Over the course of almost two weeks covering the end of March and the start of April, Newport & District Running Club’s Taryn Gronbeck undertook an epic walking challenge on the Iberian Peninsula – and then, to add an extra challenge for herself, she returned to the UK to take on the London Landmarks Half Marathon! Huge thanks to Taryn for sending us this report in her own words:

On the 26th of March, I set off from Porto on the Camino de Santiago. What followed was 12 consecutive days of walking an average of a half marathon per day (some days a little more) through Portugal and Spain. I finished on Tuesday the 8th April, the only day of rain (and it had to be torrential!) I had on the trip, completing a total distance of 173.5 miles and taking home only three blisters as souvenirs.

I then went on to complete the London Landmarks Half Marathon on Sunday the 12th April. This was my first on-road Half Marathon and the furthest distance I had ever run. The crowd support throughout the entirety of the route was phenomenal. I finished in a time of 2 hours & 50 minutes, which I could not be happier with.

I chose to run in support of the charity Shelter. I’m still a little way off my fundraising target, so if anyone could spare any pennies to get me over the line, I’d be most grateful: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/taryngronbeck-1760613043875?utm_medium=FA&utm_source=CL

When I look back to how far I’ve come, having only started running last year with the Newport Running Club’s “Couch-to-5k”, I am so grateful for the club running this program and the amazing support along the way!