Brilliant finish for determined farmers’ daughters

Linda Beckwith, 46, Janette Kitchen, 50, Vicky Stephenson, 41, and Sarah Lancaster, 23, all from Wharfedale who have seven children between them, were the first all-female team to cross the finishing line, completing the route in 25 hours and 43 minutes.

Mrs Kitchen, a mother-of-two, still kept going despite breaking her finger halfway round the course.

“We were running parts of it and your legs get so tired and I tripped over a stone,” she said.

“You could tell it was broken straight away, it was bent double.

“They bandaged it up for me and asked if I wanted to keep going hut I thought I am not going to let something like that stop me from doing this.

“I think my children will be very proud of me.

Mrs Stephenson, also a mother-of-two, said: “We have done a lot of training since January and that really helped us along the way, our support group was fantastic as well.

“It was just such a phenomenal distance. It is a brilliant feeling to have got through it all together.

“To take our minds of it while we were walking, there was lots of talking, shouting, laughing, everything – you go through a real range of emotions.

“We have had more blisters than you can count but when you take your boots and socks off it is fantastic, it is no problem.

“The scenery was stunning to look at as we walked around. We are farmers’ daughters and grew up in this area.

“But you look at the countryside somehow differently when you are walking.

“We have seen some beautiful sights and views.

“I have always appreciated the countryside because I am a country person but doing this walk has made me see the Dales in a different light.”