Sedgefield woman takes on Super Half Marathons challenge

Judith Porter, from Sedgefield, is now halfway through the ‘Super Half Marathons’ challenge.

The Super Half’s are a series of half marathon events across Europe. If you complete all six races within a five-year period, you are awarded a special ‘SuperMedal’.

The events take place annually in Lisbon, Prague, Berlin, Copenhagen, Cardiff and Valencia.

Judith at the Copenhagen half marathon finish line. The first of super half’s journey. (Image: Judith Porter) Judith made a spur of the moment decision to begin her running journey aged 55, when a work colleague, who had been diagnosed with arthritis, offered her a place in the Great North Run.

In training for the event, she joined Aycliffe Running Club to find “other people to go out running with” and took part in the Aycliffe 10k in June 2009, before the Great North Run in the September.

Speaking of her decision to start running, Judith said: “It makes you feel pleased that you can go out and run. It helps you stay fit and gives you an incentive to do it.

“If I hadn’t started running, I wouldn’t have met all my amazing friends who share the same passion. The people you meet have all got stories and tell you about the races they’ve done, which is really interesting.

“The thing is, a lot of people think they should just be able to go out and run, but you can’t. It took me an entire month of training on a treadmill, which I don’t like, before I could run for one mile slowly without stopping, but now I’m doing this.

“I started doing the Parkrun’s which are great for beginners and now I’m trying to do a parkrun for each letter of the alphabet. It’s the best thing that’s happened in my life.”

She completed the World Marathon Majors in 2019, and received her medal at the Boston marathon, which she said she almost didn’t participate in due to a torn meniscus.

She decided to “give it a go” and luckily got her medal before the race shut down due to Covid.

She said: “I was so pleased, because if I hadn’t got it in 2019 then 2020 was lockdown and I’m not sure it was run in 2021, so it was nice to finally get that finish.

Starting point for the Lisbon half marathon. (Image: Judith Porter) “I remember New York was my first (marathon), and it’s the hardest because it’s got more incline than you would think. In Japan, I just remember seeing a sea of smiling faces and people high-fiving you. They all had something different and it’s a joy to finish all of them really.”

So far, Judith has completed three in the Super Half Marathons series – Copenhagen, Lisbon and Valencia. The next on her list is Cardiff in October and then she will do Prague in spring 2026.

Judith said: “I had heard of the super half’s and thought ‘that would be a good challenge’, because I do like the medals. I’m not really bothered about the t-shirts, but I really like the medals. It’s some nice locations in Europe and after doing all six you get a big medal which is even better.”

Unfortunately, the Berlin and Prague races fall on the same weekend, so a hip injury caused her to push back her 2025 entry for Berlin to April 2027.

Throughout the challenge, Judith has been raising money for the Rainbow Trust – a children’s charity providing emotional and practical support to families who have a child with a life-threatening or terminal illness.

“I ran the London marathon for the Rainbow Trust to get a place, so when I decided to do the super six, I chose to do it the charity way and picked them again because they’re a really nice charity who help deserving families,” she said.

“I never used to do many for charity but always sponsored other people. Unfortunately, one of my friends, who did a lot of running, died, so another friend started to do a lot of events for Cancer Research, and I always sponsored her too.”

Judith has also recently started adventure half marathons which have taken her to a jungle in Mexico, a volcano in Iceland, the Himalayas in Bhutan, and the polar ice cap in Greenland. She said the sights she has been able to see through have been “more than she ever would have imagined”.

She added: “It’s more unusual but it gives me an excuse for a holiday where I meet people who also like running, and it’s quite nice to have a challenge.”

Reconnaissance day for the Polar Circle half marathon in Greenland. (Image: Judith Porter) She looks forward to her next adventure run she is doing on New Year’s Day next year, in New Zealand – the ‘First Light’ half marathon. The event takes place in Gisborne, Aotearoa, which is known for being the first city in the world to see the sun each day.

“Even though I’m older, I just keep plodding away at it. I’ve met people who can do it much faster than me, but I’m more inclined to beat myself. There’s some women and men over 70 and 80 who do incredible times,” said Judith.

“In my last race I did I was next to last, but I wasn’t bothered because I finished. I’m just happy because I’ve done more than the people sat at home on the sofa.”

Judith is next running in the Leeds 10k on August 17 and is then flying out to Budapest for their 10k on September 7.

She will be running in the Cardiff half marathon on October 7 as her next in the Super Half’s.