A VISUALLY impaired woman swapped her trusty guide dog for the help of two human running guides from Aberystwyth to complete her first half-marathon.

Louise Jenkins, of Henllan, finished the Llanelli Half Marathon in two hours 43 minutes last Sunday, easily beating her target time of three hours.

The 52-year-old was accompanied by Aberystwyth runners Karen Isobel and Mel Gaul, with Mel attached to Louise via a wristband.

Last year Louise, who was left almost fully blind after a spinal cord infection 14 years ago, was named the Inspirational Guide Dog Owner of the Year on ITV’s This Morning programme following a nomination by colleagues at Camfan mental health drop-in centre in Lampeter, where she is manager, and a public vote.

Leaving her guide dog Trinity, a two-year-old Labrador Retriever, at the start line, Louise took to the streets of Llanelli to complete her challenge. Louise and her guide runners were filmed at various stages of the run by ITV Wales for an episode of Coast and Country, to be aired next month.

Louise said: “Having two guides was a way of keeping space for me, as it was really busy and sometimes people run between you and the guide. I’d never run that far before and it felt like really hard work between the 10th and 12th mile, but I was delighted to finish in less than three hours.

“My husband Adrian and daughter Alison were cheering me on and my guide dog Trinity was there at the finish.”

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