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'Friends for life' formed on 300km run

Katie Waple
BBC News
Northern Traverse Luke Elliott and Sarah Francis are walking on a cliffside footpath. Luke is wearing a orange puffer jacket and matching orange shorts and hat, whilst Sarah has a navy jacket and trousers and a purple headband. The sea and coastline can be seen in the background.Northern Traverse
(L-R) Luke Elliott and Sarah Francis said they dragged each other to the finish line

A woman battled freezing overnight temperatures, burning sunshine and sleep deprivation to complete a 300km (186 miles) run.

Sarah Francis, 57, from Fleet in Hampshire, successfully ran almost non-stop from the west to the east coast of Britain, taking in the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors in a race known as the Northern Traverse.

She met up with Luke Elliott two thirds of the way across and they credited their fast-formed friendship for getting them to the finish line.

Ms Francis said she "lives for a challenge" and this was "an amazing adventure".

Northern Traverse Luke Elliott and Sarah Francis having well deserved pint at the finish line. Luke is wearing a orange puffer jacket and matching orange hat, whilst Sarah has a navy jacket and purple headband.Northern Traverse
After meeting each other on the challenge they said they would now be "friends for life"

She said: "I like a big challenge and I like standing on a start line thinking, 'oh I don't know if I can do this'.

"I've done other long-distance stuff that I've just really enjoyed.

"I love getting out there and meeting fabulous people along the way."

She and Mr Elliott stayed together from Richmond to the end of the race.

Ms Francis explained she was falling asleep when he stopped to ask how she was doing and they just got talking.

They said they would now be "friends for life".

Ms Francis explained she was falling asleep when Mr Elliott stopped to ask how she was doing and they just got talking

Mr Elliott, from Plymouth, said: "It's quite entertaining standing on a start line wondering if you can even get to the end."

The 35-year-old, who was raising money for Alzheimer's Research UK in memory of his grandmothers, said he was not sure whether it was because he was stubborn or head strong but he "rarely doesn't get to the end".

He said: "The beauty of being at the back is that you are constantly picking people up.

"My aim is to find people along the way and I found Sarah, we got on and dragged each other to the finish line."

Northern Traverse (L-R) Sarah Francis and Luke Elliott both laughing at the camera in walking attire.Northern Traverse
The pair said they put the world to rights along the journey and laughed a lot

Ms Francis said barring a few short rests, it really was a "non-stop run" where she explained "you can sleep where you fancy".

She said: " I got a total of five and a half hours sleep, it took four and a half days, so there was a bit of sleep deprivation.

"Definitely some sleep walking and some absolute rubbish coming out of my mouth at times."

After 106 hours walking and five hours of sleep, the pair skipped to the finish line.

She said: "It was an amazing adventure."

They skipped to the finish line of the 300km race together

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