'I made race history - and celebrated with potato'

A runner has made history by becoming the first woman to win Guernsey's annual Donkey Drop Out - notching up a distance of more than 100 miles (161km) before celebrating with her granny's potatoes.

Emily Torode joined 84 other competitors for the "backyard ultra marathon" in which participants run four miles (6.4km) every hour on the hour, returning to the start before the next hour begins.

The last runner to finish a loop when everyone else has dropped out, wins - with Torode managing 26 laps.

Torode, 34, whose parents hail from Guernsey, said it was a "really nice feeling" to have won and thanked her granny Sylvia Torode for "supplying potatoes" to fuel up on.

Torode, who started running aged 15, told how she ran "through the night", entertained by a "stunning sunset" and several shooting stars.

"I saw loads of shooting starts which was amazing - I was doing parts (of the event) with my head looking upwards at the stars," she added.

Sunrise, meanwhile, brought "an extra burst of energy", as did the realisation that the final competitors included three women and four men.

"It was amazing to see other women do so well," said Torode.

Having completed her first marathon in Guernsey in 2016, the satellite engineer said she had been "ramping up the distance" ever since.

"I've definitely fallen in love with the backyard ultra format," she added, "it's so social and always a great atmosphere."

Despite her achievement, Torode said she would have liked to have run further - but was limited by the rule that a contestant can only do one loop more than the last person to drop out.

"I felt pretty good at the end so there may have been a few more laps in me - but I'm really happy to have won it," she added.

Torode said her training regime includes lots of "back to back" runs which she "loves", plus variety in food.

"I'm really grateful to my mum for being there for most of the day and very early in the morning," she added.

"And my uncle Ian brought me my granny's potatoes to fuel up on."

Torode is planning another 100-mile run later in the year, she said.

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