A woman from Crickhowell has raised more than £400 for a local heart charity by completing the demanding South Wales Three Peaks Trial route.

Ruth Cornish was joined by 12 intrepid friends from the Crickhowell Running Club to take on the challenge on Sunday May 3, covering over 20 miles and over 5,000ft of ascent across the iconic summits of the Blorenge, Sugarloaf and Skirrid.

The retired nurse will celebrate her 60th birthday this year year with six fundraising challenges in aid of the North Gwent Cardiac Rehabilitation & Aftercare Charity, which provides ongoing community-based cardiac rehab exercise classes for people living with heart conditions across the region.

Her motivation is deeply personal. Her partner, John, survived two out-of-hospital cardiac arrests when they were living in Lancashire, and he credits his recovery in part to attending cardiac rehab exercise classes run by a similar local charity. The keen cyclist and fell runner joined Ruth for the Sugarloaf-to-Skirrid section of the route.

Ruth admitted she had been nervous beforehand, as the weather forecast looked grim. But the day turned out better than expected.

“We got a drenching at the foot of the Sugarloaf, and the route took longer than we expected,” she said.

“But when we finally made it to the top of the Skirrid we were damp but still smiling.”

She paid warm tribute to the friends who completed the route with her. “I couldn’t have wished for better companions,” she said. “Their camaraderie and support really blew me away.”

Charity Chair Jacky Miles MBE said: “We are so grateful to Ruth, John and the whole team for their fantastic effort. Their support means a great deal to us, and the money raised will make a real difference in helping people across our community rebuild strength, confidence and quality of life after a cardiac diagnosis.