Tamati 10th in ultimate endurance race

Endurance athlete Lisa Tamati has become the first New Zealand woman to complete the Death Valley ultra-marathon in the Nevada desert.

The 39-year-old New Plymouth jeweller crossed the finish line in the gruelling 217km event last night (NZ time), clocking 38 hours, 24 minutes and 43 seconds.

Tamati was the 10th woman home out of 22 and 24th runner overall in a 90-strong field. Her average speed was 5.65km/h.

Tamati told the Taranaki Daily News she was exhausted after completing an event she had spent years preparing for.

"I just bawled my eyes out, to be honest. I was almost hyperventilating, just from relief and just a flood of emotion," she said.

"I really thought 48 hours was looking pretty good. I would never have dreamed it would be possible, to be honest."

Battling extreme temperatures, physical and mental strain, Tamati only stopped for one 30-minute break, two 10-minute breaks and a couple of quick massages.

Tamati said the final part of the race up Mt Whitney was the toughest.

"It just kept going and going and going and it was as steep as hell, like running up Mt Taranaki."

The race crosses three mountain ranges, going from 85m below sea level at Badwater to 2500m above sea level at the Mt Whitney Portals.

It is considered the toughest of the world's ultra-marathons because of the searing heat.

Tamati said she knew what to expect, but it was still a shock to experience the temperatures.

"To actually feel it and know what it is like, you can't describe it. After 10 minutes you are just buggered."

Two New Zealand men have completed the race - Max Telford* in 1982 and Kym McConnell four years ago.

Californian Jorge Pacheco was the first runner home in 23hr 20min 16sec while Jamie Donaldson of Colorado was first woman in 26hr 51min 33sec.

- NZPA

* An earlier version of this story incorrectly said "the late Max Telford". Apologies for the error.