7 years ago, I sat with my Dad at his retirement party. He was 65 years old and looking forward to new adventures at the start of what should have been a well deserved break from work. He turned to me and asked "how would you like to walk John O'Groats to Lands End with me?" It didn't take me a second to reply, I jumped at the chance! You see, he had already walked around Wales several times with a group of youths as part of his role as Chief Executive the of Boys and Girls Clubs of Wales. I had always felt slightly envious of all the other kids but now was my chance to fulfil my Dad's mission, by his side, his proud daughter.

Unfortunately, his health deteriorated and he spent his whole retirement, in and out of hospital having had issues with several hip operations, and a stroke, all of which contributed to a decline in his general health. He was never going to get better. He then sadly passed away in March of last year (2017). 

So, I have now made it my mission. I want to RUN John O'Groats to Lands End (JOGLE) in his memory. He'll be with me every step of the way as he always is since I started training last year. I wear his chain on my wrist and a pendant around my neck with the words "follow in my footsteps". Both which will guide me during this mission.

I plan to do the JOGLE challenge during this summer. The distance is over 1,000 miles and will take 6 weeks to complete. I'm aiming to run 25-30 miles every day and then camping over night. Leading up to the challenge, I will of course be in training and have planned to do a few Ultra marathons in a bid to get my body adjusted to running long distances. The races include: 

Menna’s RUN 🏃🏻‍♀️ Up to J.O.G.L.E:

White Cattle Park Run 10k, Dinefwr Llandeilo – 23rd September, 2017 ✅ (1st Lady V35)
Cardiff Half Marathon - 1st October, 2017 ✅
Gower Ultra Marathon - 11th November, 2017 (3rd Lady) ✅
Open5 Adventure Racing (MTB, running and navigation), Lake District - 10th December, 2017 ✅
New Year’s Eve 10 Miler - 31/12/2017 ✅
Fan Dance, Brecon Beacons - 20th January, 2018 (1st Lady, 4th overall) ✅
Hoka Half Marathon, Margam Park - 17th February, 2018✅
Night Trail 10k, Bettws - 3rd March, 2018 (postponed due to bad weather)
Nant yr Arian Silver Trail Marathon, Aberystwyth - 17th March, 2018 ✅
London to Brighton - 26th/27th May 2018✅
Salomon Trail Marathon Wales - 16th June 2018✅
John O'Groats to Lands End - 21st July, 2018!!

Dad was always passionate about wildlife, the Welsh coastal paths and conservation. With that in mind, I picked the perfect charity to raise money for; The Welsh Wildlife (South and West) Trust. They work tirelessly to rebuild biodiversity and engage people with their environment. Please help show your support and donate to such a wonderful charity. They will receive 100% of donations as the races and events will all be self funded. If you would like to know more about this great charity, please follow the link - www.welshwildlife.org

If you would like to follow my progress, feel free to like my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/mennajogle

I also have to give a huge THANK YOU to Rhys from Tri Performance Lab Wales (www.facebook.com/triperformancelabwales) for his knowledge, guidance and support.


Thank you xx