FOR someone who only discovered long-distance running by accident, Helen Wright is pretty adept at it.

The Keighley & Craven Athletics Club member ran 2hr 57min 45sec last weekend in the Chester Marathon in only her second competitive run at the distance.

Her time set a new club record for a female – smashing the previous best by a massive ten minutes.

It saw her complete the race as fourth fastest woman in an event featuring 2,471 finishers.

Helen, born and bred in Steeton, found her passion for lengthy runs when she was in Thailand.

The 34-year-old explained: "I had entered a 4km race over there but, because I couldn't speak Thai, I got lost and ended up running 10km and really enjoyed it.

"I then entered the San Francisco Marathon in July and ran 3hr 12min, which I was really pleased about, and my time at Chester was phenomenal."

She has been accepted for one of the world's great marathons next spring but has plenty more planned before then.

She said: "I will concentrate on 10k races for the moment, such as the Movember run in Roundhay Park next month, and hope to do another marathon in January – there are so many to choose from – before running the Boston Marathon in April.

"I hope to run a marathon every two months."

Helen's success came on the same day that Keighley & Craven's under-13 road relay girls team claimed national silver medals.