Seven intrepid ladies from Dart running group within Tavistock Athletic Club (writes Wendy Wright) decided they would like to do a marathon. Due to their ages ranging from 79 to 53 – definitely mature ladies – it was agreed that a walking marathon (42km or 26.2 miles) was achievable. They called ourselves the Dartmoor Divas and trained all through 2023. Then, on 27th January this year, they took on and completed their challenge.
As a focus for their plans, the Divas chose the Ultra Challenge London Winter Walk. Starting at the Oval Cricket Club, they walked 21km east along the Thames past many famous sights, Houses of Parliament, St Paul’s cathedral, towards Rotherhithe and back over Tower Bridge – a definite highlight. After a lunch break back at the Oval, they then walked west for another 21km past Battersea Power Station, London City Heliport, over Putney Bridge and back to the Oval. The group stayed together and managed the very respectable time of 9hrs 15mins.
The team thoroughly enjoyed the challenge, especially the elation after finishing, and are not ruling out a another similar challenge in the future. They also raised well over £1000 for their chosen charities: Sepsis UK, Stroke Association and Bowel Cancer UK. The Dartmoor Divas comprised Jan Craker, Geri Cousins, Ann Jones, Ann Woodhouse, Helen Bond, Lisa Stewart and Wendy Wright. They wanted to thank all their sponsors, Tavistock Athletic Club and the leader of the Dart training group, Lorraine Tofield, who supported them every step of the way.
