Women's Running Stories

Mar 18 2025 30 mins

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This is part 9 of the Over 50, Sub 20, 5k Project, where WRS host and producer Cherie Louise Turner is sharing her journey to break 20 minutes in the 5k, in her 50s, in real time.

Feel free to join the journey from here; it's not mandatory to listen to previous episodes in order to enjoy this one. Previous episodes will provide more context around this project and provide details about the many lessons Cherie has learned so far.

This episode picks up where Cherie left off in late December 2024: she'd set a mile PR in October and was navigating coaching herself once again.

In this episode, Cherie shares what's happened over the past few months. It's been a time of learning to race with joy, regardless of the outcome, and also a time of reflection and readjustment. It's led to a shift in Cherie's thinking around this project, and a big decision.

About this project: In June of 2023, Women's Running Stories host and producer Cherie Louise Turner closed the chapter on running longer distance races (at least for now), like marathons and ultras, and turned her attention to the 5k. Her goal: break 20 minutes in the 5km. Cherie is currently 55 years old and she has never dipped under 20 minutes at this distance. The closest she's ever gotten was back over a decade ago, when she ran 20:18. Cherie's current day 5k PR is 21:01, set June 2024.

This update spans late December 2024 to mid-March 2025. To catch up on all past episodes check out the links and publication dates below.

Come along for the journey.

Links and Publication Dates to Earlier Episodes in this Series

Find the whole series here.

Part 1, pub date (September 8, 2023): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cherie-turner-the-over-50-sub-20-5k-project-part-1/id1495427631?i=1000627157697

Part 2, pub date (October 27, 2023): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cherie-turner-the-over-50-sub-20-5k-project-part-2/id1495427631?i=1000632786362

Part 3, pub date (January 5, 2024): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cherie-turner-over-50-sub-20-5k-project-part-3-the-reset/id1495427631?i=1000640614612

Part 4, pub date (March 25, 2024): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cherie-turner-over-50-sub-20-5k-project-part-4-the/id1495427631?i=1000650320154

Part 5, pub date (May 28, 2024): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cherie-louise-turner-over-50-sub-20-5k-project-part/id1495427631?i=1000657010943

Part 6, pub date (July 23, 2024): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cherie-louise-turner-over-50-sub-20-5k-project-part/id1495427631?i=1000663065105

Part 7, pub date (October 8, 2024): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cherie-louise-turner-part-7-over-50-sub-20-5k-project/id1495427631?i=1000672194951

Part 8, pub date (December 25, 2024): https://womensrunningstories.com/cherie-louise-turner-part-8-over-50-sub-20-5k-project-a-mile-pr-a-coaching-change