JESS Hayes ran a remarkable 24 laps of Lake Hamilton in 24 hours last weekend to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Kicking off at 8am on Saturday with the Hamilton Parkrun runners, she belted around the five-kilometre park run perimeter with enthusiasm determined to conquer the challenge.

Ms Hayes was running with hundreds of others who also undertook the ‘On the hour, Every Hour’ challenge across the nation contributing to the worthy cause.

“I did it,” she said.

“All 24 laps. That’s 120 kilometres in total.

“I’m pretty proud of myself.

“I couldn’t have done it without the help of everyone that came and helped me in some way - it was everyone else that got me through.”

 Ms Hayes said only a couple of the laps were really hard going.

“I reckon it was about lap 17 - I got really quite tired and I was pretty much sleep running.

“There was one lap that was the rainiest lap.

“The hardest lap that I did was lap 23 of all laps - maybe it was the six o’clock that was pretty challenging - I just got a bit cranky, but someone gave me a pep talk and said ‘you’ve got this’.

“Then there was another lap where I slept in the break and woke up 30 seconds before I had to get running again and it was like I had 10 hours sleep.

“All the laps started to blend into one another after a while.”

Ms Hayes expressed her sincere gratitude to everyone who participated or supported her in some way.

“I’m just so grateful,” she said.

“It was phenomenal - I actually had people running with me every hour - I didn’t do any on my own.

“Even the grossest hours in the middle of the night.

“There was actually a girl that came from Mt Gambier - the furthest she had ever run was 21k’s and she actually ran 45 kilometres - that was phenomenal.

“Someone also did a five-kilometre personal best.

“Some people I knew were coming - some people randomly rocked up just because they wanted to.”

She said she was thrilled with the amount she raised far exceeding her initial target.

“When I looked we were at $3700 - that’s without the cash donations and the buckets around town.

“I am so stoked - I’m so grateful to so many people.”

Despite achieving the incredible feat, Ms Hayes was quick to recover.

“I’m feeling far too chirpy for someone who’s just run 120 kilometres,” she said.

“I actually got home from the last run, had a shower and slept for three hours.

“A few people have asked me if I will make it an annual event - I might see how I feel in a couple of days.”