'We're a mad bunch,' says ultra marathon runner

A man who vowed he would never run again after completing his first race is set to run his 500th marathon later.

Neil Williams, from Plymouth, who ran his first marathon in 2011, is expected to reach the 500th milestone on his birthday by running the Dartmoor Discovery Ultra, a gruelling 32-mile (51.4km) road race.

"It does become a bit of an addiction, but I didn't start off any different to most people," he said.

Sharon Dawe, from Cornwall, will run her 100th ultra marathon - and her 536th marathon - at the same event.

Mr Willliams, 58, who once ran 100 marathons in 50 weeks, said: "You find people will either do one marathon and never touch it again.

"Or they'll do a marathon and find they can't scratch that itch and it's got to be another, and maybe another, and then you get into the crazy world of multiple marathon running.

"We're just a mad bunch really."

He said long-distance runners needed determination as much as physical fitness.

"It's mental more than anything, having the mental attitude to do the training and go out and do the distance," he said.

Ms Daw, a farmer from near Callington, said the Dartmoor Discovery Ultra may well be her last.

The 59-year-old became the first British woman to complete the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon in 2006, having run the first of 535 marathons in London 12 years earlier.

"I run because it just helps my mental state, to be honest, and I can't imagine the time when I can't run," she said.

"Your body takes a pounding. I mean Neil is the same, we both look at each other and we're getting older with more aches and pains.

"I'm hoping it's my last ultra, but you can never say never."

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