I’m an ultra-runner, doctor and mum - 3 simple ways I make marathon training work from home

Staying active is the key to longevity. Resistance training slows natural muscle loss and bone density loss. Single-leg exercises improve coordination to prevent falls and maintain independence as you age. But when you’re juggling training with a busy life, fitting in exercise can be more daunting than the workout itself.

An 11-year study of over 8,000 individuals, published in 2018, found that exercising just two to three times a week was linked to a nearly 30% reduction in overall mortality. That probably feels doable, but if your boss drops an unplanned meeting into your diary or your teenager needs help with last-minute homework, your well-laid gym plans can go up in smoke.

British ultra runner Elsey Davis knows this scenario all too well. Mother to a one-year-old son, Elsey is also a GP and accomplished marathon runner. She has raced cross-country for Team GB and last year made headlines with a new record for running a 400-mile lap of her home county, Cornwall, in six days. In her spare time, she helps care for her mum, who lives with Alzheimers. How does she make it all fit?

I recently caught up with her in Chamonix to get her best tips on squeezing her workouts in and staying on top of it all.

Get your steps in at home

Living close to the South West Coast Path, Elsey has easy access to one of the world’s most beautiful running trails, but sometimes the five minutes it takes to drive there feels too precious to spare. On those days, she says owning a treadmill at home is a “game changer” that lets her do short workouts during moments of downtime.

The advent of space-saving walking pads makes these handy pieces of gym equipment more affordable than ever. They don’t take up an entire room, and you can sneak in a session on your lunch break without losing time driving to the gym.

Anything is better than nothing

Long daily workouts might not be possible, but don’t let that hold you back. Bite-sized sessions still reap rewards, says Elsey, whose motto of “anything is better than nothing” keeps her from growing complacent when she’s time-poor.

For her, that can be splitting her workout into two sessions, with a short buggy run earlier in the day and a second short run when her wife gets home from work, to keep her mileage up without going out for hours.

Similarly, if you find you only have one or two days a week to work out, don’t despair. Known as the “weekend warrior” effect, research from Harvard Health suggests that concentrated exercise sessions may be just as effective as more frequent workouts at protecting against disease, as long as you meet the weekly target of 150 minutes.

Our ideas for exercise snacking can provide inspiration to keep moving whether your time or motivation is low.

Prioritise strength over distance

We all have different workout goals, and while Davis’ training can take her out on the trail for hours or days at a time, it’s actually strength workouts that she calls her “non-negotiable.”

“I’ll never miss that. If I miss my strength training, I also miss my running, because I would just get injured,” says Davis.

Davis does three strength sessions a week, even when she's travelling, focusing on key movements like single-leg balancing exercises with weights, overhead pulls, single-arm dumbbell rows, elbow planks and push-ups for upper-body strength.