Radio One DJ Adele Roberts wanted to make a statement when she ran in the 2026 London Marathon in her underwear. Firstly it was to show she wouldn’t let the stoma she has from her bowel cancer operation hold her back.
And secondly, she wanted to show how running and moving your body in midlife can be pure medicine - advice that Gen X women who grew up with warped notions about exercise can really benefit from, especially during menopause.
For some reason, many of our generation were brought up believing that exercise was only there to keep us thin. But as 47 year-old Adele explains, you can start running at any stage of life and the benefits far outweigh the size of your waistline.
“The reason that I run is the mental health side of things,” she told Ateh Jewel in this week’s Second Act Podcast. “I started to change my life around, got into running and it just balances me.”
It wasn’t until she was in her 40s that the former Big Brother star discovered running helped her get rid of her ‘negative energy’ from unprocessed grief she had been carrying round since the sudden loss of her auntie over 20 years before. Pounding the streets in her trainers has also helped her to unpack the mental load that came with her shock bowel cancer diagnosis at 42.
“It’s like I can breathe (when I run), it's like mobile meditation, mobile medicine,” she says of the benefits.
“All that negative energy that I had in my body used to just be sat inside me. And now with running, it can flow out of me. So it's how I deal with life now.
“I didn't have an outlet before. I think music has always been a big one for me, but it can only do so much and go so far. I think physically you have to do something with your body.
“So having that routine of running helps keep me balanced, and my girlfriend Kate (Holderness) notices if I don't go for a run.
“I'm like the family dog. I will eat everything and every now and then I need to be put out the door. I have a little run around the fields and then come back.”
Running barriers for midlife women - and expert advice on overcoming them
The trouble is, while some people casually say that all you need to go for a run is a pair of trainers, the reality, particularly for women in midlife, can be quite different, and there are a lot of physical, psychological and logistical barriers that can make it a tricky sport to get into - let alone stick to. It's frustrating when all those physical and mental benefits that Adele raves about feel just out of reach, so we spoke to an expert who's inspired thousands of women to run over the years.
Sabrina Pace-Humphreys is a running coach and campaigner — as well as a mother, grandmother and author of Start Where You Are: The Beginner’s 5K Running Guide. Since getting into running in midlife herself, she’s now made it her mission to motivate more women to do the same. She’s well versed in the blockers that many women face when they contemplate running, and she spoke to Second Act about how to overcome them.
‘I don’t feel like a runner’
"I think for us as women, there’s this fear of claiming that mantle… we almost feel like frauds. That stops people — they think, ‘Why would I take it up in my 50s? That’s not who I am.’
Even having the thought… is part of claiming that identity. So even if you haven’t run a step yet, the fact that you’re thinking about it means you belong in this space. Start where you are. Just accept: this is my start point. If we can get over what’s in here [the mind], it’s amazing what can happen."
‘I don’t look like a runner’
"Those things in your head that say, ‘It’s not for me, I don’t look like a runner, I don’t have the kit, I don’t know what to do’ — it’s all of these things.
The biggest thing that holds us back is: ‘I’m not thin enough, I’m not fast enough, I’m going to hold people up.’ But you’ve made the biggest decision just by turning up… that’s bigger than any run you’ll ever do.
If we wait until we’ve lost weight, or the kids are older, or life is calmer — we’ll never start.”
‘I don’t have time’
"Another big barrier is time. 'How am I going to carve out time? It’s going to take too long!'
We experience guilt around doing stuff for ourselves… there’s a societal expectation that women should prioritise everything else over themselves. But carving out time for yourself isn’t selfish — it’s necessary. We have to push against the shame women feel about wanting space for themselves.”
‘I’ll be rubbish’
"It’s like it’s not enough just to want to run 5K — you’ve got to be training for a marathon or an ultramarathon. These narratives around pace and what a runner looks like are based on science that isn’t aimed at us.
Just decide to move in a way that feels good for you. It’s not about pace — it’s about how you feel today.”
‘I’m too old’
"Taking up something new at an older age is a massive barrier — especially with menopause and hormonal changes amplifying those thoughts of not belonging. Once you find someone or something you connect with — that’s when it clicks. That’s why finding your tribe is so important. It’s a date in the diary… that accountability helps women show up for themselves."
