Photo: Shanda Hill Ultra Athlete

Vernon ultra athlete Shanda Hill was found unconscious in a ditch overnight after a crash during the cycle portion of the Decaultratri Mexico Double Deca Continuous race.

But that isn't stopping Hill, who's back in the saddle today after being cleared by medical staff.

About 9:30 p.m., fellow competitor Heide Lindemann of Germany came across Hill, "lying unconscious in a ditch approximately 20 feet from the road, with her bike resting on top of her," Hill's support team says.

Hill was fortunate to have only suffered minor scrapes and bruises.

She says as a car passed, she shifted to the side of the road and a bug found its way into her eye, distracting her.

The next thing she knew, she woke up in the ditch.

Hill was checked for a concussion and showed no signs of head impact or damage to her helmet. But, she did suffer scrapes and bruises to her legs, hip and shoulder.

Determined to continue, Hill was back on the course this morning.

She has currently covered more than 475 kilometres of the 3,600-km cycle portion and is currently in second place overall.

The endurance race includes a 76-swim, 3,600-km cycle, and 844-run, the equivalent of 20 back-to-back Ironman triathlons.

It's Hill's second this year and third overall. Upon completion, she will be the only athlete, male or female, to have done three of the gruelling double deca races.