Runner Sam Watts was 18 stone just a handful of years ago.

But since taking up running in 2018 the 43-year-old’s life has been transformed, so much so, that she is now joint ladies’ captain of Severn Athletic Club and competes in ultra-marathons.

“Before I started running I just used to eat,” she admitted. “I never ran, I wouldn’t even run for a bus.”

These days she’s about 10st 7lb and she continued: “I was already losing weight when somebody at work suggested I start running.

“I hated it at first but then I started to see the benefits and it spiralled from there.”

It certainly did. She joined Severn AC in 2021, linking up soon after her partner Dan Nurse, who recently took over as chairman of the club.

“I met Dan through running,” said Watts, who works in IT and lives in Matson. “When I first started running I was doing 5Ks and parkruns but now I like long distance.”

And while she considers herself an ultra-runner – she completed the recent 43-mile Brecon to Cardiff Ultra in under eight hours – she’s been setting PBs across the board.

She’s run 22.08 for 5K and one hour, 48 for the half-marathon, going through 10K in 50.21 and 10 miles in one hour, 21.

Her official times for 10K and 10 miles are 51.16 and 86.25, and she’s run a marathon in four hours, 26.

They are all times she is definitely looking to improve and she said: “”I’ve cut my weight and my running times. I’m getting better with age, it’s good, isn’t it?

“I’ve smashed all of my times purely because of the strength I’ve gained from doing all the long distance runs.”

The one-time Beaufort School pupil’s enthusiasm for the sport is in stark contrast to her attitude towards running when she was growing up.

“I hated it,” she said. “When we did cross-country at school I used to hide in a bush and then take a short cut!”

That was then. These days she’s certainly up for a challenge and she’s already put her name down to take part in the 47-mile Brecon to Cardiff Xtreme next March, an ultra-marathon that she says has treble the elevations of the Brecon to Cardiff Ultra that she completed earlier this year.

And while Watts is clearly enjoying everything about running, she’s keen to give back to the sport, and her club, too.

This is in her second year as joint ladies’ captain and she said: “I share the role with Sophie Hope and last year I did it with Gemma Collier.

“When I first joined the club we didn’t have a ladies’ captain, we didn’t have a big team but now we have 21 ladies at the club and we’d love more to join.

“I’m happy to carry on as captain, it’s something I enjoy.”

And she's certainly happy to carry on running.