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Athletes give their all in tough 750km race

Over the past eight days athletes have run, climbed, kayaked and cycled across 750km of unforgiving outback terrain in the Adventure Racing World Series, known as one of the world's most gruelling adventure races.

Battling temperatures of more than 40C, 50m cliff faces and days of sleep deprivation, 120 athletes tackled the expedition-length course in South Australia's Flinders Ranges.

But not all of the 30 teams made it to the finish line.

WA teams did their State proud, with the race's only all- female team - Vicious and Delicious - finishing the course after seven days of relentless racing.

A team of Perth paramedics, Hamish and the Wheelbarrow, completed the remote course after eight days.

Vicious and Delicious' Lesa Muir, a 43-year-old finance manager from Perth, said the conditions were very harsh, especially a day-long trek in a gorge in 40C heat and a 50km walk across a salt lake.

"It was a massive effort and we were very relieved to drag ourselves over the finish line," she said.

"The salt lake walk was the most stressful part of the event.

"We walked from 4am until 8pm. We didn't know if we had enough water."

The team also included Janet Musker, Cindy Morgan and Belinda Brooks, who has competed in water polo for Australia at the Olympics.

The Hamish and the Wheelbarrow team were delighted to finish the race after being forced to pull out of the last race in Tasmania two years ago.

Andrew Readhead said the heat and navigating the remote course were major challenges.

"It was really punishing on the feet," he said.

"Between us, we've got about 50 blisters and it's not a pretty sight."

The race, which finishes today, included 180km of trekking, 450km of cycling and 87km of kayaking, though the kayak leg was reduced to 20km because of high winds in Port Augusta.

The winning team, Mountain Designs from Queensland, finished in five days and have qualified for the World Championships in Costa Rica in six weeks.