British runner defies the ageing process once again as she clocks a world W60 record of 4:56.77.

Clare Elms, Britain's most prolific masters record setter at 1500m and mile, improved her own world W60 1500m record at Wimbledon on Wednesday (May 27) when at the age of 62 years and five months she became the oldest woman to break five minutes for the distance.

Appropriately wearing race number 62 and competing in the third race of the Hercules Wimbledon 1500m PB meeting, eight of her 10 opponents were young enough to be her grandchildren!

After the record temperatures of the previous day it was much cooler but unfortunately the weather change meant a strong easterly wind with gusts of over 20mph recorded which undoubtedly affected times.

Up against much younger athletes, Elms was at the back of the field for the first 800m and having to run wide but unable to get a clear run and she was down on schedule at the bell. On the last lap she got round half her opponents but felt she slowed as she hit the strong wind in the home straight.

She held her form well though and her 4:56.77 trimmed her 4:56.85 world record from 2025.

After setting a world W55 1500m record in 2019, a bad dose of Covid and a subsequent race shortage affected her immediately  thereafter but her consequent best outdoor times over the last seven years show her consistency and no sign of her slowing down.

2020: 4:58.23
2021: 4:58.45
2022: 4:58.34
2023: 4:57.10
2024: 4:57.14
2025: 4:56.85
2026: 4:56.77

Having set significant world bests at 5km (17:45) and 5 miles (29:53) already this spring she is hopeful in better conditions and a clearer run of going significantly quicker on the track at 1500m later in the season.

She currently holds an unprecedented 16 different UK 1500m or mile records or bests indoors, outdoors and road mile between the W45 and W60 age groups.

The fastest 1500m of the day came from Dominic Nolan (3:47.94) ahead of South of England under-17 cross-country champion Joseph Scanes' 3:48.50. Caspian Holmes, 15, ran 3:54.83 in another heat, while Sophie Tooley (4:20.80) ran the quickest women's time.

Elms wasn't the only record setter of recent times though as Andrew Ridley improved the M60 800m world record to 2:06.67 in a BMC race in Winchester on May 20 though that was down on his indoor world mark of 2:05.13.

At Stratford on Monday former senior international Christine Harrison-Bloomfield set European W55 sprint marks of 12.67 and 26.26.

Senior marks there included a Welsh 200m record of 22.79 for Hannah Brier ahead of Success Eduan's 22.81.