WHEN Enid Webster, 98, sets off in Sydney this Sunday on her fifth City 2 Surf walk, she'll do so in a pair of joggers borrowed from her son.
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She's more than happy with the shoes, and trains in them, too, but it's just not right.
Adidas? Nike? Saucony? You lot should be falling over yourselves to sign Mrs Webster to an exclusive deal to wear your joggers.
(We're guessing the 90-plus age group is an as-yet untapped market for you.)
Mrs Webster, of Cooranbong, will be accompanied by about a dozen family members, spanning three generations, when she takes on the 14-kilometre course.
"Some of them will run, and some will walk, and when we're finished we usually meet up for a family photo and then go out to a restaurant," Mrs Webster said.
Daughter Rosemary Webster has twice accompanied her mum in the event.
"Mum has grudgingly agreed that I'll be among three of us who will walk with her this year. Sort of like private security," she joked.
"When Mum walks she gets in the zone. She doesn't want to talk. She just puts one foot in front of the other."
In the news:
Last year was meant to be Mrs Webster's fifth consecutive City to Surf. But a chest infection put paid to those plans.
So she was especially keen to take part this year.
Not even heart surgery was going to stop her.
That's right. Mrs Webster had aortic stenosis in January, and underwent surgery in February.
"She could only walk about 200 steps and was so exhausted she then had to rest for half an hour," Rosemary said.
But her strength and fitness has gradually returned.
When we're finished we usually meet up for a family photo and then go out to a restaurant.
- - Enid Webster, 98
"Mum's back to doing her 10,000 steps a day," Rosemary said.
Her training involves walking around Cooranbong.
She knows exactly how far it is from her house to Avondale School, to Avondale College of Higher Education, and the end of Alton Road.
So she keeps track of her progress.
This year, she's completed a 7-kilometre walk, and a few 14-kilometre walks in training.
"I had to make sure I got a clearance from the doctor," Mrs Webster said.
In 2014, in her first City 2 Surf, Mrs Webster completed the course in 2 hours 47 minutes 22 seconds, which remains her best time so far.
At her last City to Surf, in 2017, at the age of 96, Mrs Webster walked the course in 3 hours 3 minutes.
It's that time that she's targeting on Sunday.
"I'd like to think I wouldn't be too far away from that time again," she said.
