The people, campaigns, research and updates making an impact in our running community this month

FASTEST JOGLE RUN EVER BY A WOMAN

Team GB ultra runner Sharon Gayter sets new record for the time from John O’Groats to Land’s End (JOGLE)

“Why should I let my age stop me trying to break records?” says Sharon Gayter. The 55-year-old ultrarunner became the fastest woman to travel by foot along the 822-mile JOGLE trail, completing the challenge in 12 days, 11 hours and six minutes. “Apart from tender feet, I feel amazing,” she tells us, a few days afterwards. “But when your feet strike the ground 1.7 million times you expect that. It was the last 100 miles that I began to struggle due to sleep deprivation. But I knew I didn’t have far to go, and didn’t want to waste the effort put into the first 700 miles to slow down.”

Sharon’s crew was crucial. “They pushed me every mile. I had to have two witnesses constantly collating data, logging my position for the world record attempt to be valid. My husband provided meals and support, and I had someone cycling or running with me for some of the run, to keep me safe and give me company,” she says. Sharon had a pre-race schedule set at running six three-hour blocks every day, with three hours of sleep every night. “This worked for the first six days. Then the tiredness began to hit.” Towards the end of day nine, Sharon began to stagger and slur.