Some of us might struggle jogging down to the shops - but super-runner Sharon Gayter is hoping to scoop two world records during a 48-hour non-stop run.
The 51-year-old started the challenge at noon today on a treadmill in Teesside University’s Olympia Building overlooking Victoria Road in central Middlesbrough.
Sharon, from Guisborough, has ran more than 300 marathons and 100 ultra-distance races including the Badwater Ultramarathon of 135 miles across Death Valley - billed as the hottest race on earth.
In 2011 Sharon, who works as a part-time sports science lecturer at Teesside University, spent seven days on a treadmill smashing both the men’s and women’s world records and covering a total distance of 833.05km or 517.63 miles.
The record is yet to be beaten.
Sharon Gayter
“I’m confident on the 12-hour record,” said Sharon, who runs 11 miles each way to work three times a week.
“But the 48-hour one is going to be a challenge. It will be touch and go, I will be fighting for it.”
Sharon will be eating and drinking as she runs and will only get off the treadmill for a quick trip to the loo or, if she needs it, a 20-minute nap in the room next door.
“I’m going to take a two-minute walking break every hour so I can eat something - either a quarter of a sandwich or a yogurt,” she said.
Sharon doesn’t listen to music as she runs comparing it to “having a bee buzzing in my ears”.
She simply “drifts off” into her own little world focusing on her gait and her running goals.
Sharon Gayter
When she is not competing or joining the local park runs, Sharon enjoys running in Guisborough Woods, near where she lives.
Her favourite place to run is in Scotland - near to Edinburgh.
Her springer spaniel Baxter joins her on some of her runs although once she gets to a certain distance “she trips me up to slow me down”.
“I’m grateful to Teesside University for once again showing me incredible support and I’m both mentally and physically prepared for the challenge ahead,” she added.
Keith Haley, from the School of Social Sciences, Business and Law at the university, said: “We have supported Sharon in the past and are looking forward to being involved in what I’m sure will be another incredible achievement.”
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