Dalesfolk: Karen Slater

She would run up the 3,561 feet of Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in England and Wales - and then run down again. She did it to impress her children - although she did get medals for it too.

That was five years ago and now Karen is six months into what some would consider an even greater challenge. This time, her personal mountain to climb is keeping open a village sub post office.

Seeking out challenges, the tougher the better, seems to be part of Karen's life, which has seen quite of lot of victories, but also a terrible tragedy that might have crushed some parents.

The people of Giggleswick, and particularly the old folk of that picturesque little community, hope that her decision to rescue their tiny post office from closure will be one of her triumphs. But it is a longish story.

Karen was born in Barlick 47 years ago, the daughter of a millwright, and delighted her family by gaining a place at Skipton Girls' High School. From there, she went on to Nottingham University, still quite an unusual step for a lass in those days, where she took a degree in art and PE.

She came home (almost) to become a teacher in East Lancashire and was already interested in the great outdoors - she met husband-to-be Barry in a local Venture Scout troop - but her activities were limited to a bit of hiking.

They got married and took the then tiny fish and chip shop on the A56 at Kelbrook, settled down and began to produce their family of three daughters, Charlotte, Nichole and Sheryl.

And it was Charlotte, as a young girl, who took up serious running, both on the fells and cross-country, and infected the family with her enthusiasm. That, sadly, was to end in tragedy for she died at the age of 16 from a rare form of cancer.

Instead of descending into a morass of gloom, the family rallied. Middle sister Nichole took up the sporting baton and became very, very good at it: she was to represent England as a fell runner and won a gold medal as under-18 champion. But an odd side effect was to cajole her mum into the sporting life too.

"She would come to all my races and be critical in a loving sort of way if she thought I had not done my best," explained Nichole, now a 22-year-old fine arts student at Lancaster University. "So one day, I said to her 'If you think it's so easy, why don't you try it.' And, of course, she did."

Karen laughs: "I was 38 at the time, which most people think was a pretty daft time to take up fell running. But when your own children issue a challenge, it is only fair to give it a go."

A "bit of a go" is one of the bigger understatements to come my way this past year or so - and I meet a lot of modest people in this job. Karen went on to become the British ladies' fell running champion, ran for England for four years, and collected an uncounted tally of medals - three golds, two silvers "and a few more that I can't quite remember".

The family moved from Kelbrook to Giggleswick six years ago, when they bought an old farmhouse high above the village and felt at home immediately - "there is an atmosphere here very like Kelbrook, two small villages with a very high sense of community spirit and a willingness to help the neighbours when needed."

That would have been the end of the story until, in autumn last year, it was announced the village's sub post office opposite the parish church was to close because new tenants could not be found.

"That was a body blow to the whole village," Karen went on. "It is our only shop and, for its size, it sold a very wide range of food. For the old folk in particular, it was a potential tragedy.

"We have one lady of 92 who wheels her shopping trolley down here to get her pension and buy her food. She couldn't possibly walk as far as the centre of Settle. And then there is the sense that the post office is a centre of community life.

"To be frank, there is no great financial advantage in running a business like this: the pay is very low and the overheads are quite high. It's also seven days a week because although the post office part is closed on Sundays, we still open the shop.

"But we were so grateful of the welcome we have had here in Giggleswick we thought we should give it a try. Six months later, things are doing quite well - although I no longer have time for my daily 10-mile training runs!"

Over recent years, the Herald has been full of sad stories about closing village shops. For a long time, our sports pages were awash with the Slater family's achievements.

Now, they have moved to the news pages - and I wish them well. But I suspect that their new challenge is marginally tougher than a quick run up Snowdon - and back!