A teacher who took on the coldest endurance event on the planet was the only woman to complete the gruelling challenge this year.

Battling one of the world’s toughest terrains, Michelle Smith was also the only British citizen to finish this year's race.

Michelle, who is deputy head at Saint George’s Church of England School in Gravesend, was placed fourth overall in her category, after travelling 100 miles through Arctic wilderness.

The Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra follows the Yukon Quest Trail in Canada, from Whitehorse to Braeburn.

Extreme temperatures of around -45C combined with wind and snow make navigation almost impossible.

Athletes have to be extremely vigilant to avoid frostbite, and a number of participants dropped out this year after falling victim.

Michelle, a professional mountaineer, has received support from pupils and staff at the school, as well as the community where she lives in Chartham, near Canterbury.

Her training included pulling a tyre along a river path, but nothing could prepare her for the conditions she faced.

She said: “We had the worst conditions in years, and there were a few times when I thought, ‘I can’t do this’.

"But then you have a chat with yourself, and think, I’ve got the skills to do this, I trained really hard, and I couldn’t have got onto the race without the right portfolio.”

Michelle, 38, of Chartham, got the idea to compete after her husband Scott decided to take up the challenge a few years ago.

She had been forced to undergo shoulder surgery that left her unable to climb and, after completing the Marathon Des Sables, a six-day footrace through the Sahara desert, Michelle was eager to return to the mountains.

She added: “I was on my own for a large part of the journey, but the best bits were the night skies.

“There were no artificial lights at all.

"There’s nobody around, but you’re just lost in your own thoughts and it’s nice to have that head space.”