‘i love the challenge of being better than yesterday’

Life can surprise you – at any age. Just take it from these women

Double-gold Olympic medal winner Dame Kelly Holmes is enjoying some much-needed downtime after a busy 12 months – no doubt tending to her herd of five alpacas that live in a field near her Kent home.

Helen Skelton chats about her love of exercise, from running to boxing, and why she likes to mix things up.

Broadcaster and Gold Radio presenter Kirsty Gallacher, 49, talks to Joanna Ebsworth about having radiotherapy for her benign tumour, swapping running for reformer Pilates, and why she thinks age doesn’t matter.

Alisha Boe is barefoot, grounding herself in the grass of Regent’s Park. “It feels good, it tickles my feet, it’s lovely,” she explains, while I unlace my own plimsolls to join her in a moment of calm

When Davina McCall was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour in August 2023, she was reassured by the word ‘benign’. But after learning that the tumour left her with a one in 100 risk of sudden death, she set about training for her toughest challenge yet: brain surgery. Six months on, she reveals the role fitness has played in her recovery