It is Europe’s toughest ’ultra race’ - known as the ’Impossible Target’. The route powers through an arduous (286km) 178 miles from Milan to Sanremo, and it must be completed within 48 hours.

It attracts top athletes from around the world, who must qualify to compete, and this year they included Anja Hav Thomsen, who ran wearing the Manx flag.

Anja, 46, completed the race in 46 hours and one minute, reports Mel Wright.

She was 27th overall and the third woman to cross the finishing line.

Just 72 runners were included in the race and of those only 40 finished within 48 hours.

Anja is a keen long distance runner but her participation in this race had a very personal and emotive inspiration.

’I entered other races but felt nothing,’ Anja said.

’I wanted something that pulled at my heart strings. My mum and stepfather died in the Milan Linate air disaster in 2001.’

In the disaster a Scandinavian Airlines plane carrying 110 people bound for Copenhagen, Denmark, collided on take-off in dense fog with a business jet carrying four people bound for Paris, France.

All 114 people on both aircraft were killed, as well as four people on the ground.

The collision was caused by a number of non-functioning and non-conforming safety systems, standards, and procedures at the airport.

It is the deadliest accident in Italian aviation history.

Anja, who is Danish and moved to the island three and a half years ago to work for 7C Shipping, said: ’I contacted the October 8 foundation formed by the relatives of those who died and asked if I could wear their distinctive logo.

’They were thrilled by the idea and soon they invited me to a small memorial gathering, the day before the race, in a forest containing 118 beeches called Bosco dei Faggi which was inaugurated in 2002 as a memorial to the victims in the Forlanini Park near the Linate airport.

’It is very touching, you realise you have your story and there are 118 stories.

’The race organisers allocated me start number 118.

’People from the families of the victims reached out to me at the race start. They made me want to finish.

’There were 118 reasons to run this race.

’And members of the [October 8] foundation travelled from Milan to Sanremo to meet me at the finish line. Failure was not an option!

’I did it in memory of all those souls who were lost.’

The foundation was formed to ascertain the truth and liability for the air disaster at Linate on October 8 2001 and hopes to prevent similar serious accidents occurring in the future, so maintaining awareness is critical.

Nothing could have prepared Anja for the ’Impossible Target’.

She runs six days a week from her home in Port Erin ’whatever the Manx weather throws at you,’ she said.

But she said she was not used to the hot conditions that greeted her on April 27, when the race began.

’It was over 25C. It was not a fantastic first day, there was a baking sun, there was the exhaust from cars, some drivers were aggressive.’

She added: ’The route is hilly in places - especially around Passo del Turchino, and at that point you are over 130km in to the race. Needless to say that the legs were a bit tired at that point, it but felt ever so good to run downhill!’

Throughout all this she had just three 15-minute naps.

She powered through the most challenging bits.

’If the body was not co-operating, you push through.

’Any other race I might have thrown in the towel, but not this one.’

Ironically her mum, Inger Marie, whose birthday was on April 28, ’hated running with a passion’, said Anja.

On one of her brief rests her supporting husband Allan played one of Inger’s favourite songs, Simon and Garfunkel’s ’Morning has Broken’.

Now a little footsore Anja has already resumed running and reflects on her ’Impossible’ achievement.

’It has taken quite a time to hit home,’ she said.

’It feels good to have been able to lift awareness of the foundation and hopefully stop such a tragedy happening again.’