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'I used to get breathless jogging - now I've set up my own running club'

Cynon Valley Leader

|

January 01, 2026

A WOMAN is running marathons and half marathons for fun after worrying there wasn’t a place for her in the running world.

- BRYANA FRANCIS

Now Jade Driscoll has set up her own running club and her impressive running journey has racked up more than 11,000 followers online.

Jade went from running one mile to a marathon in the space of a year when she began her running journey which she credits with doing her “the world of good” mentally.

It's also led to her meeting lots of other people also hoping to “enter their running era”.

But unlike many running influencers Jade, from Treharris, doesn’t come from a sporty background.

She recalled: “In school we had two PE groups - there was a top group who were the netball girls, the athletic people, and then there was one group of people who really didn’t want to do PE and I was in that group.

“I used to leave it - especially during GCSEs because I don’t know why they still made us do PE during GCSEs.

“I used to go to a room between the textiles and cooking room and do my revision there instead of going to PE.”

Despite never being into exercise Jade realised something had to change when she went for a walk with her mum around Cardiff Bay and had to stop multiple times as she was struggling to walk that far.

The trainee solicitor first started by running 0.8-mile stints before taking on her first 5k at the Cardiff Race for Life which took her 49 minutes.

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