Bognor Regis woman becomes first British woman to complete world's toughest footrace three times

Laura, a flight service manager at Virgin Atlantic, ran 135 miles through the scorching heat of Death Valley, Las Vegas last July, finishing with a time of 38 hours and 4 minutes, despite temperatures of up to 51 degrees Celsius.

It came after months of gruelling preparation, including 11 marathons, one 50km race, two fifty mile races and a 100 mile hot training run along the length of the Florida Keys in May.

One month out from her third encounter with the big race, Laura started heat acclimation training, which included running on her Peloton tread with two electric heaters blasting hot air at her and the room temperature set to 35 degrees Celsius, running in full-winter gear, seven sessions at the heat centre at the University of Chichester and daily saunas.

“I am a normal girl trying to achieve extraordinary things,” Laura said. “I love pushing the limits of human endurance and seeing what I’m capable of. Never in my wildest dreams when I first heard of Badwater 135, did I ever think I would make the start line. And not just that, be a three-time finisher and the only British woman to have ever achieved this!"

In 2018, Laura was diagnosed with Stage Two skin cancer and after having melanoma and some lymph nodes removed, she ran three marathons in three weeks. Laura has used her miles for momentum to raise over £50,000 for some incredible causes, including £5,000 for the British Skin Foundation.

"I am very lucky to have the support of my beloved Virgin Atlantic who are always behind me in my running pursuits,” she said. “I am so lucky to do a job I love plus having my down route time to run in the wonderful cities across Virgin Atlantic's fantastic route network. I also couldn’t do all this without the support of my amazing husband, Matthew, who is a Captain on Virgin Atlantic’s A350 fleet. He crews me in all my races and is my best supporter.”