She set the date as Saturday 3rd May 2025, and was joined for different sections by her running friends. Here, she tells us the story of her day.
Well, after six months of training and planning, the day had finally arrived. My husband drove me to the starting point at Telford Town Park, where I met five other runners who were joining me for the first section of my run. We left at 7am in cool but sunny conditions and we headed down the T50 route which was created in 2018 to celebrate Telford turning 50 years old.
As we headed down to Ironbridge, we went through lots of areas of natural beauty, woodlands and places of interest. We were joined by more runners doing different sections of the trail. This was a great help, as it kept the company fresh and with each new runner joining, my enthusiasm and my love of the day kept growing. As we left Ironbridge, we had to climb the 173 Rotunda steps. The views were amazing, and we then carried on to Little Wenlock.
The next part of the day was the part I wasn’t looking forward to: going up and down the Wrekin, but with great support from other runners, I did it. After a quick sock and shoe change, I was off again with a different support; we tackled The Ercall and went off to Wellington, where I was met by more runners, who were going to get me round Wellington, Dothill and Apley Woods. A quick change of running support and off we went again, heading down to Horsehay Steam Railway.
More support joined again, and we were off to Oakengates. This part I found the hardest, as it had started heating up, and as it’s a little more built-up in sections, I found it harder to keep running, but with running friends helping me along, I carried on going. Once we got to Oakangates station, and I had a quick refuel and I was off again, heading to Lilleshall, and once I hit Muxton Marsh, I knew I was going to complete this challenge I had set for myself.
A much needed ice lolly gave me the extra push and with Lilleshall Hill in my sights, I was off running again. Great support got me up Lilleshall Hill, and another change of shoes, more runners joining me and only 8 miles in front of me, I was going for it. Those last 8 miles back to Telford Town Park I know well, as I have run them quite a few times in my training so I could find my rhythm, relax and take in the area around me, running through Granville, around the lake in Priorslee and back up to Telford Town Park where I had started this great adventure
I completed my challenge in 11 hours 45 minutes but that wasn’t what made my day. It was the great company and support from my running family. I feel very proud to be a part of Newport & District Running Club, and of course a special thank you to my husband who was my support crew for the entire day making sure I had food, water and anything else I needed.
