30 Years of Nursing, 10 Years of Running: the passage of time and what that teaches us about the impact of our decisions.

My week away last week made me reflect about the passage of time. I found myself in the same place I'd visited 10 years earlier - when I had just started running. Back then, there's no way I could have run 20k over the challenging terrain we covered this holiday. In fact, it wouldn't even have occurred to me to try.

That reflection became even more poignant when I realised that September 25th marks 30 years since I qualified as a nurse. Thirty years – where did that go? Looking at old photos of me in my student nurse uniform compared to where I am now, the difference isn't just physical - it's a complete shift in how I approach health and well being.

From Treating Illness to Preventing It

When I started my nursing career, after a brief stint in Theatres, I spent my time in acute medicine - focused on treating illness and supporting those in poor physical health. It was reactive care - helping people after problems had already developed and were in acute need. Fast forward 30 years, and I now support people to live well and improve their health proactively so they can avoid becoming like the patients I used to care for.

I often share my own story because I consider myself a really normal, average person. I'm not athletically gifted, and I certainly never did any exercise at school. I wasn't picked for sports teams - In fact, I was a pretty overweight child, so exercise and sport were the furthest things from my mind. I did a little bit of dancing, but that stopped when I went to secondary school. After that, like lots of women, I did no formative exercise until I started my fitness journey at 40.

Being in Better Shape at 51 Than I Was at 40

The reality is, I'm in better physical shape in my 50s than I was in my 40s and certainly in my 20's when I would fuel myself during nursing shifts on toast and coffee. I'm doing things now that I never thought I could do or would do. Ultra marathons, desert races, qualifying as an England Athletics coach - none of these were on my radar a decade ago.

But it's the everyday physicality that I am grateful for. I can repeatedly climb flights of steep cobbled stairs on a Greek island without getting out of puff - something I'm very sure I wouldn't have been able to do had I not taken those steps all those years ago.

The Importance of Prevention

My nursing background has given me a unique perspective on why prevention matters so much. I've seen what poor health looks like, its impact and how it limits what people can do and the way they can live their lives. Decisions we make today impact our future wellbeing - whether it's deciding to drink more water to stay properly hydrated or deciding to cut down on fizzy drinks and sugar. These might seem like tiny decisions but they're the foundation of bigger changes to come.

Regular movement, strength training, good nutrition, adequate sleep, managing stress - these aren't luxuries or vanity projects. They're investments in your future self. They're what allow you to keep doing the things you love, to take on new challenges, and to age with vitality rather than just getting older.

Where Will Your Decisions Take You?

Time passes so quickly – but it’s never too late to start making choices that support your future self, so we can both live and age well. It all starts with today’s decisions… Where will the decisions you make today take you in 10 years’ time?

If you’d like some support in making those small, future-shaping choices, I’d love to help you — it’s what I do every day at Run Fit Fordingbridge.