Maddy Collinge - Runner and running coach. Mother of 4 and Nana to 3. Trying to fight off ageing and prove that we can go on doing stuff long after we thought we couldn’t... - a podcast by Sarah Williams

Maddy is a 72-year-old runner, cyclist, mother of four, and grandmother to three. Her goal is to fight aging and show that we can do things long after we thought we couldn't.

Maddy has always enjoyed being outside since she was a child. At school, she enjoyed sports and spent a lot of time swimming with her brother.

Maddy has been running for more than four decades. She began running in 1977 at the age of 26. She was working for the military in a child guidance clinic in Munster, Germany.

Maddy was just running for pleasure, and prioritises her children after work. She was a social worker before becoming a teacher. She joined the Harriers in the 1990s and began running seriously in 1997–98. She has competed in every imaginable race, as well as loads that no longer exist.

In 2017, Maddy competed in over 30 races, winning the majority of them in her age category (V65). From 2004 to 2018, she ranked in the top 50 in the UK for her age group at distances ranging from 5K to marathon. She finished 14th among V65 women in the UK in the half marathon in 2017.

Maddy also finds time to coach and support other runners, and she has helped organise local parkruns. She set up Mansfield Runners in 2012 with Sue Bellingham's help. They started it when Run England was promoting beginner's groups. It is now a RunTogether group.

 

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Show Notes

• Who is Maddy
• 72 years young
• Running since 27
• Waiting for bi-lateral hip replacements
• Her early years in the 1950s
• Getting a TV when she was 7 yrs old
• Getting a car when she was 11
• Cycling everywhere 
• Getting into running while working in West Germany
• The restrictions on women’s running and women not being allowed to run long distances 
• Starting to run every week around the woods
• Why she loves running and being out in nature 
• Moving back to England in 1981 
• Signing up for the first Nottingham Half Marathon 
• Having 4 children between 1983 and 1990
• Joining Mansfield Harriers
• Running during pregnancy and after having children 
• Loving yoga and CrossFit 
• Dealing with injury
• Going back to the early 1980s
• 1984 - when women were allowed to run the marathon 
• Taking 25 yrs of running before signing up for her first marathon 
• Running the London Marathon in 3hr 27mins (over 50)
• Deciding to stop running road marathons
• Training by herself 
• Effort Sessions every Tuesday and Thursday
• Mindset and mental strategy while running 
• How times and knowledge have trained
• Getting into coaching
• Mansfield Runners 
• The Stilton Stumble 
• Dealing with Osteoporosis 
• Why you need to keep moving when you have arthritis 
• Advice for new runners
• How to connect with Maddy
• Having younger running friends 
• The isolation that happens when your older
• Entering the Bath Half
• Women being veterans from 35
• Being competitive 
• Counting while running
• Embracing technology
• Magical memory from running
• Racing with her daughter in the Italian Alps

 

Social Media

Instagram @collingemaddy

 

 

Further episodes of Tough Girl Podcast

Further podcasts by Sarah Williams

Website of Sarah Williams