If there’s ever a lesson on checking the postcode before paying for a race, this is it. Runner Sheila Pereira booked, paid for and trained for the Worcester half marathon, not realising it was in the UK, not her home town of Worcester, Massachusetts.

When realising her error, Pereira decided to run 13.1 miles on the day of the race as planned (rather than make the 3,200 mile journey to Worcester in the UK) and sent her Strava data to the race organisers explaining her error. Pereira has since been praised by the UK race organisers, who have sent Pereira a finishers t-shirt and medal.

The Worcester half marathon is set up by the Events of the North, run by British athlete Steve Cram, and Worcester City Council. Cram has invited Pereira to the UK to take part in a future edition of the race.

Talking to BBC news , Cram said, "We organise events throughout the country and some of them do attract entries from overseas. Those are usually from runners who are visiting the UK for another reason and have taken the opportunity to take part in a race while here. That's what we assumed that Sheila was doing. We'd love to welcome Sheila in person next year - I don't know much about Worcester, Massachusetts, but Worcester, England, is a beautiful city and well worth a visit."

Pereira responded by saying, "the love of running crosses boundaries and I hope to have the opportunity to take part in person in the future."

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