Super-fit retiree Ann Bruce-Low recently completed the Southampton Half Marathon at the tender age of 79, and she has well and truly caught the running bug with more races on the schedule over the coming months.
Just a few weeks after moving to her new apartment at Churchill’s Hubert Lodge development in Hythe, Ann was out pounding the streets to complete the Southampton Half in a little over 4 hours, raising over £200 for the Southampton Hospital charity. She even made a brief appearance on the local news coverage of the event!
“I’ve been a member of the local running club, Hadley Runners, for nearly 17 years,” she explains. “We meet up for training twice a week and it’s a very friendly club. During lockdown running really helped me as it was a way to get out and meet people, I may not be the fastest but I do enjoy it. Now that races are back on it’s great to finally be able to take part again, and I was pleased to raise some money for Southampton Hospital who did such a good job looking after my husband when he was ill.”
Having sadly been widowed earlier this year, Ann decided to downsize to a Churchill apartment close to her son, who recommended the move. “I wasn’t keen on the idea at first, but retirement living is not at all what I expected,” she says. “Everyone here is independent and young at heart like me, they’ve all been very friendly and welcoming, and they all sponsored me for the half marathon which was lovely. My fundraising total has reached £220 and there are more donations on the way.”
Having successfully completed the big race, her third half marathon, is Ann thinking of putting her feet up for a bit? Not at all...
“I’m doing a 10k this Sunday and then another 10k the following weekend. I may be slower than I used to be, but I love running and I’m not planning on stopping!”