Sian's race for Severn Hospice in memory of dear friend Pat

Now, the 46-year-old from Cleobury Mortimer has half marathons under her belt and has set her aims higher as she looks to complete the London Marathon in memory of her friend, Pat Williams, who passed away in April last year.

Sian will be raising money for Severn Hospice, the charity that helped Pat and her family as she fought a long battle with cancer.

"Pat and I had been friends since our daughters were at primary school together, her daughter is at university now," Sian said.

"She had a very long battle with cancer. She was one of the most wonderfully optimistic people."

Sian started her running journey in 2016 when she joined Cleobury Mortimer Running Club to take part in their couch to 5k programme and hasn't looked back since.

The born and bred Cleobury Mortimer lass volunteers with SIFA Fireside, a homeless charity in Birmingham, which she said inspired her to undertake some of her past fundraising ventures.

"After running my first marathon in 2018, I went back to SIFA in December that year and they had done a study that said the average life expectancy for a homeless person was 46 years old," said Sian.

Tribute

"I was turning 46 the next year and I didn't even feel like I was grown up let alone that being my life expectancy.

"I wanted to raise money so I came up with this 1,000-mile challenge to complete before my 46th birthday.

"I started in January 2019 and finished in November that year, before my 46th birthday in December."

During her 11 month long challenge, Sian ran a total of 197 hours and 13 minutes, climbing 68,923ft - nearly two and a half times up Everest - and clocking up miles in six different countries.

"It was tougher than I expected it to be," she added.

"I lost a week at one point because I was ill, and then suddenly I had 25 miles to make up."

As part of her fundraising for Severn Hospice in preparation for the London Marathon in April, Sian has sold memory ribbons dedicating each of her 26 miles to someone's loved one for a donation.

The ribbons will be tied to her shirt and she said she expects the day to be quite emotional.

"It will be a year and a day since Pat died when I run the marathon," she said.

"It will be a tribute to such a brave person."

To donate to Sian's Severn Hospice fund, visit her JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sian-powell12