A WINNINGTON woman is within sprinting distance of an incredible target of running 1000 days in a row, raising of thousands of pounds in the process.

Alison Jones' running streak began on her 49th birthday and on February 24 2021, she is due to reach the remarkable milestone.

Business book publisher Alison's marathon effort began on June 1 2018, and since then, she has run at least 2km every day. By the end of the streak she should have covered well over 2,000km, an equivalent distance to running from Northwich to Spanish capital Madrid.

Alison, 51, says that posting a picture taken on her run every day on Facebook helps to keep her on track and that if it gets towards the end of the day and she hasn't run, friends start messaging her to put on her running shoes.

Northwich Guardian:

The longest streak Alison, who has also worked as an adult literacy teacher, had completed prior to her current drive, lasted for one year.

The mother of two didn't start running until she was 40 and for years thought she couldn't. She said there are still many days that she doesn't feel like going to a run, but she always comes back feeling better.

She said: "I’ve ‘streaked’ - the technical term for running every day - several times in the past.

"Each time I noticed that there was a nice simplicity to it: you don’t have to ask yourself are you going to go for a run today?, you just have to ask WHEN am I going to do my run today?"

Alison, who founded Practical Inspiration Publishing in 2014, added that each time she finished streaking, she found she missed it, and struggled to motivate herself to exercise regularly.

"When I started this streak on my 49th birthday I decided it should be open-ended," she said.

"If I’d stopped enjoying it I’d finish on my 50th birthday, or if I got sick or injured I’d stop it immediately.

"But the big birthday came and went, and I didn’t feel like stopping.

"And then as I started approaching 900 days I thought it felt quite significant.

"It seemed a shame to waste it. So I kept on running and started fundraising."

Over the course of the 1,000 days, Alison has acquired a puppy, Sorcha, who now runs with her, been through three lockdowns, two rounds of home-schooling, and two house moves, first to Winsford and then to Winnington Lane, but has always managed to carve out the time for at least 2km.

Northwich Guardian: Alison Jones will soon complete 1000 straight days of running.

Alison Jones will soon complete 1000 straight days of running, pictured here with her dog Sorcha.

Alison smashed her £1,000 target back in November and has now raised nearly £3,000 for the National Literacy Trust.

She added: "Running has been a lifesaver through all the craziness of the last year.

"Getting out on my run each day has kept me sane and kept my energy and my spirits up. I’ve got no intention of stopping."

You can support her at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/alison-jones1000