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Paula Wiltse is an elite 55-year old masters runner from Carolyn’s hometown of Brockville, ON. She has personal bests of 17:02 for the 5k all the way up to 2:48:50 for the marathon, and has even held some Canadian masters age group records throughout the years. At the age of 50 in 2017, Paula became part of a rare group of women to break 3 hours for the marathon, running an impressive 2:58:52 in Chicago. Carolyn interviewed  Paula about her storied career on the Women Run Canada podcast back in 2021, which you can find in our show notes. 

In this episode we take a deep dive into what’s been going on for Paula over the past 5 years and to sum it up, it’s a LOT. Like many of us, Paula’s running took a big hit during the pandemic, but she’s also been dealing with perimenopause, the strength and speed loss that happens to women in their 50s, and losing her 20-year sponsorship with Saucony. We talk about how she’s navigated all of this and redefined success for herself along the way, as well as how she plans to get back in touch with her competitive drive to knock out a fast 5K this fall.

Paula is an online coach with Mile2Marathon and she coaches a group in the Brockville area called MyReason2Run, so if you’re looking for some help with your running you should definitely check her out. Paula is the real deal and we appreciate her sharing so honestly about the challenges she has faced over the past five years. 

Resources we discuss in the episode:

• Women Run Canada's episode with Carolyn/Paula
• Paula's Sub-3 in Chicago, Canadian Running Magazine
• Our interview with Ilona Thomas (Paula's friend doing Two Oceans)

Connect with Paula:

• Instagram: @wiltsepaula
• Mile2Marathon Coaching email: [email protected]
• Reason2Run Coaching email: [email protected]

Connect with Carolyn & Kim:

• Email us with guest ideas: [email protected]
• Inspired Soles Instagram
• Kim's Instagram
• Kim's Facebook
• Carolyn's Instagram
• Carolyn's Facebook
• Carolyn's website (sign up for her free weekly newsletter on the homepage)

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