A Holmfirth couple run incredibly long distances … and their teenage son is now set to join them for a gruelling run in the Lake District.
Sally Watts, 47, has been running for around 10 years, building up from 5k runs to a trail run in the Lake District called 7 Valleys which is 70 miles non-stop through seven of the area’s valleys.
She did this last September, starting at 6am on a Saturday morning and running all day and all night before finally finishing at 9am on the Sunday.
Husband Allan, 52, was there to greet her after he’d run the 5 Valleys which followed a 38-mile route.
Now, inspired by his parents, 17-year-old son Callum will be running the 2 Valleys in the Lake District at the end of September which is just over 13 miles and Allan will be running with him. They are pictured at the top of the story.
Allan has previously run the Scilly 60 which is a 60km run around the five inhabited Isles of Scilly.
Both Allan and Sally did the 8 Stations run in July, a 32-mile course from Whitby to Pickering which follows the area’s eight railway stations across the North Yorkshire moors.
Allan said: “Callum is quite sporty and active and I guess just picked up the enjoyment of running from us. Sally’s incredible … she can run for miles and miles.
“We are so lucky where we live with all the countryside on our doorstep and have discovered that running is especially good for mental health.
“Just getting out there exercising really lifts the spirits, even on a day when the weather is miserable.’’
Allan, who has been running for just six years, completed his first marathon at the age of 49 and is a director for a transport company while Sally is a director at a housing firm.
Callum is studying for A-levels at Greenhead College and his older sister, Lauren, is at university.
The Altra 13 Valleys Ultra is one of the UK’s fastest-growing ultra-running events, bringing thousands of runners to the Lake District for a weekend of trail running through the National Park.
It takes place from Friday, September 25 to Sunday, September 27 featuring distances of 21km, 55km, 110km and 180km. All the ultra distance places are sold out but there are a few left for the 21km run.
For more information go to www.13valleysultra.com
The event showcases the beauty, challenge and diversity of the Lake District’s 13 valleys and attracts runners from across the UK and around the world with 5% of the entry fee donated to the Lake District Foundation to support the National Park.
Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content, copywriting and ghost-writing autobiographies.
