A DETERMINED runner has settled on a gruelling way to visit family and friends in her old home town.

Hayley Presley will be hot-footing it back to Ledbury by running five marathons in five days, in aid of two charities very dear to her heart.

Miss Presley, a former pupil of both Ledbury Primary and the John Masefield High School, now lives in Chester and admits that the 131-mile journey back to Ledbury is one she would much rather make by car.

But the 29-year-old is a keen runner, having already tackled several marathons and half-marathons, and she has personal reasons for wanting to take to the road for the multiple-marathon challenge.

Her efforts will be raising money for St Michael's Hospice, in Bartestree, near Hereford and the Huntington's disease charity, Merseyside.

Miss Presley said: "Ledbury is where I was born and all family are still there. I visit regularly to see my family.

"I have chosen those two charities because St Michael's is where my nan was when she died, and the care and attention they gave her while she was there was amazing. "

Huntington's disease is a genetic disorder that affects muscle co-ordination and can lead to mental decline.

"My support for Huntington's is due to a very close friend, whose family is unfortunate in having Huntingtons within it," Miss Presley said. "There isn't a lot known about Huntington's and so I thought It would be good to also help them and raise some money for them.

"This money will help the patients with things such as home care, items to help them cope with Huntington's and general support from the charity. "

Miss Presley, who will set out from Chester on June 14, also has a personal motive for putting herself through the landmark ordeal.

She said: "I love to run and I had planned to do something like this to mark my 30th birthday next year, but I figured why wait? I love to run now and I am fit an able so let's do it," she said.

"This is a completely self-organised challenge. My main aim for this challenge is to raise as much as I can for the two charities.Training has already begun for this and a lot of people ask how do I plan to train. To be honest I had no real set plan other than learn to run long distances and do them back-to-back."

Anyone who would like to sponsore Miss Presley of find out more about her challenge can visit presley5in5.webs.com or uk.virginmoneygiving.com/HayleyPresley.