Sophie Raworth came close to writing herself off as 'too old' for running in her 40s - here's what changed her mind

At 57, BBC journalist Sophie Raworth has achieved some incredible things, including running over 20 marathons and 10 ultra-marathons.

If that wasn’t impressive enough, she’s not slowing down any time soon, keeping fast and firm thanks to her attitude (and her favourite New Balance running trainers).

In fact, several of these athletic milestones she’s achieved after the age of 40, proving that you don’t have to have done it all by a certain time in your life.

A recent achievement included completing the mind-blowing 34-mile Mallorca ultra-marathon in her mid 50s - but there was a time she was close to packing it all in, fearing she was "too old" to keep running marathons (never mind ultra marathons).

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At the age of 40, BBC broadcaster Sophie Raworth assumed she was too old to start running. But she picked herself up and kept going on a path that would take her to races all over the world, across the Alps and even to the Sahara Desert for the famous 150-mile Marathon des Sables. You can pre-order her book, Running On Air today.

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As she reflects on the glory of her post-Mallorca ultra marathon - completed in November 2025 - Sophie spoke with Runners World, where she opened up about the time she nearly wrote herself off.

During an interview she said, "So I did a half marathon, not very fast… couple of hours, I think it took us. And then I had another child and gave up. Then when I was 41, I thought, I'm too old to be doing marathon running.

"I could never do it. I was quite frightened of the distance."

Sharing what inspired her to consider the impossible, she added, "Then a girlfriend of mine suddenly announced she was doing the London Marathon."

This inspired Sophie to, correctly, think "maybe I can" get back into running, after all.

She said, "So I watched her and she did it. And I thought, okay, I better give it a go, which I did. And then I collapsed. So that wasn't a very successful first one."

"But I then picked myself up again the next year. I did finish it… And I haven't looked back since," Sophie said.

Sophie shared a first-person account of her challenge with Runner's World, writing about the physical challenge and the mental challenge of questioning if she still had it in her in her 50s.

She was, as she wrote for the outlet, one of "only nine women in the 55-59 age category taking part" and out of the 651 people who would start the race, only 133 women would cross the finish line, with most nearly "20 years younger".

But writing of the victory she felt completing the run, she shared, "10 hours and 41 minutes it took me to finish one of the toughest races that I’ve ever run. But it was also one of the most rewarding - and not just because of the breath-taking views.

It turned out that I wasn’t too old. I could do it."