In our experience
Meet three inspirational and highly dedicated women who have achieved firsts in the fields of sport, healthcare and politics
Former seamstress and running coach Mimi Anderson, 61, is an endurance athlete and motivational speaker. She is a mum of three and lives in Kent.
I first started running aged 36 – initially, out of vanity to tone my legs. I had never run in my life – apart from around a netball court at school – and I remember standing on a treadmill feeling terribly self-conscious, thinking, ‘I’ll try a mile.’ Before long, I was managing three, then 10. Working as a seamstress and raising my children, life was hectic. However, it felt amazing to have running as an outlet.
Eighteen months later, I found myself on the start line of the Marathon des Sables, preparing to run 156 miles across the Sahara Desert. It was like running in an oven, plus I got a bug and collapsed at the end of day three. At the finish line, I had to be given five bags of fluids. I’ve never worked so hard to finish a race – but the elation was more than worth it.
Since then, I’ve completed just about every extreme event there is, setting world records and achieving a number of ‘firsts’. The race I’m most proud of is the 6633 Arctic Ultra – Iwas 45 and did the 352-mile run across the Arctic in temperatures of -40C. The sense of isolation was intense; just me and the sledge I was pulling amid miles of ice and snow. But then, every night, the Northern Lights would come out and it was breathtaking.
‘IT HAS NEVER OCCURRED TO ME THAT I’M TOO OLD TO DO ANYTHING!’
At 50, I was the only woman to finish the gruelling 147-mile Viking Way Ultra in 2012, and I was the first woman to achieve a double Grand Union Canal Race a year later. At 53, I was the first woman to achieve a double Spartathlon – 306 miles in total that included running up Mount Parthenion.
My races have been mainly self-funded unless I’ve been going for a world record, in which case I found sponsorship, and I would squirrel away money whenever I could. It has been challenging at times, but my husband, Tim, has really helped, both emotionally and financially.
It’s humbling to be called a trailblazer, and it’s great to inspire others. Challenges I’ve had to overcome include anorexia, which started when I was 15 and went on into adulthood. My body was so damaged, I was lucky to be able to have the children. Although a horrid illness, it has shown me that however tough things get, I have the strength to overcome them. Another challenge was dealing with a serious knee injury, which in 2017 forced me to abandon my world-record attempt to run across America, having already run over 2,000 miles. The injury still prevents me from running long distance, but I’ve turned to cycling
