Zara adds some royal glamour to Perthshire quadrathlon

Around 300 competitors take part in Loch Tay endurance event

Zara Phillips added a touch of welcome glamour to Britain’s “toughest one-day endurance event” which was staged in Highland Perthshire.

Her husband, Mike Tindall, and fellow rugby star Rory Lawson were among the 300 hardy competitors who took part.

The gruelling quadrathlon starts with an open water swim across Loch Tay (0.8 miles) followed by a 15-mile hike over seven Munros, a seven-mile tandem kayak across the loch and a 34-mile cycle to finish.

A charity event in aid of Mercy Corps and Mary’s Meals, the Artemis Great Kindrochit Quadrathlon has raised more than £7 million in the past 15 years.

Mike Tindall was congratulated at the finish line by wife Zara – 16th in line to the throne – and young daughter Mia.

He said: “It’s probably the hardest thing I have ever done.

“In terms of the running, I don’t think you can ever train for that.

“It is 24km of climbing very steep hills followed by massive down hills. I was cramping after six miles.

“It got worse and worse – you finish the run and you don’t know how you’re going to finish everything else.

“My legs were just shot to bits. I thought the rest of it was going to be misery. The kayak was OK, but there was a weight discrepancy between myself and Rory. We had steering issues, we took in a lot of water.

“I knew it was going to be hard, but it was way harder than expected. The day has been amazing.”

Tindal went on: “The volunteers are just incredible. They look after you really well and lots of people come out to cheer you on. It feels like a community event in a way.

“I ended up bumping into friends from school and rugby players that I played with in the past. It has been a thoroughly enjoyable event and challenge.

“Both Mary’s Meals and Mercy Corps are incredible organisations, and if a little bit of pain is what it takes to help out with that, it is all worth it.”

The quickest team completed the course in eight hours, 37 minutes though the average time for completion was closer to 13 hours.