Pippa completes Sweden ski marathon (From Wirral Globe)

Pippa completes Sweden ski marathon

5:22pm Sunday 4th March 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013

Pippa Middleton has completed a 56-mile cross-country ski marathon in Sweden - taking a respectable 412th place in the women's category.

The sister of the Duchess of Cambridge - the former Kate Middleton - finished the Vasaloppet ski race in 7 hours, 13 minutes and 36 seconds, alongside 15,800 competitors in bright sunshine.

Ms Middleton told Swedish broadcaster SVT she had only prepared for the race for "a couple of weekends" and admitted it was tiring.

Pippa and her brother James, who clocked 06:47:27, raced to raise money for children's charity Magic Breakfast , which provides free breakfasts to primary schools in some of the UK's most deprived areas.

The competition is one of the world's oldest cross-country races and is based on Gustav Vasa's attempt to gather peasants for a revolt against occupying Danes in 1522.

The winner finished in 3 hours, 38 minutes and 41 seconds.