"They've [family] always been really good at sport so I put myself out there this time.
"Now I have achieved something they are unlikely to ever do."
Walking just over 13 hours from Taupo to Turangi in the heat of the summer sun was "hard-going", said Mrs Cunningham.
"For every kilometre, I focused on every year of my life. The good and bad times, such as my early family life, my marriage to Kerry and the birth of my children, John and Sarah.
"The walk was like this, there were good kilometres and some very difficult ones."
Mrs Cunningham said there were some points where she wanted to stop, especially after the first 35km which she walked by herself, but members of her family joined in the walk to support her.
"My family kept me going," she said.
"At the end of 60km they thought I was going to stop but I kept on going.
"That last seven kilometres was really hard."
After she finished the race, she took a well-earned dip in the lake, had a drink and relaxed in a spa.
Mrs Cunningham trained around Eketahuna five days a week for about three months.
"My next goal is to compete in the 50th Marathon in Rotorua in May with my husband and sister-in-law Karen, but compared to last Saturday I think it will be just a walk in the park."
