Shropshire hills are the secret to World Marathon Challenge winner's success
Imagine - you have just pounded the streets, completed 26 miles, your feet are sore and your throat is parched.
You have a marathon under your belt. So what do you do?
Well, if your name is Susannah Gill, you get on an aeroplane, fly thousands of miles and do it all over again - for the 34-year-old has just taken the title in the World Marathon Challenge.
She completed seven marathons, in seven days on seven continents - beating off competition from across the globe.
And the secret to her phenomenal success - the rolling hills of Shropshire.
Back in the UK, she was relaxing with a session in the gym when she described her journey.
The 777, as it is known, began on January 31 with a marathon in Antarctica. In temperatures of minus 5 Susannah saw off the competition with a time of 3:53:55
Then it was back on the plane and on to Cape Town. After touching down in a sweltering 30°C she came in at 3:21:32.
Third marathon was Perth before flying off to Dubai, then to Madrid with a blistering time of 3:11:39, on to Santiago and topping it off the trip in Miami on Thursday.
Susannah, who grew up in Shropshire and whose parents live in Much Wenlock, prepared for the mindboggling logistical juggling act by taking to the Shropshire Hills and she credits the countryside surrounding her parent's home with her success.
"I live in London but running there is so hard. You are always being interrupted and you can never get into a fluid pace. In Shropshire there are no such distractions. I could go out each weekend on a four and five hour run and just...well, run."
After deciding to compete in the 777, Susannah spent five months training. But that is not to say she is not an already accomplished runner.
She ran her first marathon 10 years ago and has since run over 40, including 10 London Marathons with a fastest time of 2 hours 58 minutes and has a Guinness World Record for the fastest woman dressed as an animal (completed in a time of 3 hours 18 minutes as a peacock).
She has also taken on a number of ultra-marathons, including 100km, 100 mile and 24-hour races. Her favourite races to date have been the 100km Pharaonic Race around Cairo in 2012 where she was first woman and third overall, along with a 100km race from Henley to Putney.
"I had an amazing time doing the World Marathon Challenge," she said. "It was pretty strange though. We were doing the opposite of what you should do when you run a marathon. Instead of stretching, winding down slowly and making sure you look after yourself we were all getting on the plane, eating and then snatching a few hours sleep.
"But we did move around a lot on the plane, there were foam rollers there for us to stretch out our muscles and we were able to get the blood flowing. There were a lot of gadgets to make sure we kept well."
Forty people competed from around the world.
Susannah was one of two Brits and others came from America, Denmark, China and Canada. They were flown around the world by chartered plane and ran mainly at night. "We became largely nocturnal," said Susannah. "In Santiago, they kept a park open especially for us and the race started at around 9pm. I have to say, the pizza I ate at the end of the race, sitting on the floor, was probably the best I have tasted."
It was not just a physical challenge for Susannah, she had to be mentally strong too. "Races 1-4 were fine, they were hard but fine. But races 5, 6 and 7 were tough, really tough. And by race seven my left hamstring was in trouble. But I was determined to keep going.
"But it was a great competition. I was running with a Danish woman and she was just behind me, so that kept pushing me on. I knew she was there."
Susannah will not be resting on her laurels though. She is set to take part in both the London and Manchester marathons. "I now have a network of runners around the world who have invited me to go and run with them. We didn't know each other before but now that we have been through this together, we are all close.
"If anyone else is considering doing this I would encourage them to do so. If you train hard enough and enjoy what you do, you can do it."
Susannah ran the marathons in aid of SportsAid, which supports young athletes who are aiming to be Great Britain’s next generation of sporting heroes. To donate go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/susannah-gill-777
