A Sue Ryder Nurse from Leeds is going the extra mile for all those needing the care of the hospice she works for by taking on the gruelling Hardmoors 30 across the North York Moors on New Year's Day.

And as Sarah Norman crosses the finish line of what will be her 100th ultramarathon, the 52 year old from Pudsey in Leeds will have run 5,049 ultra-marathon miles.

Sarah works as a Community Clinical Nurse Specialist in Palliative Care for Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice and has been with the charity for more than 21 years.

During this time she has helped care for hundreds of families and raised £29,675 for those needing the care of the hospice through marathons, ultramarathons, completing the December Daily Dash and even trekking up Mount Kilimanjaro to watch the sun rise on New Year’s Day in 2016.

“Sue Ryder is such a caring and inclusive organisation. The best thing about doing my job is just how rewarding it is,” said Sarah. “It is such an honour to be there for people at what is such an important and emotional time in their lives.

“Most people think that the job is depressing and there are days when I am sad, but there are days when I see a patient we have helped make more comfortable and it makes it so worthwhile.”

During December Sarah has been running 5km every single day to raise money as part of Sue Ryder’s December Daily Dash.

She said: “In a way running and taking part in ultra-marathons helps me to keep doing my job. Running is my way of clearing the mind. It gives me time to reflect and it is a huge source of stress release.

“We run in some pretty outstanding places too and the scenery is just amazing. There are times when I think ‘why on earth do I do this?’ but when you finish and look back on what you have achieved you feel such a high.

“I run alongside my husband, Andy, and he’s there every step of the way. When I am struggling he hands me jelly babies and then cooks pizza when we get home. We have so many friends that run too. It is great – a proper community.”

Sarah completed her first road marathon in 2002 and it was colleagues at Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice who encouraged her to try off road running.

“After I had done a few marathons the consultant at the hospice who did off road running encouraged me to have a go at trail running. I soon found I enjoyed running off road more than on it, and a group of hospice staff would meet up to go running before work. Before I knew it I had completed a few shorter races and then I was running races of 50 to 60 miles.”

At 8am on New Year’s Day, Sarah will line up to take on the Hardmoors 30 along the Cleveland Way, starting at Whitby Abbey running along the coastal path and back again in a figure of eight. All of it will be off road and Sarah expects most of it to be muddy.

“I have completed all of the New Year’s Day Hardmoor races,” she said. “The only one I have missed is when I was climbing up Mount Kilimanjaro fundraising for Sue Ryder.”

“I am really looking forward to the race. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate New Year’s Day.”

Although Sarah says she will be tucked up early on New Year’s Eve ahead of the race, she says there will be some celebrating with a couple of shandys afterwards.

She hopes by sharing her story people will be inspired to take on a challenge of their own in 2022 to support Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice.

“Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice is such a fantastic environment to work in. We have such an amazing team who do all they can to give wonderful care and I see first-hand what a difference this care makes to families.”

For more information on the different ways to support Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice in 2022 email wheatfields.fundraising@sueryder.org or call 0113 278 7249.