Nicky Spinks

A woman who survived breast cancer has completed one of the country’s toughest mountain running challenges in record time.

Yorkshire farmer Nicky Spinks completed a double Bob Graham Round yesterday evening, only the second person, and the only woman to achieve the feat.

The 49-year-old beat Roger Baumeister’s 1979 record by more than an hour.

The ultrarunner completed the 84-peak course in 45hrs 30mins after setting off from Keswick on Saturday.

The innov-8 brand ambassador previously held the women’s record for the Bob Graham Round, but Jasmin Paris snatched the accolade last month, beating Spinks’s time by more than two hours.

The Bob Graham Round, named after the Keswick guest-house owner who first accomplished the feat in 1932, involves summiting the 42 Lakeland peaks in 24 hours or less.

Spinks’s latest achievement involved running the 132-mile route over 84 peaks in less than 48 hours, with 16,460m (54,000ft) of ascent, almost twice the height of Everest.

She finished her double round at the Moot Hall in Keswick and was later pictured relaxing with Baumeister, the only other person to achieve the challenge.

Nicky Spinks has set up a fundraising page for the Odyssey charity, which helps adults rebuild their lives after cancer. She has already smashed her £6,500 target, and currently her total stands at more than £8,700.

She said: “I can relate to this as back in 2006 after I was officially discharged after having breast cancer it was hard to know how to resume normal life.

“You cannot go back to your old life because you are no longer the person you were; your values have changed and you still have the niggling doubts ‘Why me? What if?’

“I know that people trying to adjust to their new life will benefit from the support and encouragement that Odyssey provides.”

Donations can be made via Nicky Spinks’s justgiving page.