A 21-year-old student from St Ives has earned herself a place in the Guinness World Records as the youngest person to complete 100 marathons.

Sophie Goodwin, from Thorndown Close, St Ives, smashed the world record on December 2 after taking part in her 100th event in Kent, which is where she ran her very first one.

Sophie, who is studying for her masters degree in philosophy at the University of East Anglia, has beaten the current record holder by just 20 days. She is aged 21 and 152 days and the current record holder (male) is 21 and 172 days and the female holder is 24 and 351 days.

Sophie who has battled depression and an eating disorder began running marathons two years ago, initially to support her mum, Carol, who has also ran more than 150 marathons.

“Mum is a keen runner and I just went out with her to keep her company, but I realised quite quickly it was helping me because if I wanted to run, I had to eat. If I started to feel tired I was aware that it could be because I hadn’t eaten enough and my body needed fuel. Running has turned my life around. I feel much more positive and healthier.”

Sophie says she didn’t set out to break the record but once she had run 20 events she started to look at the records and as the female holder was older she knew she could beat her so she went for the male record which would make her the youngest person. She ran marathons almost every weekend and the locations have included Greece and Lanzarote.

Sophie will now concentrate on improving her personal best time and plans to take part in more marathons, but said breaking the world record had not really sunk in yet, but she was excited and happy.