Mum Zoe Rucker took up the Atlantic Coast Challenge and ran three marathons in three days between Padstow and Land’s End in Cornwall last week.

Mother-of-three Mrs Rucker, from Bromham, runs ultramarathons in between raising her family, her job as a learning support assistant at a secondary school in Chippenham and owning The Doodle Studio.

She said: “It was 80 miles in three days running over, under, up and down the Coastal Path from Padstow to Land’s end.

“The Atlantic Coast Challenge is run by ultrarunners, triathletes, fellrunners and nutters – about 150 of them. I was one of the nutters, I guess, having run only 27-plus miles previously in any one stretch, to include Naish Hill in Lacock and Roundway Hill outside Bromham.

“Any normal person would have thought that such terrain would be enough training for the gorges and cliffs I was about to face – wrong!

“There were relentless ups and downs from start to finish, which was tough for the best part of the first two days as I clocked up 54 miles. The sea beat me to the rocks and I had to wade round.

“The third day was a totally different experience. It was nearer 30 miles than 26 or 28 and we had cut-off times at checkpoints, which meant we would be pulled off the challenge and be labelled with a DNF (did not finish) if we didn’t meet them.

“It was less running and more scrabbling, slipping and climbing. With extra water added to the weight on my back and less confidence in my used legs after the first two marathons, every small rock in my path seemed like a boulder.

“So, after 80 miles, 24 hours, a couple of toenails and 8,000 calories, I did it and I got a proper Cornish pasty and a medal for my efforts.”

She said she completed the challenge to help her training partner, Clare Ward from Lacock, raise funds for Wiltshire Air Ambulance and the Marfan Association in memory of a friend’s daughter.

Ms Ward has already raised more than £5,000 through her own challenges and is hoping to top £6,000 by the end of November.