Valeria Sesto seals win at ‘Glastonbury of running’ in Reading

NEW FOREST-based athlete Valeria Sesto has won the 24-hour long running event Endure24 in Reading after completing 100 miles in the race.

Endure24, which is widely referred to as the ‘Glastonbury of running’, takes place annually in Reading and Leeds, attracting over 4,000 runners each year. Runners can run by themselves or in a small team with five athletes maximum.

Sesto completed 20 laps of the five-mile track at Wasing Park, Reading, in 23 hours, 29 minutes and 11 seconds. The feat was completed by five other female runners but only three finished within the 24-hour cut-off. Shimrit Shulman finished 1:25 behind Sesto in second place.

New Forest runner Alastair Pickburn also competed in the event as part of the winning Silva team in the men’s team category. Pickburn ran nine five-mile laps out of a team total of 42 laps in the 24-hour period. Silva beat second-placed MAC by three laps to take victory.

Sesto was beside herself when she crossed the finish line in first. She said: “I just can’t believe what I’ve achieved, while in a complex stage in my life. Nobody ever talks about what happens for competitive female athletes when they get to my age!”

“I would like to thank Gavin Gobell from the Wessex Osteopathy Clinic for his constant support in keeping my body going, sports therapist Sophie Cox and Thesis Asset Management for their continued support. It is quite hard to put in words the feelings you go through when doing an event like this.”