'Quitting arctic ultramarathon was not an option'

Although Lauren Gregory from Warwick has run about 50 ultramarathons, her most recent, across the Arctic Circle, was the most "gruelling, exhausting" race she has ever done.

She has been running since she was in school, but only really began doing long distance runs after her children were born, and started doing ultramarathons in 2015.

After taking on ultras in deserts and highlands, she was looking for her next challenge.

"Having survived two desert ultras, the obvious progression is to do the cold one," she said.

The Beyond the Ultimate Ice Ultra was what she put her name down for - a 230km (142.9 miles) self-sufficient race across the Arctic Circle, over five days.

"I thought that would be the ultimate test and take me way out of my comfort zone," she said.

"I'm not very good in the cold."

So how exactly do you prepare for a race of this magnitude, which sees participants trekking across snow and ice, with temperatures dropping as low as -30C?

"It was difficult, actually, being a multi-day and self-sufficient."

"It was very similar to training to the desert," she said, "train with your kit, get used to carrying the weight of the pack - which can be between nine and 11kg."

"Trying to simulate similar conditions… long back-to-back days, so you do that in the training."

Gregory, 47, said replicating the snow, however, was difficult - even with a spell of the cold stuff in January it quickly melted and thwarted her plans.

"I ended up going down to Sandbanks beach, and I ran on the beach in my snow shoes just to get the feel for them."

The race began on 17 February.

Participants stepped into northern Sweden, staying in tepee tents and huts along the route.

They only saw about eight hours of daylight each day.

"I felt so broken by the end of the first day," Gregory said.

"I got to the end of the other multi-day races in a bit of a state but I've never felt like that on the first day.

"It quite literally took everything I had physically, mentally, and emotionally to complete it."

However, she said she knew when she signed up that it was not going to be easy.

"It was really beautiful, whilst it was so hard, it was also hard to hate it - all you had to do was look up and look around and it was like being in Narnia," she told the BBC.

On the second day, they had to climb a mountain, which she said was surreal: "When we got to the top, the sun was shining and it literally felt like you were in heaven looking down on the earth."

Day four of five was the "long day", when Gregory travelled 65km (40 miles), which tested her resolve.

"I just lost my head in the last 7km.

"It just felt so long, I'd been on my feet for 15 hours.

"It was -25 at that point, I felt like the end was never going to come," she said.

"I always try and visualise my children at the finish line cheering me on, the thought of calling them and telling them I couldn't do it… that's just not an option."

When day five rolled around, the participants had just 15km (nine miles) to complete.

"It still feels really long when you're still tired," she said.

"That last bit of 5km we were starting to approach civilisation again.

That very last 100m when you could see the finish line and the whole team… music pumping, it was really emotional."

"It was a huge relief and also just a really big moment of: 'I've done it, I've actually conquered the Arctic.'

"It was a really proud, magical moment for me."

"I will not be doing it again," she said firmly.

She said her next ultramarathon would not be for a couple of years, and was thinking of doing one for her 50th birthday.

"The one that's left unticked for me in terms of terrain is the jungle one," she said.

That race is 230km across Manu National Park in Peru over eight days.

"That's a huge step out of my comfort zone, I don't like creepy crawlies, I don't like humidity and it's a long way from home."

Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.