CALSTOCK resident Rita Hoile will don her trainers for the Dartmoor Vale half marathon this Sunday in aid of the Gunnislake Woodland Centre for the elderly.

Rita, who is an experienced runner, will be running from Newton Abbot to Chudleigh with friends Sara Rogers and Lyn Pearce from Gunnislake and Danny the dog.

Anyone who wishes to sponsor Rita will find sponsorship forms in Gunnislake Post Office and the butchers.

Rita said she had been in training for a while to prepare for this marathon which she had not taken part in before.

'I have not set myself any targets, I am just hoping to finish it,' she said. 'Being Dartmoor the course will be quite undulating.'

Money raised will be donated to the Gunnislake Woodland Centre which was built as a drop-in centre for the elderly residents of Gunnislake who find it difficult getting around the village because of its steep slopes.

Chairman of the centre Mike Greenwood said: 'I am very grateful to Rita for doing this. It is hard for a small charity like ours to get any funding these days so anything we can raise by whatever means is good news. I wish her all the best.'