Hoskin walks to World Masters

Sue Hoskin isn't going to let injuries get in the way of going to the World Masters Athletics in Sacramento, United States, next year.

The Palmerston North 59-year-old is back on the race walking scene after breaking her left knee cap and right wrist while training last September.

A former world recordholder for the 50-54 year age group for the 3km walk, which she set at Christchurch in 2005, Hoskin said making it to Sacramento wasn't a guarantee, but hoped it would happen.

"I've looked at what the times are at world level and potentially I can get a place," she said.

"At the open level I'm reasonably competitive, but realistically I want to make something that's a good goal for me."

By the time Sacramento rolls around, Hoskin will be eligible to compete in the 60-64 year age bracket and at 60 will be young for the group, meaning she might have a bit more energy in the legs than some.

"There's a lot of reasons you don't want to be in that age group, so there's got to be a bonus."

Hoskin used to run competitively during the 1980s when she took up athletics to motivate her children to keep active, and completed seven marathons.

An injury to her Achilles tendon cut her running career short in the 1990s and she took up race walking.

She said her return to training had helped her recovery this time around.

"I guess I didn't want an injury to be the reason why I stopped.

"Had I not gone back to race walking, potentially I wouldn't have got the full movement back in my knee initially.

"I really had to work hard to get back to that level.

"The knee is 100 per cent and I don't even think about it."

Hoskin, an office worker at Monrad Intermediate School, holds the national records for the 3km, 5km, 10km and 20km track walk for the 55-59 year age-group.

She was also the best performed in the 10km road walk in 2008; records aren't kept for road walks because tracks vary, but they reward the top competitor at each event.

Hoskin is still going to physio to get her wrist cleared up and said she would regain a full range of motion soon.

She said she owed a lot to coach George McConachy and the Palmerston North Athletics Club, who had been supportive of her return.

Hoskin, who has shown she has what it takes to foot it at international masters level, wanted to give athletes of any ability one final thought.

"You don't have to perform at that level to get huge things out of it.

"Goals are about achieving something for yourself ... It can be what you want it to be for yourself."

- © Fairfax NZ News