Ultra runner planning quiet Xmas after breaking record

Kim Allan insisted she has come out of the run remarkably unscathed, saying she's "pulled out worse from 24-hour races". Photo / Greg Bowker

She may have spent four days running without sleep but that didn't stop an ultra-distance record breaker getting up at 6am the next day.

On Sunday evening in Auckland's Domain, Kim Allan broke the 486km women's world record for running without sleep and, while most people would have been happy to call it quits, she carried on to the 500km mark.

The mother of four had an early start yesterday, then spent most of the day relaxing with her sore feet up - when she got a chance between media interviews.

"It's all a bit surreal at the moment. I'm going through some of the Facebook things on my page and when you see posts about a New Zealand woman beating the world record, I'm like, 'oh my gosh, that's me they're talking about'," she said.

Her marathon run has so far raised more than $7000 for the New Zealand Spinal Trust, with an aim of reaching $8000.

Ms Allan insisted she has come out of the run remarkably unscathed, saying she's "pulled out worse from 24-hour races".

Her toes are covered in blisters and bandaged up, she has swollen feet and ankles and a bit of bruising, her legs and feet are sore but "not overly", and her lips are sunburnt. By most people's standards all that would be enough cause for complaint, but not for Ms Allan.

She described herself as "just a bit weary", and hoping to lounge out on the sofa for the night in her track pants.

It will be a stress-free Christmas, too, as she is taking the children to her mother's house in Mangawhai, and has no intention of carrying out any last-minute Christmas shopping, despite not having done any before her run.

"Thankfully, my kids are older, so they'll appreciate stuff from the Boxing Day sales," she said.

"My older daughter, she's been like a Little Miss Santa Claus, and just got some stuff in.

"But I was slack beforehand in getting stuff done because everything was about getting organised for the run. Our Christmas will wait until after."

While Ms Allan's run was not officially adjudicated by Guinness World Records, she said she was happy the monitoring her team did proved she broke the previous record of 486km without sleep.

"It would be very hard for people to say that it didn't happen or that I slept or I missed a lap because there was always people there," she said.