Katie to take on huge challenges

Today Katie Burton, a volunteer befriender for Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin will start a 106km hike, walking non-stop around the Isle of Wight. Later this year she will be one of more than 40,000 runners participating in the world’s biggest half-marathon, the Great North Run.

Katie, who works for the charity in Shrewsbury, said: "Some of the most shocking things I learned when I first started volunteering with Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin, were that loneliness can be as harmful to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, that 3.9 million older people say the TV is their main source of company and that one million will spend Christmas alone.

"I’ve realised that it’s so easy in this day and age to just drop off the radar, especially for an older person living on their own."

The first of her tests, the Isle of Wight Challenge, is a tough circular, coastal route with over 2000m of climb along the way. The runners, joggers and walkers take anywhere between nine and 36 hours to complete the route. In preparation, Katie has been putting in some final training sessions, running up and down the Wrekin.

She added: "It’s a bit daunting but I’ve done the training and firmly believe the goal of raising funds to combat loneliness and isolation is worth losing a night’s sleep for."

Heather Osborne, chief executive of Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin said: "I am full of admiration for Katie; neither of these events are easy and both require a serious amount of training and determination, so to do two in one year is quite an achievement. We are delighted that Katie has chosen to raise funds for Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin in this way and help us continue providing vital services for local older people, many of whom are living alone."

If anyone would like to help Katie smash her fundraising target, go to justgiving.com/fundraising/katie-burton11 to make a donation.