Footwear brand Altra has unveiled The Legacy Team – Britain’s oldest running team, featuring a combined age of 321 – to help inspire younger generations to build healthy, lifelong running habits.
Shot by portrait photographer Rankin, a new campaign from Altra brings together four veteran athletes aged 75 to 85 to pass on their experience to runners in their 20s and 30s. The initiative comes in response to new research commissioned by Altra, which revealed that the average British runner hangs up their trainers at just 39 years old.
According to Altra’s study of 1,000 UK runners and former runners, one in three quit due to injury. Furthermore, over half reported suffering a training setback serious enough to sideline them for three months or more, while one in six stated they never fully recovered.
To address the lack of long-term training frameworks among newer runners, Altra and The Legacy Team will release The Long Run later this year – a free book featuring practical advice on pacing, injury prevention, and longevity.
The Legacy Team roster includes:
- Peter Giles (82): Britain’s fastest octogenarian over 5km.
- Rajinder Singh MBE (79): Recognised as the oldest runner in the Sikh community, having completed marathons worldwide after taking up the sport as a child in India.
- Laurence Cummings (85): Holder of 204 age-category parkrun records across England and Scotland.
- Pritpal Kaur (75): The oldest British Asian woman to complete this year’s London Marathon while living with blood cancer – one of only 35 women over 75 to cross the finish line.
Rob Herdman, Marketing Director at Altra, said “Last year, our team spent a lot of time at races across the UK and we kept finding ourselves inspired by the same people – the runners in their 70s and 80s who were still out there doing something they loved.
“The Legacy Team is a celebration of runners who show what’s possible and a reminder that the choices we make today can shape whether we’re still running 30 or 40 years from now.”
The multi-channel Legacy Team campaign will roll out across PR, social media, retail, and events over the coming months.
