UNSTOPPABLE AT ANY AGE
Inspiring stories and science-backed insight from women who continue to build strength, performance, and possibility with age.
Hosted by Dr. Shawna Darou, ND, Unstoppable at Any Age is the voice of Women Who Move - a global movement grounded in one belief: how we move today determines how we live tomorrow.
Each episode features conversations with athletes, scientists, founders, and leaders who are expanding what is possible in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond. These women are training, competing, leading, and building lives defined by strength, independence, and momentum.
Trailer
What if your strongest, most powerful years are still ahead of you?
In this trailer for Unstoppable at Any Age, Dr. Shawna Darou - naturopathic doctor, functional medicine practitioner and master’s athlete - challenges everything women have been told about aging, metabolism, and performance in midlife.
If you’re a woman over 40 navigating hormone changes, body changes, low energy, brain fog, or simply feeling like your body no longer responds the way it used to… this podcast will connect the dots.
Inside this show, you’ll discover:
- Why midlife metabolism, hormones, and brain changes are not decline - but a shift you can train for
- The real reason high-achieving women feel stuck despite doing “everything right”
- How to rebuild strength, energy, and clarity using science-backed functional medicine and longevity strategies
- What it actually looks like to optimize health, performance, and ambition in your 40s, 50s, and beyond
1. The shift I didn’t expect in midlife
The most powerful transformations don’t come from fixing your life - they come from raising the standard for how you live, move, and show up.
In this inaugural episode, Shawna - naturopathic doctor with 20+ years in women’s health - shares her own evolution into a new level of performance and purpose.
This is a conversation about identity, longevity, and recognizing when success no longer feels aligned. From redefining her approach to training to qualifying for the Boston Marathon, Shawna shows what happens when movement becomes intentional.
We explore:
- Why fulfillment requires more than external success
- The shift from exercising → training with purpose
- How goals reshape confidence, health, and identity
- Movement as a foundation for longevity and metabolic health
You’ll also hear why environment and community matter more than you think.
This episode sets the tone for what’s ahead: expanding what’s possible - and building the body to support it.
2. Embracing Limitlessness with Anne Matthews
You don’t become unstoppable by waiting for the perfect time - You become unstoppable by deciding your current reality doesn’t define your limits.
In this episode, Shawna sits down with Anne Matthews - fertility acupuncturist, mother of six, podcast host, and Hyrox athlete. Anne shares how she moved from feeling stuck to competing at a high level - while building a career and raising a family.
This conversation challenges the idea that you have to choose between ambition, motherhood, and health.
We explore:
- Setting goals that stretch you
- Expanding capacity in real life
- Breaking age-related limitations
- The link between mindset, identity, and performance
You’ll also hear insights on fertility, women’s health, and staying consistent without perfection. This episode is about self-leadership and momentum - and the truth that most limits are self-imposed.
3. Rebuilding Your Life After Loss: Identity, Resilience & Starting Over with Ramona Milano
You don’t become unstoppable by avoiding pain.
You become unstoppable by learning how to move through it - and still choose yourself on the other side.
In this episode, Shawna sits down with Ramona Milano - actress turned coach and yoga teacher - for a raw, honest conversation about identity, loss, and rebuilding.
After a life-altering personal shift, Ramona stepped away from a decades-long career in entertainment and into a completely new path.
She shares what it actually takes to start over:
- Learning to feel, not avoid, hard emotions
- Rebuilding self-trust
- Saying yes to what feels uncomfortable
- Moving forward with purpose, not perfection
This conversation weaves together mindset, nervous system regulation, and the deeper work of healing.
4. Why Strength Doesn't Peak at 30 with Sarah Katz
What if your strongest, most capable years weren’t behind you… but ahead of you?
In this episode of Unstoppable at Any Age, Shawna sits down with Sarah Katz - a lawyer, masters athlete, and competitive pentathlete - who is training and competing across five track and field events at 47 years old.
This conversation challenges the idea that midlife is a time to slow down.
Instead, Sarah shares what it actually takes to stay strong, energized, and competitive - while balancing a full career and navigating the realities of perimenopause.
You’ll hear how she structures her days, supports her body, and continues to push her limits in a sustainable way.
5. From 46 years of running to competing at 70 with Clara Northcott
She’s been running for 46 years. And she’s still competing in her 70s.
There’s something powerful about seeing what long-term commitment actually looks like.
In this episode, I sit down with Clara Northcott - a masters athlete who continues to train, compete, and push herself in her 70s.
This summer alone, she’s preparing for three major championships, including the World Masters Athletics Championships.
What stood out most in this conversation wasn’t just her performance.
It was her consistency, her discipline, and her willingness to keep showing up - year after year.
Clara shares what it really takes to stay engaged in your body over decades, how she trains now compared to earlier years, and what continues to drive her forward.
This conversation is about more than running.
It’s about identity, purpose, and what becomes possible when you stay connected to something that matters to you.
6. The mistake most women make with training after 40 with Phaedra Kennedy
You don’t need a perfect training plan.You need a plan that actually works with your body.
In this episode, I sit down with Phaedra Kennedy - endurance coach and athlete - for a conversation about what really changes when you’re training through perimenopause and menopause.
This is a topic that comes up constantly.
Women feel like their body isn’t responding the way it used to.Workouts that once worked… stop working.Recovery takes longer.Injuries show up more easily.
7. Your running shoes weren’t made for your body with Lindsay Housman
Your running shoes weren’t designed for your body.
And most women have no idea.
In this episode, I sit down with Lindsay Housman, founder of a female-specific performance footwear company Hettas, to talk about something that comes up constantly - foot pain.
Heel pain.Achilles issues.Forefoot pain.Plantar fasciitis.Losing toenails.
So many women assume this is just part of being active.
It isn’t.
What’s often missed is this:
Most athletic shoes have been designed, tested, and built based on male anatomy.
Even the ones marketed to women.
This conversation explains why that matters - and how it directly impacts injury, comfort, and long-term performance.
8. MS, movement, and rebuilding a life you love with Dr. Teri Jaklin, ND
You’re never too old. You’ve never had your condition too long. And you’re never too advanced to make positive change.”
This conversation stayed with me long after we stopped recording.
In this episode, I sit down with naturopathic doctor Teri Jaklin to talk about what it means to keep choosing life - even after being handed a diagnosis that could have easily defined her future.
Teri was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in her twenties.
One neurologist told her to go home and get her affairs in order. Another told her to “run along and have a good life.”
She chose to believe the second one.
More than 40 years later, she’s still rebuilding, adapting, moving, gardening, working, creating, and finding ways to fully participate in her life.
This conversation is about much more than MS.
It’s about mindset. Neuroplasticity. Movement. Identity. And the role our beliefs play in shaping what happens next.
9. What every woman needs to know about metabolic health
Menopause is not just a hormone transition. It’s a metabolic transition too.
In this solo episode, I’m breaking down one of the most important - and most overlooked - conversations in women’s health: metabolic health.
This is something I’ve focused on in my practice for over 20 years, but honestly, I didn’t fully understand how profound these changes were until I experienced menopause myself.
What I see over and over again is women blaming themselves because their old strategies suddenly stop working.
Energy crashes. Brain fog. Poor sleep. Weight gain around the abdomen. More inflammation. Worse recovery from exercise.
And many women assume it’s “just hormones.”
Hormones are part of the story.
Metabolic health is the other piece.
In this episode, I explain how blood sugar regulation, insulin sensitivity, muscle mass, sleep, stress, and movement all interact during perimenopause and menopause - and why understanding this changes everything.
10. Why women get faster after 50 with Paula Wiltse
What if your best performances aren’t behind you?
In this episode, I sit down with masters runner and coach Paula Wiltse to talk about training, recovery, speed, and what’s actually possible for women in their 40s, 50s, and beyond.
I first learned about Paula when I was training for my first Boston Marathon.
At the time, she was the Canadian marathon record holder in her age category after running a 2:58 marathon at 50 - and she had also run her fastest marathon at 46.
That completely changed what I believed was possible.
This conversation explores what masters training actually looks like, how it changes with age, and why women can continue improving long after they’ve been told they should slow down.
11. The fastest woman in the world at 71 with Wendy Alexis
What if aging isn’t about slowing down — but continuing to build strength, purpose, and possibility?
In this episode, I sit down with masters sprinter Wendy Alexis, who recently became the fastest woman in the world in the 70–74 age category in the 60m sprint.
At 71 years old, Wendy is still training, lifting, sprinting, competing internationally, and chasing new goals.
What makes this conversation so powerful isn’t just the world record.
It’s the way she talks about movement, community, aging, and what happens when women stop limiting themselves based on age.
Wendy didn’t return to the track until age 50.
She started with one race. One practice. One decision to try.
And that decision completely changed the course of her life.
12. Too old at 30. olympian at 52 - with Claudia Riegler
What if aging isn’t about slowing down — but continuing to build strength, purpose, and possibility?
In this episode, I sit down with masters sprinter Wendy Alexis, who recently became the fastest woman in the world in the 70–74 age category in the 60m sprint.
At 71 years old, Wendy is still training, lifting, sprinting, competing internationally, and chasing new goals.
What makes this conversation so powerful isn’t just the world record.
It’s the way she talks about movement, community, aging, and what happens when women stop limiting themselves based on age.
Wendy didn’t return to the track until age 50.
She started with one race. One practice. One decision to try.
And that decision completely changed the course of her life.
13. What happens when you finally choose yourself with Cath Cowan
There comes a point when the life that worked for years... stops working.
Not because you've failed.
Not because something is wrong with you.
But because you've changed.
In this episode, I sit down with leadership transformation coach Catherine Cowan for a conversation about one of the most common experiences I see in women during midlife.
14. Aging is a privilege with Shannon Wilson
What if aging isn't something to fear?
What if it's a privilege?
In this episode, I sit down with Shannon Wilson, a palliative care nurse, marathon runner, Ironman athlete, mother of five, grandmother of three, and one of the most inspiring women I've met through the endurance sports community.
16. You don't have to be fast to belong with Lynn Bourque
In this episode of Unstoppable at Any Age, I sit down with Lynn Bourque, owner of Toronto's iconic The Runner's Shop, marathon runner, run leader, and someone who has spent more than 25 years helping people discover what running can add to their lives.
Lynn didn't grow up as an athlete.
17. You are not fragile with Marni Weiner
In this episode of Unstoppable at Any Age, I sit down with fitness instructor Marni Weiner to talk about strength, movement, healthy aging, and what becomes possible when we stop placing limits on ourselves.
Marni’s relationship with fitness began in her 20s after she developed severe back pain. Her doctor told her that unless she strengthened her back and core, she would likely continue living in pain.
17. You are not fragile with Marni Weiner
In this episode of Unstoppable at Any Age, I sit down with fitness instructor Marni Weiner to talk about strength, movement, healthy aging, and what becomes possible when we stop placing limits on ourselves.
Marni’s relationship with fitness began in her 20s after she developed severe back pain. Her doctor told her that unless she strengthened her back and core, she would likely continue living in pain.
18. Your body is not a problem to solve with Carmen Mcdonald
In this episode of Unstoppable at Any Age, I sit down with health coach, behavior strategist, and fitness professional Carmen McDonald to explore what happened when she stopped chasing the perfect body and started building a healthier relationship with herself.
After years of competing at a national level in fitness competitions, Carmen found herself physically depleted, emotionally exhausted, and deep into perimenopause without realizing it. Today, she's found a completely different path through sprinting, strength, cardiovascular health, and learning to trust her body again.
19. The science that changed how I think about aging
In this solo episode, I'm sharing the real reason I've shifted so much of my focus - and my career - toward women's movement. Not hormones. Not supplements. Movement.
After 22+ years as a naturopathic doctor and thousands of appointments with women, I've come to believe that exercise is the single biggest longevity lever we have - bigger than nutrition, bigger than anything in a bottle. And with both my mother and stepmother living with Alzheimer's and dementia, this has become deeply personal, not just clinical.
20. Theres always a way to move with Jill Moreash
In this episode of Unstoppable at Any Age, I sit down with fitness professional, educator, and adaptive movement specialist Jill Moreash to talk about one of the most important messages I've shared on this podcast:
There is always a way to move.
21. Why running is never just about running with Carolyn Coffin
In this conversation, Dr. Shawna sits down with runner, coach, and host of the Inspired Souls podcast, Carolyn Coffin, to explore the lessons she's learned after interviewing more than 300 runners - from Olympians to first-time runners and masters athletes.
Together they discuss why women often underestimate what's possible after 40, how our relationship with movement changes through perimenopause and beyond, and why curiosity, consistency, and joy matter far more than perfection.
22. Stop fighting your body with Marci Warhaft
In this episode of Unstoppable at Any Age, I sit down with dance and fitness instructor, author, and body image expert Marci Warhaft to talk about finding joy in movement again - and learning to stop fighting against our bodies.
Marci has danced for as long as she can remember. Today, at 56, she teaches Dance Jam classes where the goal isn't perfect choreography or getting every step right. Her philosophy is wonderfully simple:
You can't dance wrong.
23. Your metabolism isn't broken with Joey Shulman
In this episode of Unstoppable at Any Age, I sit down with Joey to talk about the foundations of metabolic health for women over 40 - and why getting back to basics may be exactly what your body needs.
Joey and I have known each other for about eight years, and one of the reasons I've always respected her work is her sensible approach. She isn't interested in extreme restriction or the latest quick fix. She looks at the whole picture: blood sugar, gut health, inflammation, nervous system regulation, nutrition, movement, and the habits you can actually maintain.
23. Your quads predict your longevity with Tiffany Scobie
In this episode of Unstoppable at Any Age, I sit down with Tiffany, founder of Raise Your Barre, to talk about functional movement, the shift from "more is better" to sustainable strength, and why age is more in our heads than in our bodies.
Tiffany was a competitive runner from childhood, training with the Etobicoke Husky Striders and eventually running for Canada at the junior national level in the 1500m, 800m, and cross country. Years of heavy training brought repeated stress fractures, and by university her body had had enough. She spent the years after searching for a new way to move, eventually training under Marla Vites and building her own barre method, Raise Your Barre, which she now teaches out of Power Yoga Canada in Etobicoke.
24. It's more embarassing not to try with Colleen Barney
IIn this episode of Unstoppable at Any Age, I sit down with Colleen, a retired probate attorney, USATF Masters Track and Field Vice Chair, World Masters Athletics Treasurer, and an American Ninja Warrior alum, to talk about coming back to sprinting at 34, winning her first World Championship on her first try, and what actually changes about your confidence over 25 years of racing.