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FOR most people running continuously for 17 hours and 59 minutes might seem impossible. But not so for 36-year old, Martha Pretorius, of Athlone.

Pretorius completed a hat-trick of successes when she was the first women runner to cross the finish line at the recent 160km Washie ultra-marathon between Port Alfred and East London for the third consecutive year.

All runners are given 26 hours to complete this event. Pretorius from the Top Form Athletics Club improved her time of last year by almost an hour and placed fourth overall. She has also won the Hewat 100-miler in Cape Town on several occasions.

Pretorius, who is a nurse by profession, only took up running when she turned 30. She has already earned six Bill Rowan medals for finishing the 89km Comrades ultra-marathon between Durban and Pietermaritzburg in under nine hours.

Not only has she finished the 56km Two Oceans marathon five times, but for the last two years she has done this race back-to-back to raise funds for patients suffering from cancer. She set off the night before by running the route in reverse before starting the official race the next morning.

"I will attempt to do next year's 89km Comrades back- to-back. This has never been attempted before. If I make it, it will be a world record for this distance," said Pretorius.

"I regard this as the ultimate challenge. I intend to use this record-attempt to raise funds for underprivileged children."

Pretorius will have to run the 180km distance from Pietermaritzburg to Durban and back in 24 hours.

Anybody interested in assisting Pretorius to raise funds can call her at 072 422 8240.

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