Mackenzie Marvel

After not only completing a mind-boggling gruelling 250KM endurance race across West Donegal, Ireland, Mackenzie broke the tape as the first woman home by a margin approaching two hours.

Stornoway athlete extraordinare Christina is the kind of athlete who regularly makes the impossible possible.

“It sounds hard but breaking it down section by section makes it easier,” laughs an ever-modest Christina.

Despite lining up for the most daunting of challenges, which could make even seasoned athletes wince, on less than three hours sleep following a dash across two countries the day before for a job interview, Christina didn’t flinch.

“My preparation wasn’t the best as I had spent the day in Falkirk before for a job interview,” she recalled.

“I literally had to bomb down to get ferry from Stranraer then drive from Belfast to Letterkenny to do the bike drop and all the registration.

“I didn’t get back to the hotel till 10pm that night and I knew I had to be up at 2:30am to make sure I had breakfast before the 5am race start.

“I knew I’d be wrecked when I was planning the logistics of the trip. It was only when I stopped afterwards that I felt it.”

Each competitor in the field has a 24-hour window in which to complete the mammoth challenge of 15KM of kayaking, 166KM of cycling, 5KM of mountain running and 64KM of road and trail running.

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