“Forget living longer, exercise can make life easier right now”—a 72-year-old fitness influencer and marathon runner shares two accessible ways to start moving

Two images side by side of the same woman with short white hair and glasses. In one image she flexes her biceps, in the other she holds a stick with dozens of running race medals hanging from it.

Retirement is often a time when people slow down, but in Christine Hobson’s case, she’s speeding up. When her daughter persuaded her to join a running club so she wouldn’t get bored, she had no idea she’d get the fitness bug and run 125 marathons in total, visiting all seven continents.

And the 72-year-old former teacher has plans to run the North Pole marathon in 2027.