GOALKEEPER Aurora Mears has completed a staggering challenge of playing in 28 games in eight days.

She was involved in the Hockey for Heroes tour which started in Glasgow and visited Reading before finishing at Canterbury at the weekend.

The Abbey School PE graduate is the Reading club’s No. 1 keeper, but last Thursday she was in goal for the visitors and didn’t concede a goal all day with her side defeating University of Reading 8-0, Sonning 5-0 and Reading 1-0.

And after her marathon effort, Aurora said: “My shoulders and legs ache a bit, but apart from that I feel great. It has been one awesome challenge and I’m proud to be involved in it.”

She had been selected for the 25-strong squad after attending trials at Bisham Abbey before Christmas.

But in addition to hockey, each day of the tour started with a physical exercise set by a military instructor including log races, assault courses, interval runs and other challenges that pushed the players to their physical and mental limits.

“This bunch of girls are absolutely amazing, we’re a very close and tight group,” commented the goalie who was the understudy to GB’s Olympic gold medallist Maddie Hinch when both played for Holcombe. She admitted keeping three clean sheets at Sonning Lane was “brilliant”, but Mears was given a few anxious moments by Reading, who battled hard to equalise in the second half, having efforts scrambled away from in front of the net as well as forcing a succession of corners.

With Mears playing for the opposition, the Blues had 15-year-old Liz Smith in goal and The Holt schoolgirl did well to keep out two one-on-one situations before losing out on the third occasion early in the second half, with Sarah Wood scoring with a back-handed shot.

The Heroes squad also included The Abbey’s Director of Sport Lara Wilkinson and Katherine Pike, the Sonning player previously with Reading.