A WEE COUNTY woman is looking forward to testing herself as she enters the Alloa Half Marathon following a year of training.

Jennifer Bett, from Tillicoultry, is entering the annual 13-mile race to raise money for Breathe Easy Clackmannanshire, a charity her grandmother was a frequent volunteer for.

Signing up with Zack Beattie’s personal training programme, Jennifer gradually worked her way up and took part in the Falkirk half marathon in November 2020 alongside her fiancé Darren Truesdale.

Speaking to the Advertiser, Jennifer said competing in the Alloa half marathon was her target when she started running and she is excited to finally take part.

She said: “I lost about eight stone over lockdown, purposefully, and then started doing a bit of fitness training.

“I started off by doing short runs and then I saw the half marathon being set up last year and that inspired me to sign up and do it this year.

“I started training in April aiming to reach 21 kilometres, but I also managed to do the Falkirk half marathon as I reached my goal earlier than expected.

“It’s been a long year of training. It’s been quite a journey.”

Jennifer said her grandparents were big influences on her, with her grandfather being a former marathon runner until he was forced to retire due to illness.

Meanwhile, her grandmother was a keen volunteer at Breathe Easy Clackmannanshire, a support group for people with lung conditions.

Jennifer described the charity as very close to her heart and has remained in contact with the group beyond her grandmother’s passing in 2019.

She added: “I volunteer for the charity, I help with the teas and coffees when we have guest speakers in. I’m very passionate about Breathe Easy.

“I initially joined to get closer to my grandmother who went, but I kept going after she passed away because they’re a great group of people.

“My grandad did a lot of marathons in his time and he is actually my inspiration. He was quite the runner and I would quite like to be like him.”

Jennifer will be taking part in the Alloa half marathon on Sunday, March 12 and anyone can follow www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/rainbowwanderer to sponsor her.