A novice marathon runner from Flintshire has raced to success in the Chester Marathon, finishing as 25th woman and fourth woman in her age category.
Olivia Ashton, from Buckley, completed her first marathon this weekend in Chester, Sunday, October 2 in the Senior Female 18-34 category finishing at 03:10:59.
The marathon is part of the Chester Triple Series which involved a 10k, a half marathon and the full 26.2 miles.
Olivia, 26, completed all three finishing as second fastest lady in the 10k.
Olivia decided to raise money for the mental health charity Mind writing on her just giving page: "I've been running for a while, battling mental health struggles for longer.
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"I've decided to take on my first marathon this year to celebrate what runnning has given me - a sense of freedom."
So far Olivia has raised £75 for the charity however hopes to continue her fundraising.
She said: "Mind, like many mental health charities and services, were excellent with supporting people throughout the pandemic.
"As money is tight with the cost of living crisis, people are struggling so I want to do my bit where I can."
Olivia grew up dancing and then went on to train as a professional dancer in London before working abroad at Disneyland Paris.
Throughout her dance training she used running as a method to stay active and maintain her aerobic fitness.
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As the years progressed Olivia found her height, at 4ft 11, made it difficult to find jobs or roles suitable for her within the dance world, resulting in her falling out of love with the profession.
She continued: "As I stopped dancing I started running more and it really kept me going.
"I was doing it because I wanted to do it and there is a sense of freedom as no one is judging me or saying 'that's not good enough'."
She added: "There are no height restrictions on it."
At the start of 2021 Olivia got a running coach and decided to start training for the Chester Marathon.
She continued: "When I started running I never joined a club and I was a bit nervous too.
"Now I am with Deeside Athletics and I have received so much support and find the club so welcoming to all running levels and abilities."
Despite it being Olivia's first marathon she managed to finish in the top 25 women out of 717.
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She described the accomplishment as: "Pretty incredible - I wasn't expecting it at all.
"It was one of the best days of my life and towards the end, about 23 or 24 miles in, the atmosphere and crowd were amazing.
"It's a feeling you can't explain, I just kept thinking 'What have I just done!'"
Olivia hopes to continue her marathon running in the future and aims to gain a place in the London Marathon over the coming years.
Her advice to other runners or aspiring runners wanting to get started is: "Just go for it and believe in yourself.
"You are never too old or too late to try something new."
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