Photo: Facebook

Day 6 of the Deca Ultra South Africa is over and Vernon's Shanda Hill remains in first place.

The world-class ultra athlete is in the cycling portion of the race that is the equivalent of 10 iron distance races.

A post by her manager, Jacs, on the Shanda Hill Ultra Athlete Facebook, page said as of Friday at 8 p.m. South Africa time (South Africa is nine hours ahead of B.C.), Hill was in the lead, having completed 1,455 of the 1,800-kilometre race.

Hill is the only woman in the International Ultra Triathlon Association (IUTA) sanctioned event.

“Athletes race continuously from when the clock starts until they finish,” Jacs said of the gruelling pace. “If you sleep or rest, you risk getting passed.

The athletes began the competition with a 38-kilometre swim before moving onto the cycling portion of the race that wraps up with a 422-kilometre run, equal to 10 marathons.

“Shanda told me this morning that the immense amount of pain the athletes are in is beginning to wear everyone down, including herself,” Jacs said. “Shanda is dealing with wounds from the wetsuit five days later. She showed me the large gashes up and down her neck and told me when the sweat runs down into her open wounds, the pain intensifies.”

Every time Hill has to stop to rest or eat, she stiffens up due to a lack of movement, making it painful and difficult to start again.

“Shanda keeps pushing, pounding out kilometre after kilometre, no matter the pain,” said Jacs, adding the athletes rely on each other, and cheer each other on because they all know what it’s like to be in that same deep pain cave for weeks on end.

“They treat each other the way they’d want to be treated, knowing that at some point, they’ll all hit a low and need that same support. It’s a great way to look at life. These athletes come from all over the world, speaking different languages and coming from entirely different backgrounds, but in the end, they’re all chasing the same thing: to be the best version of themselves, both in sports and life,” Jacs said.