Oldest, youngest and fastest: Telford trailblazers celebrate birthday
The oldest, youngest and fastest around the Telford 50 Mile Trail got together to celebrate its second birthday.
Iris Warnock, 85, from Oakengates is currently the oldest to complete the distance, while father and son Matthew Ashton and son William, eight, are the quickest and youngest respectively.
The trail was opened in June 2018 as part of the celebrations of Telford’s 50 year anniversary.
Iris, who took up regular walking five years ago after her husband died, completed the distance in nine stages over two weeks with pal Chas Kay. She said: “The whole route was lovely although I found the steps coming out of Coalbrookdale heading up towards Little Wenlock quite testing. I enjoyed every mile of it”.
William ran the route in five stages over five days. “I love the fact that you get to see local history and I love that I can just run and enjoy myself never having to worry about the time," he said. "My favourite bit is working really hard to get to the top of the Wrekin but saying to myself it was worth the effort to see the view." William now has his sights set on running a 100 mile trail or even the Shropshire Way. William likes running with his family as it is like a little adventure and often ends with hot chocolate and a cake.
His dad Matthew, 42, has run the whole trail in one go in 11 hours and 13 minutes. He said: “Although the Trail is quite hilly, it has introduced me to areas of Telford that I never knew existed. There are fantastic views with plenty of wildlife on the section between Ironbridge and the Wrekin I have seen deer, badgers, foxes and many other animals."
