousin, discipline. About why movement isn't just exercise, it's life itself. I'm your host, Anika Griffith Elliott, and this is a conversation with Tasha Thompson. Hi Tasha, great to see you today.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Hello, it's lovely to be here talking to you.

SPEAKER_02 1:29

So today we are going to be talking all about your experience of running as a midlife athlete. We still feel young, and all the great things you're doing with your amazing run club and what you've seen as your members have started running later on in life, perhaps, and your general experience of your midlife power finding your midlife magic. So before we get started, give us a bit of background, a bit of information about yourself.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

I am Tasha Thompson and I'm 49. I started running when I was 21. I used to go to my local gym, and the treadmill was my favorite piece of cardio equipment. I used to run in it for ages. Actually, really dislike the treadmill now. And it was a lovely day, pretty much like the day to day, and I thought I'd try running outside. So I went ran outside, ran around a big loop of the block, and thought, oh my god, I felt it was so different to running on a treadmill, but I loved it. I loved being outside of the blue sky, the sun was shining. I really liked it. So then I entered a five-kilometer running event, trained really consistently for that, turned up on race day, started, crossed the finish line, someone handed me the medal, and for me, that was the best thing ever. So having previously been a gym goer and just on this endless cycle of exercising, which was great, but having had that experience of entering a race, training for it, turning up on a day, and having the result of crossing the finish line, being handed a medal, I really, really loved having that end goal and the medal and haven't stopped since then, really.

SPEAKER_02 3:14

So you have done a lot because you are actually, can I describe you as an ultra-runner as well? I think so. Explain to our listeners what that is for those who don't know. How far do you run?

SPEAKER_01 3:24

Ultra distance is anything over the marathon to anything over 26.2 miles or 42 kilometers. So I have now done three 50 kilometers and one 100 kilometer.

SPEAKER_02 3:39

Wow, why did you decide to take it up that much?

SPEAKER_01 3:44

So the first 50k I did, I read about it in a book, and the author really sold it to me. And for about two years, actually, I just kept looking at it, thinking, oh, it looks really good, looks really lovely, but I don't know if I can do that distance. And then one day decided to go for it and shared it in the Black Girls D1 UK community, and lots of men went for it. I didn't get to run it that year because I hurt my back, but I did it the following year. I did two the following year, and it was just about doing something new and challenging myself, really. And then I loved it so much. I loved the scenery, it was just so lovely being in green space for hours on end and not having the pressure of I need to go to the supermarket or I need to wash the dishes or I need to cook the dinner or sort the kids out. I was just in nature, and there was nothing I could do apart from just keep moving forwards towards the finish line. So I thought, oh, I love this. I'm gonna do the 100k version next year because I want to see all of it.

SPEAKER_02 4:47

Where is that? What area is that? Is it in England?

SPEAKER_01 4:50

Is it England? Yeah, it's along the Ridgeway, which is the oldest road in the UK, actually. So it started somewhere in Oxfordshire and it finished in Swindon. My reason to do the 100k was I didn't want to get to say 85 years old, God winning that I lived that long, and say, Oh, do you know what? I wish I'd done that 100k when I had the opportunity and when I had the energy and the fitness. I didn't want to be that person many years down in line. I thought, I'm just gonna do it. And if I like it, I'll do it again. And if I don't like it, I won't do it again. And you've done it. I wouldn't say I didn't like it, but I definitely didn't love it.

SPEAKER_02 5:32

What was the difference?

SPEAKER_01 5:33

It's just too far for me. But you learn a lot about yourself in these situations, and they're good for you because when you go through the fire, even if I chose to go through the fire because I signed up, it brings out a power in you that you didn't know you had, you didn't know you were able to do it. I had some real dark moments. I got to a point and I just wanted to go home. I just wanted to be collected. I was asking all the marshals for hugs because I was just tired of it. I even felt really unwell at one point, but despite all of that, I managed to do it and it was a struggle and it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. But I've done that and nobody can take that experience away from me.

SPEAKER_02 6:11

Yeah, exactly. So how long did it take you?

SPEAKER_01 6:14

Oh my gosh, over 24 hours, I think it was. I didn't look at the time. Even my daughter called me and she said, Oh, what are you doing? I said, I'm still running. She said, But you started yesterday. I was like, you know, she goes, and you're still running. Like, yeah, she goes, so when will you be back? I said, I don't know. She goes, I'm calling see you later.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

They do, they're just like, whatever you do.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 6:32

So how long did the 50k take you?

SPEAKER_01 6:35

Do you know what? I'm not a time-based runner, I think it took maybe about seven hours, but I don't know. My goal is always just to get to the finish line. That's my personal best. That's the best I can do on that day. That boat took forever.

SPEAKER_02 6:49

Yeah, I just find those distances mind-blowing. I run because of high rocks training, but I don't particularly like it, honestly. I'm really intrigued as to how people prepare themselves and work up to those distances, or even a marathon, to be honest. How many marathons have you done?

SPEAKER_01 7:03

Nine.

SPEAKER_02 7:04

I think you just throw that out there.

SPEAKER_01 7:06

Do I round it up to ten? I don't know. Why not? It's the training. I'm not planning to do any next year. Famous last words. We'll see. Maybe an autumn one. The training for anything is where the magic happened, and it is good. It's hard in the moment, it's hard to get up and get out and do it. But because you've got something on a set date, that's what gets you up and out and doing it. Because if you don't do the work, then on the day you can't pull it out of the bag. And I do like the training because it gives me consistency, it gives me something to aim for. I just like the whole process of training for something.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

Yeah. So, what would a normal week of training for you look like?

SPEAKER_01 7:46

I'm not training for anything at the moment, unusually, and it's wonderful. But a normal week of training, probably three or four runs for the week, and I'll try and get to the gym, or if not to the gym, I'll do it at home strength training.

SPEAKER_02 8:01

Okay. So you're doing kind of a holistic whole round training. Yeah. So as you mentioned just now, your group, Black Girls Do Run. Okay. Tell us a bit about that because I think what you've achieved is amazing. What is it? Why did you start it?

SPEAKER_01 8:18

Started it because as I've been running since 1999 and taking parts in loads of race and didn't really see any or many black women, black people, in fact, at grassroots level, and just thought, well, why not? Rewind back to 2019, had a really odd experience at a race where me and my friend Linda were running a race and we felt like we'd gone the wrong way. So we ran back to the nearest Marshall and said to her, Um, are we going the right way? And she looked at us, it was a really odd look and said, Are you running the race? And I said, Well, yeah, we've got the bibs on. And she went, Oh, okay, you should have gone that way. So it's a really kind of weird moment, and we will never know for sure. But then I said to Linda, do you think she didn't think we were running the race because we're black? Because there were hardly any black people, hardly any black women. And we don't know why. We'll never know. I wouldn't remember if I saw her again, but that just sparked a conversation about the lack of diversity at the running events we go to. And then I said, Well, you know, there's black girls run in the USA and they're in every state, and they've done amazing work in getting regular black women out running. Maybe we need something like that here. And then, not quite sure exactly when it was a few weeks later, a few days later, literally started an Instagram page, and it just started with myself and two other friends. That's who I ran with at the time. It just kind of followed our running journey. So we just take a photo, post it. We ran here, we did this. That was March of 2019, and then it just kind of steadily grew from there. And then with the whole lockdown and running became popular, and then with the Black Lives Matter stuff with George Floyd, it just grew from them, it's steadily grown over the last six years to over 200 women.

SPEAKER_02 10:04

Oh, that's amazing. When you speak to your members, what do they say kind of attracts them to the group? Is it just a sense of solidarity and visibility, or is it other things?

SPEAKER_01 10:15

I think it's seeing people that look like you doing things that if you didn't see people that look like you doing it, you'd think maybe that's not for you. It's not that you can't do it or you're not capable, it's just that you're nervous to approach places or groups where there's nobody that looks like you or talks like you or understands life from your perspective. A lot of women were running, but through being part of the group, even myself, if I wasn't part of the group, I don't think I would have run 100k or 50k. I would have probably stuck to marathon distance, I wouldn't have gone there. But you see other women doing things and they look like you, they have similar lives and you have similar backgrounds to you, and you think they're similar build to you, and you think, wow, if they can do it and they can fit the training into their life, maybe actually I can. So it just plants seeds of possibility that may not be planted by anyone else because that person doesn't look like you.

SPEAKER_02 11:09

Yeah. So you are an England athletic coach?

SPEAKER_01 11:13

Yeah, so the official qualification to be a run leader is the LERF, the leadership in running fitness course.

SPEAKER_02 11:20

Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

And I've got the coaching in running fitness course as well.

SPEAKER_02 11:23

Okay. Tell me about why you did that. Was that to make sure that the group was established?

SPEAKER_01 11:28

In the black community, we're not often taken seriously. So that was the one thing that I wanted to make sure happened is that we're not here to play games. We are serious about what we do. So I wanted us to be validated professionally in some way. So we are in an athletic affiliated group, and everyone who leads our runs has the leadership and running fitness course so that we're properly insured. I did because you know how you know how it is, things can backfire on you quickly. Sometimes it does feel like it's because you're black, you're penalized more greatly. So I just want to put us in a position where we're set up properly. We're not just here running and running, what not have insurance. So all our runs are run by women who have the love. We run with first aid kit in case we had instances where someone's falling over, cut their knee, and then we had no plastic thought, okay, everyone runs with first aid kit. It's just putting things in like that to be professional and so that we're taken seriously. Because if you're not taken seriously, then there's very little room to grow. Also being consistent in whatever it is you do. So we do our weekly ones, we do our monthly ones. Every Monday we post all the women that have done an event over the weekend and got a medal. We don't care if you came last, we don't care if you came first, we're celebrating everybody because you got out there and you did it.

SPEAKER_02 12:49

I think that's so exciting and inspiring. So just tell people where are you guys based?

SPEAKER_01 12:53

We're mainly London based. So we've got a group in North West London, a group in East London, a group in South London, they meet at Battersea, Sweaty Betty, Battersea Power Station, and then King's Cross from Sweaty Betty, King's Cross. North West London is in Hulls, and then East London is in, we meet by Pretamonja in Westfield, Stratfield.

SPEAKER_02 13:15

So with all of your experience of training and running and just doing amazing things, tell us a bit about how that's impacted your midlife experience.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

There's definitely like out there in the media and social media, it's definitely more of a focus on the younger runners, I would say. And I guess it's always been like that, but it doesn't impact you until you become midlife. But then those younger runners will all also get there as well one day as well. I guess it's the brands that focus on the younger ones, the faster ones, and then we almost become the forgotten women, isn't it? Regardless of what colour you are black, white, Asian, I think we'd be become forgotten. The important thing is to keep putting yourself out there, share your journey on social media because if you don't, then everyone will think that it's not something that you do. Don't hide your age, don't hide what's going on, just be honest because we're all gonna hopefully get here. So it's a journey. We all we all were younger once, and we'll all get to midlife. So I think it's just being open and honest about where you are in your journey and don't pretend you're younger than you are, don't promote 50 is the new 40, just be 50 or just be whatever age you are, regardless of how you look. And also don't promote this she looks good for her age. Just say she looks good. Who are we comparing each other to? If I say that, oh, you know, this person doesn't look 36, they look 26, which 36-year-old am I comparing them to? When people say that, I say that is what 36 looks like on her. It may look different on someone else, but she's still that age and your body's that age, regardless of how you look, you could look 25, but when you hit your late 40s, or hitting men of pause, whether you like it or not, regardless of how you look. So just be the age you are and be proud of it and share it because then that gives other women the confidence to be where they are rather than keep focusing on being young. Young isn't necessarily better. That's my take on it anyway.

SPEAKER_02 15:12

I love that because I belong to a wrong group that they no longer meet weekly, but I really enjoyed training with them. I found my training and my running really improved. But I was one of the oldest people there. They were really welcoming, they never made me feel out of it, but I was really conscious of that. And it's that thing of trying to keep up with the young people and it pushed me, but there was that additional pressure of can I do it because I'm older. Did you do the night dark tour run? I did. I absolutely loved it. But when I'm looking around two, three hundred people around me, I could probably count on one hand any women that visibly looked over 40. I did have a moment and I was like, okay.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

Yeah, it's natural to feel out of place. I'm often the oldest in places. Everybody's gonna be the oldest at one point as well. It's a strange place to be, but I think it's also a good place.

SPEAKER_02 16:03

I was just gonna say that because in a way it's like, well, I'm here and I can do this, and this is pretty amazing. Yeah, and I do have that sense of I just wish other people could come and be here as well. Sometimes it's about having the awareness that the thing's happening. I found out about it through a friend, and I almost missed it. And it was actually one of the best experiences I've had.

SPEAKER_01 16:21

And I've been yeah, yeah, I like I've had so I had a weird experience at by 2010 K where I saw my friend's my friend's son. I remember when this child was in primary school and now he's running the same race I think he's 18 or 19. And then a little while later, I saw a friend I've known since primary school, but not in touch anymore. I saw her daughter, and I remember when her daughter was born and she's running the race. I'm like, wow, this is next generation. Yeah. I'm thinking, when I've been running before you were born, you've been born, you've grown up, you're an adult, you're running, and I'm still running. I thought, actually, do you know what? Actually, good that I'm still running. But on the flip side, I could have changed that outlook of oh my gosh, I'm so old. I shouldn't be here.

SPEAKER_02 17:10

But my plan is to be the old woman running, and also, like you say with your group, you just don't know who you're inspiring when you share your medals and the achievements over the weekend. Who can be inspired by that? Yeah. I noticed from one of your Instagram posts you shared a picture of the people who inspired you and got you running. I just think that's such a special story. I don't know if you want to talk about that.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

Yeah, they're so lovely. So I used to be a walk leader about 20 years ago for my local council, and they used to come on my walks. That's how I met them. We lost touch for a little bit. So, Tala, the woman, she messages me good morning every single morning without fail. They're so inspirational because they swim every day and walk several times a week. You can see that they've got an older, their mobility's not quite where it was, they've got a few health issues, but they still get up every day and do what they can. They've got their walking poles now to support them. And I just love the journey because they're not stopping, they just adapt, and that is what life is about. Life is always gonna throw us curveballs, and things are always going to change, and one day might not be able to run. But when I can't run, I can go out and walk, they're just amazing.

SPEAKER_02 18:25

That pose really touched me on movement, it's so important, and I actually wasn't able to run for 10 years, and it was a long period. And now that I can, I appreciate it so much more because I know what it is to not be able to do that. It's a privilege, yeah. Yes, privilege has to work. Yeah, definitely. So, do you do any other types of movement yourself? Is it just running and strength training?

SPEAKER_01 18:47

I cycle a little bit, okay. Yeah, I've probably been cycling before I've been running actually, because I learnt to ride a bike at age five, but I always cycled to commute, not for fun. Maybe only the last two or three years, I've kind of done a few cycles for fun. So, like the Black Unity bike ride and ride London, and I'm doing London to Brighton next year. Yeah, yeah. I would love hate relationship with swimming.

SPEAKER_02 19:17

Oh, why?

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Tell me more about that. I've literally been learning to swim through like my whole life. I just think it's so many things to do at once that my brain can't go. I have to stay alive because the water can kill me, and I've got to like kick my legs, move my arms, move my head, breathe, stay afloat. At the same time, there's still there's a lot going on. It feels like a dance routine, and I can't quite nail.

SPEAKER_02 19:41

Do you know what I can say? Relate, I started swimming in June. I do front call for distance, but my technique is bad. I can't put my face in the water yet. I tried a couple of times, almost drowned myself.

SPEAKER_01 19:52

And then also, there's that thing I can run, I can get out of breath, but it doesn't feel like the running will cure me. I feel like if I make a bad mistake in swimming, it can go quite bad.

SPEAKER_02 20:01

That's exactly how I feel.

SPEAKER_01 20:03

I can do it. I did a trial on last year, just about managed, but I did it. I did a pool-based one because I knew that open water is just too much for me. But yeah, I did it, and it was hard. The swim was oh gosh, but I did it. I've not really swum much since then. Got a friend that runs a really great swim community, and she keeps telling me, You gotta come, you gotta come. And I kept said to her, like, I know this sounds really weird, but I don't know if I can swim with people. I probably won't want to talk to them or something because I'm not gonna be very social.

SPEAKER_02 20:36

I'm laughing because I can totally relate. I swim every week with one lady, and I'm like, she's my safe space, nobody else.

SPEAKER_00 20:42

I haven't got a safe space person. The wall is my safe space in the pool.

SPEAKER_02 20:49

But you've done the trouser, and I I am bowing because I think about it, but I'm like, no, I don't know. That might be a step too far. How did you even decide to do that? Did you do it with somebody?

SPEAKER_01 21:00

I was quite cloak and dagger about it actually. Entered one that I thought nobody else would enter. Only told a few people, and then I didn't tell them when it was. But in the end, I did tell a few people when it was, and they actually came down to support me, which is really nice. And that was just about the right support I needed. But it was good, it was good. Would I do it again? I don't know actually, because it's a challenge to fit running in, to fit strength training in, trying to fit a bike ride and a swim in as well. Well, that has to be would have to be my job.

SPEAKER_02 21:31

I know, and this is the thing. I was saying to somebody the other day that people do it, but I know personally for me, I'm able to do the training I do for Hyrux because my kids are older. I literally had to tell my daughter the other day, she's 17 now. Yes. So I was saying to her, if I was training like this two, three years ago, four or five years ago, you'd be raising yourself. I want to do it properly, but it actually is quite time consuming. And when you can fit it best is not always when it's best for the family, sometimes. So it's a challenge.

SPEAKER_01 22:01

But yeah. Yeah, I've got a 17-year-old and a 14-year-old.

SPEAKER_02 22:05

So, what do they think about everything that you're doing?

SPEAKER_01 22:08

You know what? I've kind of always been active their whole life. So to them, it's just normal.

SPEAKER_02 22:12

Are they active or not really?

SPEAKER_01 22:14

Daughter, not so much. She's an excellent swimmer though. Oh my gosh. She can tumble turn, do all the strokes, everything. Well, my son, he plays football.

SPEAKER_02 22:25

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

I know occasionally he will run with me. Like we always do the Westminster mile together. He just says to me, see you at the finish line, mommy. Or a date to him. Are you gonna run with me? And he just gives me the little look. Doesn't say anything. Literally, let's see him at the end.

SPEAKER_02 22:41

Oh, I didn't expect to laugh as much, sorry. But I just want to say thank you. This has been brilliant. Is there any advice, any tips you would give anybody who is thinking about getting into running but they're not quite sure where to start?

SPEAKER_01 22:56

You know what? The best advice I would say is to start small and build from there. So even if you start with running, run for five minutes, walk for five minutes, go home. Next time run for 10 minutes, just keep it small and then it's manageable. But whatever you do, whether it's five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, just be consistent. Consistency is boring because it means doing it again and again and again. But that's where the magic happens. Just start small, run around the block, and then just build from there. If you run around the block three times a week, if you did it Monday, Wednesday, Friday, run around the block a couple of weeks' time, you'll be able to run around the block twice. Before you know it, you can run 5k. The confidence grows, your fitness grows, everything grows.

SPEAKER_02 23:39

You grow like bamboo, and then you're doing ultra races.

SPEAKER_01 23:43

I've met women and I say to them, You're gonna run a half marathon next year. And they look at me and then I say, Told you so. Yeah, I have these predictions like you're gonna do this, you're gonna do that. And it's like, oh, here she goes, and they do it. I've got plans in my mind for you. That was my plan for you. I didn't even tell you, and you did it. It's wonderful to see, though.

SPEAKER_02 24:07

It is, and it's always that thing of people not knowing how powerful and what's possible until they start. But it's starting, isn't it? That's always the biggest challenge. Taking the first step.

SPEAKER_01 24:25

Even now, me running all these years struggles to be motivated to go out to run. But motivation isn't enough. You need discipline, motivations, not so popular cousin. Sometimes you've got to do the run when you don't want to, but it's still important, definitely.

SPEAKER_02 24:42

So, one more question, Tasha, before I let you go. What would you say into a word or two? Movement means to you?

SPEAKER_01 24:49

Movement is life, it makes me feel good, it makes me happy, and then that way I can give more to everyone else.

SPEAKER_02 24:57

Yeah. Oh, I love that.

SPEAKER_01 24:59

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 25:00

Before we go, where can people find out more about you in Black Girls Do Run?

SPEAKER_01 25:04

So, Black Girls Do Run UK is on all platforms: Instagram, TikTok. The website is www.blackgirlsdoone.co.uk, and we're on LinkedIn as well. My Instagram handle is Tasha Runs Tings, and I'm on all platforms as well, is Tasha Thompson.

SPEAKER_02 25:24

Thank you so much, Tasha. It's been lovely speaking with you.

SPEAKER_01 25:26

Oh, lovely speaking to you too.

SPEAKER_02 25:33

You know what Tasha said that really resonated with me? Movement is life. Three simple words. But think about what she really means. We just heard from a woman who's been running for over 25 years, who's completed nine marathons, three 50Ks, and a punishing a hundred kilometer ultra. What matters most? She still struggles with motivation. She still has to force herself out of the door sometimes. She still has that difficult journey from whatever room she's in to the front door. The difference, she goes anyway. Because motivation isn't enough, you need discipline. Motivation's not so popular, cousin, as Tasha calls it. And honestly, that might be one of the most freeing things you hear today. You don't have to feel like doing it, you just have to do it. But let's talk about the other lesson here, the one about visibility. Tasha didn't start Black Girls Do Run UK because she wanted to build a fitness empire. She started it because she and her friend Linda had a weird moment at a race, a moment where someone looked at them with their race bibs on and still asked, Are you running the race? They'll never know why for sure. But that question sparked something bigger than both of them. Here's the truth. When you don't see people who look like you doing something, it's not that you don't think you can't do it. Sometimes you just get nervous approaching spaces where nobody looks like you, talks like you, or understands life from your perspective. And that's why Tasha got her coaching qualifications, why every run leader in her group is properly certified and insured, because she knows, we all know, that some communities have to be twice as good to be taken half as seriously. But there's another layer to this visibility thing, and it hit me when Tasha talked about being the oldest person amongst young runners. She said, don't hide your age. Don't promote 50 as a new 40. Just be 50. She looks good for her age. No, she just looks good. Full stop. Because who are we comparing her to? Which 49-year-old are we measuring against? Your body is the age it is, regardless of how you look. You're hitting menopause whether you look 25 or 45. So why are we sometimes so desperate to look younger when we could just be exactly where we are and be proud of it? We're the forgotten women, Tasha says, midlife women. The brands focus on the younger, faster runners. But here's the thing, those younger runners, they're going to get here too, one day. So why aren't we showing them what's possible? Tasha has a friend named Tara who messages her, good morning, every single day. Tara and her partner are in their 70s or 80s now. They swim every day, they've gotten older, their mobility isn't what it was, they have health issues, but they don't stop, they adapt. And Tasha, she plans to be an old woman running. That's a vision, isn't it? Not to stay young for Emma, not to pretend we're 30 when we're 50, but to keep moving, keep adapting, keep showing up, even when the distance from your living room to the front door feels impossible. So here's what I want you to take from this. Start small, run for five minutes if it's all you've got, walk for five minutes, do it again on Wednesday and again on Friday. Consistency is boring. It means doing it again and again and again. But that's where the magic happens. You grow like bamboo, as Tasha says. And whatever you do, don't hide. Share your journey, post your medals, whether you came first or last, because somewhere, somebody who looks like you, who's the same age as you, who has the same doubts as you, needs to see that it's possible. Movement is a privilege, not everyone can do it. So if you can move today, move. Even if it's just to the front door. That's it for today. If this conversation moved you, share it with somebody who needs to hear it. And remember, you don't need to be faster, you don't need to be younger, you just need to sh start. Until next time, keep moving.