Andrea Mason's 538km triathlon to raise endometriosis and cervical cancer awareness

Andrea Mason swam 38km, cycled 330km and ran and hiked 170km in four days, 23 hours and 41 minutes

When Andrea Mason lay in her hospital bed in 2017 having had a full hysterectomy, she decided she needed a "crazy" challenge.

Her life had already had its fair share of those. Having lived with severe endometriosis since first starting her period, though not getting a diagnosis until her twenties, she had also found out she had cervical cancer.

"I was the same as the one in four women in the UK who don't attend their cervical smear tests," she says.

So she decided to do something about it and raise awareness of women's reproductive health. In 2019, she swam the English Channel, cycled from Calais to Chamonix in France, and climbed to the top of Mont Blanc.

Challenge complete, but why stop there? Earlier this week, in the midst of a global pandemic, Mason, 39, pushed herself even further.

In just under five days, she swam the 38km perimeter of Lake Annecy in France, cycled 330km around Mont Blanc - with 9,000m of height gain, the equivalent of Mount Everest - and ran and hiked the 170km Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc, with 10,000m of height gain.

"I haven't always been a crazy endurance athlete," she tells BBC Sport. That admission comes despite her first triathlon being an Ironman, after which she put her bike on a bonfire, swearing she would never do it again.

"I think I just love setting myself crazy challenges, setting myself big goals and trying to achieve and accomplish things that people don't think are necessarily always achievable."

The cycling leg of Mason's challenge was the equivalent height gain of cycling up and down Everest

Mason, from Blackpool, had initially planned to complete a challenge in the UK this summer, swimming the longest lakes in England, Scotland and Wales, climbing those countries' highest peaks, and cycling between it all.

But, unable to get back to the UK from her base in Chamonix before the borders were shut at the height of the coronavirus lockdown, she had to change plan.

"There was definitely lots of anxiety and anticipation," she says. "I think for me, with this Plan B challenge, I was really venturing into the unknown on the run/hike part of it.

"Setting out on a 170km run/hike with the equivalent distance of running up and down Everest was not something I had spent enough time on my feet or the mountains for, so I was really quite scared actually about how my body would react."

With her usual support team stuck in South Africa, Mason started the Sea to Summit challenge on 4 September in the waters of Lake Annecy.

Though "boring on the mind", she completed the swim in under 10 hours with "only one or two little mini-meltdowns".

"I was accusing my husband of not following a straight line on the boat but apparently, and the graph shows it, he was in a straight line and it was me that was swimming all over the place in the ninth hour," Mason laughs.

After six or seven hours' sleep - the only sleep, as it turned out, she would get for the rest of the challenge - it was on to the bike.

Though "exceptionally tough" with the mammoth height gain and bitterly cold conditions, she finished that leg in just over 24 hours, but "hell on Earth" was yet to come.

"I had broken the run down into six stages, so at no point was a stage over 31km," she says. "In my head, that sounded doable to me if I just focused on one stage at a time.

"But I got to the top of the first climb and started descending, and the wheels physically fell off. I spent the whole descent throwing up."

Somehow, Mason completed the stage, though spent her six hours of planned recovery continuing to vomit. Those were her darkest hours and she didn't know how, or if, she could continue.

"I don't just say this lightly but the first thing that came into my head is why I was doing this," she says. "I set out to promote awareness of endometriosis and ensure that women and girls have the cervical smear test.

"That really came to the forefront of my mind and I knew I had to dig deep and push through this."

And dig deep she did. Running on empty, she set off on the next stage, where at the top of the first stage, she was given a drink of ginger boiled in water that seemed to do the trick.

No longer nauseous, she developed a "renewed sense of energy", and despite her screaming quads and swollen feet, she managed to battle her way through the stages.

"Coming down the final descent, I think I had some sort of out of body experience," she says. "I flew down.

"It was 5:30 in the morning, and there were lots of people with cowbells and cheering as I came across the finish line - a zebra crossing on the road."

She celebrated in the best way - tucking into a bowl of at least 100 chicken nuggets, her biggest craving during every endurance challenge she tackles.

"It just made my life. It was amazing."

Challenge complete, Mason will now rest and recharge and get some well-needed, and deserved, sleep.

Her "motivation behind the madness" continues though, having this year set up her own charity, Lady Talk Matters.

She plans to tackle her original challenge in the UK next year, the completion of which would see her set several world firsts.

And while that challenge may be a year off, you can't help but think it won't be her last.

Andrea Mason tucks into chicken nuggets after completing her challenge

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