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Outlook: The record-breaking runner who hated her legs

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Mimi Anderson

08/02/2021 GMT

The record-breaking runner who hated her legs

BBC World Service - Outlook, The record-breaking runner who hated her legs

Mimi Anderson's desire for thinner legs took her from the treadmill to ultra-marathons

A lifelong battle with her body image got Mimi Anderson running at 36. Within a year she was doing ultra-marathons. But the greatest change was in her relationship with her body.

Mimi Anderson started running at the age of 36.  She wanted more shapely legs and so hit the gym.  Mimi had a history of eating disorders, but her newfound love of running forced a change in her relationship with food and her body image.  She went on to become a record-breaking endurance athlete completing feats such as the Marathon des Sables and becoming the fastest woman to run the length of Great Britain.  The training and competitions did lead to those thinner legs.  But when she got them, she realised she didn't want or need them anymore.  Her latest book is called Limitless.

Julius Achon’s talent for running took him from a poverty-stricken village in Uganda to the Olympics. But his life changed when he found a group of children sleeping under a bus while out running. Julius gave this interview to Jo Fidgen in 2018.

Photo: Mimi Anderson. Credit: Mikkel Beisner

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