In just her second 100 mile race, Lou Clifton has beaten a wealth of international athletes to be the second female in the Mt Fuji Ultra Trail in April.
At 167km, with an incredible 8000m elevation, it's the longest distance and the most elevation the Mt Victoria runner has ever conquered.
Completing the race in 25 hours and 50 minutes, Clifton was second to female winner Fuzhao Xiang (24:20) from China, and overall race winner Xavier Thevenard (19:36:26) from France.
The course route covered a number of mountain ranges in Japan, including 7000m of elevation in the final 40km.
Running in rain, mist and with poor visibility, Clifton was mostly third-placed female until the final 15km when she overtook a French competitor at an aid station, and then moved as fast as she could up the climb to the finish, where her husband Steve Thomsen was waiting.
"I was a bit overwhelmed to be honest. It all happened at the end. Seeing Steve's face was incredible. I got to the tape and he held my arm up in the air," Clifton said.
"I feel really happy that I was able to finish it. I was nervous beforehand to finish it 'cause I've not done anything like that before."
In such an extreme event where a lot of things can go wrong, the 46-year-old says she's always grateful to have the physical and mental strength to keep going.
To give her body a rest from the massive distances, she'll mix up her training with some shorter races. On Sunday, Clifton was the third female in the Brisbane Marathon in 3:07:23.
