WELLINGTON hairdresser-turned athlete, Kirstie Booth, will test her endurance in the inaugural British Milers Club (BMC) race in London.

The world-record breaking steeplechase runner is determined to defy her age and continue setting personal bests as she prepares to race in the BMC wave at the 2024 Vitality Westminster Mile on Saturday, September 21. 

The competition is being held for the first time this year to mark the 70th anniversary of Roger Bannister becoming the first person to run inside four minutes over the iconic distance. 

The race aims to showcase the “cream” of the UK’s current generation of middle-distance talent.

Kirstie Booth has taken a less than conventional route to top-level athletics – having been a full-time hairdresser in Wellington until she was 38.  

The 46-year-old said several health issues made her reconsider her career path and 12 months later she was competing in Half Ironman events and the Age Group World and European Championships overseas. However, she soon found her strength lay in athletics and over middle-distance events specifically. 

A member of Taunton Athletics Club, Kirstie has been whittling down her personal bests over distances from 400m to 5K to the point where those times are not just PBs but national and world records. 

She said: “I am still setting PBs and assume I will keep improving. My coach and I don’t know what I would have been able to achieve in my youth and that means I treat myself like a younger athlete looking for consistency and improvement now. I don’t think much about my age, unlike other people, because I don’t feel it when I run.”

Kirstie’s enthusiasm for steeplechasing began with her fellow club members, as her coach was sceptical whether it was the best option because of her age. But after she cleared a few barriers, she said she had made up her mind and just a few years later she was celebrating that world record which came in a National Athletics League Championship fixture in Yeovil in July 2023. 

“It was a great moment,” said Kirstie. “The commentators announced after one lap that that I was on world-record pace and from that point I was committed to achieving it. I was getting encouragement over the Tannoy, and I just about got there (running 6:50.81 to beat the previous best time of 6:51.51).” 

After recovering from a broken foot, Kirstie is looking forward to testing herself alongside other Masters athletes at the 2024 Vitality Westminster Mile on Saturday 21 September, albeit in an event that is new to her. 

“I broke my foot earlier this year in training and my season never truly got going. I have always wanted to run in London and a road run made sense ahead of the back end of the season,” said Kirstie.

The Bannister wave, open to any BMC member aiming to run faster than 4:40 for men or 5:24 for women, will get underway at 14:20 on 21 September.