The She Runs Strong Podcast · Coach Parry

60 Years Old. Never Injured. Here’s How. (Ina Donat's INCREDIBLE Running Journey)

·43 min·3 clips

A 60-year-old runner shares how foot core exercises kept her injury-free for over 40 years.

This episode features a coaching call with Ina, a 60-year-old runner from Edinburgh, hosted by coaches Shona Hendricks and Nikki Friedman. Ina is a lifelong runner who began at age 14 and now balances ultra-distance trail goals with a competitive 5k target. She has been running consistently for decades, often solo and on trails, favoring long "journey" runs in the Scottish landscape like the Pentland Hills. Ina joined the Coach Perry platform and currently runs four days a week, a reduction from her previous five to six days. Her key goals are completing the 65km Tweed Valley Ultra in November and achieving a sub-25-minute 5k, having recently run a 27-minute solo time trial. She emphasizes consistent strength training, which she often performs creatively without a gym, and daily "foot core" exercises for intrinsic foot muscles. Ina experienced significant joint pain for about 15 months around perimenopause but continued running and strength training through it. She follows a training cycle with easier weeks, currently using a plan with back-to-back long weekend runs and Tuesday interval sessions. Nutritionally, Ina focuses on protein, aiming for roughly two grams per kilogram of body weight, using quark and protein powder, and prefers real food like oat cakes and cheese sandwiches over gels during long runs. She tried intermittent fasting for four weeks but found it incompatible with her running schedule. Ina values the mental perspective gained from hill running and maintains an active daily life outside of running, including sea kayaking. The coaches advise her to practice 5k efforts in races, specifically suggesting the flat Cramond parkrun, to mentally adapt to the pain of shorter, faster distances. They recommend scheduling these every few weeks without hindering her ultra endurance training. Nikki notes the importance of entering interval sessions feeling fresh and possibly adjusting their timing within the week. The conversation highlights Ina's holistic approach, where strength work, nutrition, and recovery are integral to her longevity and injury-free running. The tone is conversational, educational, and supportive, blending personal storytelling with practical coaching advice. This episode would greatly appeal to lifelong runners, especially women over 45 interested in balancing endurance and speed goals, strength training, and nutrition for longevity. Listeners seeking highly technical training theory or debates on running methodology might find it less suited to their interests.

As heard by us

A coaching-heavy running conversation that turns a long-term athlete story into practical advice.

A 60-year-old long-time runner with big goals gives this conversation its emotional center, but the stronger payoff is how the hosts turn that story into usable coaching.

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Why you'd press play

A coaching call with a 60-year-old long-time runner chasing big goals.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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