Sharon Gayter Heading Towards Surgeres 2008
Testing times for ultra ace Sharon
Posted May 17 2008 by Chris Hole, Evening Gazette
TEESSIDE’S top female ultra-runner Sharon Gayter has been severely tested in a gruelling start to her season.
Sharon, from Guisborough, first travelled to Africa to take part in the Libyan Challenge. And despite foot problems, she finished the harsh 190km course in fourth place in 36hrs 10mins and broke her personal record by half an hour.
“I ended up with over 20 blisters, lost all but two of my toe nails and also got very sunburnt on my legs,” she said.
“I finished fourth overall despite being in second place for most of the race, but a navigational error near the finish cost me two places and I ended up crawling through undergrowth to the finish line, narrowly missing being trampled on by some camels!”
Sharon returned home for just 17 days before she embarked on her next adventure, the Marathon des Sables - a seven-day self-sufficiency race across the Sahara Desert, billed as the toughest race on earth.
Of 800 competitors, Sharon finished as the 17th lady but admits to finding the 245km race, ran in sweltering temperatures reaching 46 degrees, a real challenge so soon after Libya.
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