The AW British Masters Athlete of the Year talks about discovering a love of running that led to medals and record-breaking runs.
Less than a decade ago, Sarah Roberts had a completely different idea of what life entailed at age 75. The grandmother-of-five was an irregular gym-goer in her days working as a lawyer and raising two children before retiring to a daily routine of exercise, from boxing to Zumba and yoga to legs, feet and legs. But organized sports weren’t something he’d ever considered, much less running, something he’d never done other than chasing his friends on the elementary school playground.
So for Roberts to be crowned now AWs The British Women’s Masters Athlete of the Year is quite an extraordinary change.
“Running never crossed my mind,” she says. “I never thought of doing that. I thought I would just develop the same way I was doing, but my life has completely changed because now it’s all about running.”
His recent collection of medals and records is astounding. Over the past 12 months, Roberts has set W75 outdoor world records of 800m, 1500m, one mile, 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m, indoor world records of 800m, 1500m, 3000m and road world bests of 15km. The package of four world titles preceded an unparalleled haul of eight European gold medals and four silver. Not bad for someone who had never competed internationally until last year.
It was an unexpected run-in while on vacation in Cape Town eight years ago that changed the course of Roberts’ life so much. Encouraged to take part by a local friend, he cycled the 5km route at the foot of Table Mountain before returning a week later and riding small sections. After flying home to Hertfordshire, he soon became a regular at the track, steadily reducing his best time to 23 minutes over the next two years.
Buoyed by his improvement, he joined his local athletics club, Dacorum, a few weeks after his 70th birthday and signed up for the 800m in late summer 2019. Lined up against teenagers, it was the first time she had ever set foot on a track.
Delayed by the Covid pandemic, it wasn’t until 2022 that he was able to race regularly again. Until 2023, he was a two-time British champion in the 70-74 age group. The following year, he won three world titles in his first international competition.
Masters athletics is divided into five age groups, and Roberts knew how important this year could be after turning 75 last October and entering a new category for women aged 75 to 79. As the youngest of his cohort, he was determined to strike at the right time.
“I’ve been working pretty hard on it this year because I’ve been trying to get all the records I can,” he explains. “I haven’t really done that much training because I’ve been competing a lot, but it was fantastic. great year
“I’ve got all the world records I’m probably capable of, and I think my records are pretty good. I kept beating my 5000m world record by very small amounts, but I wasn’t happy with it, so I spent a long time improving it until I finally reached the speeds I do in the parkrun and set a record of 21:25.8.
“I think most of my records are pretty good now. I doubt if I can beat them, obviously I’ll keep trying, but I don’t expect to be able to.”
Roberts’ biggest result of the year came at the European Masters Championships in Madeira in October, where she was the youngest athlete of any nation to win gold in the 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m, 10km individual, 10km team, cross-course team and 4x10m. He also won silver in the over 400m, cross country individual medley, 4x400m and 4x400m medley, and finished fourth in the over 200m.
It sounds quite exhausting. “It was pretty intense,” he admits. “I really covered all the distances I could, on the day of the 200m I had to do the heat and the last of it before I ran the 10km road that evening.
“The day I did cross country (his first ever cross country), we had to get on a bus at 6.45am that took us up to 4,000ft for the race. I didn’t realize I would be so affected by the altitude. But later that day I was descending 1,500m at sea level as well.”
Such feats, Roberts admits, have ensured he is now well known in the world of masters athletics, which he says is “very flattering”. About winning this AW award, he adds: “I think it’s fabulous and I feel very honoured. I know the competition is very tough, so I’m excited.”
After a hectic year in pursuit of records, the near future looks a little calmer. His success is largely built on daily gym visits, and he does just two regular runs a week in addition to his trusty Saturday morning sacks. He has no intention of changing his plan.
“I’m enjoying competing, so I’m not going to stop,” said Roberts, looking ahead to next March’s European Masters Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland. “But I won’t be looking as hard at different distances to get the record as I have this year.
“I think I will try to make a few moves for my club because in the past I stayed away from them because I was always worried about getting injured. As I wanted to try for records, of course I didn’t want to get injured, but the pressure is off a bit now.”
Breaking all the world records and titles is a sure way to do that.
