This impressive woman managed to run to every Premier League football stadium in London in one day.
Michelle Mentu, a social strategist, from Ilford, London, UK, found a unique way to visit all of the Premier League football stadiums in London.
The runner managed to visit six Premier League grounds including Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, Brentford’s Brentford Community Stadium, Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park, Tottenham Hotspur’s Stadium and West Ham United’s London Stadium.
She said: “I was planning to cycle but then I thought ‘I wonder if I could run it’ and it turns out I could.
“Once I saw the distance I just wanted to see how far my legs could actually take me.”
Michelle was inspired by a cyclist she saw on the TikTok channel @sixonesix_ who had done the challenge and decided to do the 60km route on foot instead.
The social strategist first got into running in January 2023 after finding it eased her anxiety and was a great way to build a community through running clubs.
Equipped with a pair of comfy trainers, running gels, sweets and a positive mindset, Michelle began her 37 mile route.
She said: “I ran my first marathon last year but up until this it was my longest run ever.
“My comfort zone for long runs usually stops around 30/35k but I can churn those out quite decently.
“I started running in January 2023 but only really doing 2-5k.”
She added: “I used to cycle and just wanted something to improve my endurance but then I saw my friend Arwa run the Marathon and Hackney Half in May and decided to try running a bit more seriously, so I joined Brked-Off and Athene.
“I don’t just like it, I love it – because I’m a very anxious person and when I run all my anxiety disappears completely but also, it’s been the best way for me to build community through run clubs.”
Despite her positive attitude, Michelle still faced doubts over her ability to finish the course and even considered quitting halfway through.
As the night got darker, Michelle got lost mid-route and added an additional 2km to her run.
However, after she received a message from a close friend to keep on going she felt a surge of motivation and carried on.
With her phone out of charge and only her memory to rely on for the route, Michelle eventually saw the lights of the London Stadium and completed the longest distance she had ever run before.
She added: “The most essential thing is your mindset.
“You won’t get far if your brain is busy being your biggest enemy.
“I had a friend who always used to say, “it’s a mindset thing” and it never left my brain.”
She said: “I thought I was so done at that point – I had told a couple people I was doing this and one of them was my friend Sammy who DMed me at the perfect time to keep going.
“I was so close to quitting.
“I had literally entered the train station to go home, and her message realigned my mindset – I genuinely don’t think I could’ve gone on without it.
“It was the last message I saw before my phone died and I knew I just had to get up and firm it.
“Luckily I had done part of the route before so getting to Tottenham without maps wasn’t too sticky.”
Michelle added: “I had so many lows during this. It was the week before my period so running is automatically ten times harder and it was quite cold and a little rainy.
“From Brentford to Arsenal was the longest stretch and knowing I was running from West to North was really messing with me especially as it was starting to get dark at that point.
“Knowing I had added around 2k to my journey was really upsetting but also I was so disoriented as I had to keep stopping to double check my surroundings.
“My biggest high was on the canal once I could see London Stadium.
“There was only 2km standing in between me and finishing and I can do anything for 2km.
“Seeing that reaffirmed all my strength and reminded me that omg I’m actually capable of anything.”