An Isle of Wight runner finished her final race of the season by taking overall first-placed female and top spot in a national triathlon championship, despite a last-minute injury.

Last month, Jan Fletcher travelled to the Blithfield Triathlon in the West Midlands to take on the PSUK National Standard Triathlon Championships.

The 1,500m swim was in Blithfield Reservoir, and given the bright but low sun, it was difficult to sight the buoys, but Jan came out in a competitive eighth position out of 44.

The 39km bike leg was two laps of the surrounding roads, taking in some beautiful scenery, and being one of Jan’s strongest legs, she improved her placing, passing several competitors.

As she headed into T2 and out onto the final run leg, she had no idea what position she was in.

The gruelling run was two 5km laps, which incorporated a lot of lumpy gravel paths, and went part way across the reservoir dam before returning to the sailing club.

Jan twisted her left ankle at the start of the run, which made for a more challenging final leg.

She pushed on as hard as she could, aware she had passed several other women on the run, but none passed her back.

The final results confirmed Jan was the first woman to finish the standard distance triathlon and, as such, she had also taken the PSUK National Standard Distance Triathlon Championship title.