A woman from Trowbridge with a lifelong love of running is taking part in a 10k run for charity and is hoping to inspire others to give it a go.

Along with 64 other runners, Katrina Walley, 61, will be participating in this year’s sold-out AJ Bell Great Bristol Run on Sunday, May 19 to raise money for the Women’s Royal Army Corps Association (WRAC).

The charity supports female veterans across the country and Katrina herself joined the Army at the age of 17 in 1980, which is where her passion for running began.

She said: “I’m one of the youngest ladies taking part in the 10k for WRAC – the oldest is 82 and in a wheelchair. It’s amazing. We’ve got ladies travelling from all over the country and there are quite a few supporters who are coming along to watch us too.

“The WRAC has always been a real community. Running together like this is like being part of that family again. There used to be four of us who always did the cross-country runs together and I really hope I see a few of those ladies again at the Great Bristol Run.

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Wiltshire Times: Katrina Walley will be taking on a 10k race this weekend

“I regularly took part in cross-country events during my 23 years in the Army and it’s always stayed with me. When I go on regular runs, I just feel lighter in myself. It’s a release. It keeps my body moving, especially as I’m getting older. If you keep moving when your body starts to ache, you know it’s not going to ache so much.”

Katrina is also part of a running group that meets up twice a week, where runners range in ages from their late 20s to some in their 70s. 

She wants to inspire other women who may be in their 60s, or older, to have the confidence to give running a try and go at their own pace.  

She continued: “We do a slow run when we get together and some of us also do our own training around that. Some running clubs can be competitive, which is fine, if that’s what motivates you, but for us we just want to meet for the social aspect and to feel good afterwards.”

“Don’t be afraid to give it a go. I know people who are quite a bit younger than me and are less active. I’m always trying to encourage people to get fit and you don’t have to run fast or particularly far, just get out there and try it.”