Byline: Jackie Hunter
IF WE'RE not reading about Britain's top athletes in New Jewellery Products terms of drug-taking or match-fixing allegations, then we're inevitably being called upon to admire their lovely homes (which always make the palace at Versailles look like a dosshouse), Mulberry handbag-toting girlfriends, and wedding receptions that resemble a Saturday-night blowout chez Caligula, across pages 5-32 of every celebrity gossip magazine.
It therefore boosts our faith in professional sportspeople and humanity in general to learn that not only did a 37-year-old Scotswoman this weekend shave 13 minutes off the women's record for the Everest Marathon, but also that she did so fuelled by jelly babies and orange juice. (Watered-down orange juice at that - evidently there are some athletes who exercise caution on the performance-enhancement front.)
Dr Angela Mudge's achievement is all the more impressive when you consider that many competitors in the Everest Marathon drop to the ground in defeat before they even reach the starting line. The world's toughest race starts at 5,200m above sea level - hence the high number that succumb to altitude sickness in the pre-race stage (symptoms include diarrhoea, vomiting, DVT, chest infections and sheer lack of puff) - and is run in temperatures as low as -20C.
Gucci Belt Bag Replica HandbagsSo how come we've never heard of this amazing woman, who finished eighth in the race overall? Because she prefers to compete in a sport that is not mainstream, she says.
"I don't have to earn a lot of money to live," she modestly told reporters after breaking the record. "I live for the day. I don't worry about my pension and what happens when I retire."
Mudge gave up a career in chemistry to become a sports masseuse when her love of running - in the Stirlingshire hills, where she settled after taking a Master's degree at Stirling University - grew into a passion.
Over the past two years Mudge has collected many international trophies - she has also held the World Masters Mountain Running
embroidered patches Championship and the World Masters Running Trophy for several years.
Inspiration now comes from the memory of her twin sister, Janice, who was also a runner but died from cancer in 2006. Angela says: "I'm very cynical about advice to eat healthily, not to smoke [or] drink. Janice was the example of a perfect lifestyle. It's just fate."
Mudge's racing is currently assisted by a small amount of sponsorship from a sports equipment company. SW suggests the confectioner Bassett's might also consider supporting the woman who has surely done more for jelly babies in one stride than any advertising campaign.
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