Our colleague Shital Gohil took on the Cotswold Way Ultra Challenge and finished every step of it.

Most people mark turning 55 with a nice meal and an early night. Shital Gohil walked 100 kilometres through the dark.

Last weekend, our Protection Adviser and Paraplanner took on the Cotswold Way Ultra Challenge, a full 100km on foot. She set off in daylight, walked straight through the night, and crossed the finish line as the sun came up the next morning. And she did it the very same week she turned 55.

We’re still getting our heads around it, honestly.

If you know Shital, none of this will surprise you. It’s the same quiet, unstoppable determination, the kind that only really shows itself somewhere around hour fourteen, in the dark, with a long way still to go, that she’s brought to looking after Duke Godley’s clients for more than 25 years. She simply doesn’t stop until the job is done.

That’s not a throwaway line. Since joining the firm in 2000, Shital has become the steady presence many clients speak to first and rely on most, guiding families through protection decisions, helping businesses set up group life and workplace pension schemes, and quietly making sure every detail is right behind the scenes. When a family is facing something difficult, that dependability isn’t a nice to have. It’s everything.

The Cotswold Way, it turns out, is just her latest challenge. Shital is a lifelong runner and trekker whose adventures already include the London Marathon, numerous half marathons and treks to Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro and Everest Base Camp, many of them in aid of charity. Only recently she completed the National Three Peaks Challenge inside 24 hours. Now she’s added a 100km overnight ultra to the list.

From all of us at Duke Godley: we’re incredibly proud of you, Shital. Happy birthday, and congratulations, you’ve officially left the rest of us with no excuses. 🎉