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Sharon bids for new world record at Teesside University

12 December 2011

 

Ultra distance runner Sharon Gayter is making a bid for a new world record at Teesside University.

Sharon is hoping to beat the men’s world record for long distance running on a treadmill over seven days.

She started her bid on Wednesday 14 December: 11.00am Olympia Building, Victoria Road, Teesside University.

The current world record according to Guinness World Records is held by Lee Chamberlain who ran 753.24km (468.04 miles) in July 2009.

The current female record holder is grandmother Mimi Anderson who ran 650km (403.81 miles).

Sharon, who has run over 300 marathons and more than 100 ultra distance races, has set a goal of 1010km – which is just over 627 miles.

Support of the sport science service In April this year Sharon ran 750km in six days in Athens. Since then she has been training at Teesside University with the support of the sport science service based in the School of Social Sciences & Law.

Nicolas Berger, senior lecturer in sport and exercise and Keith Haley, technician manager, have co-ordinated Sharon’s support on campus. This has included fitness testing which highlights any areas that need extra work.

Sharon Gayter, BSc (Hons) Sport Science, 1997 & MSc Sport & Exercise, 2011 Through her world record bid, Sharon, who is a part-time lecturer at Teesside University, is raising money for two charities - Leukemia and Lymphoma Research to support a colleague Michael Wren who lost his daughter Charlotte to Leukemia when she was just three years old; and Zoe’s Place, a hospice for babies in Middlesbrough.

The athlete has run from Lands End to John O’Groats, over 800 miles and chopping 17 hours from the world record, she has run the Badwater Ultramarathon of 135 miles across Death Valley – billed the hottest race on earth and set the best time by any British athlete male or female. Just this year she completed the world’s highest race around the Himalayas in India. In 2009 Sharon won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Championships 24 hour event.

Sharon said: 'This is a world record attempt I have wanted to do for some time and thanks to the support from Teesside University, I have been able to organise it. I am both physically and mentally prepared now.'

Keith Haley from the School of Social Sciences & Law adds: 'We have supported Sharon in preparation for this bid and we have a full team ready to support her around the clock for the full seven days. We wish her the very best of luck.'

Donations

Donations to the charities Sharon is supporting can be made at: virginmoneygiving.com/SharonGayter Or text your donation to FYVR54 followed by the amount - for example FYVR54-£1.


 
 
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