Battered, bruised and suffering from asthma, the 34-year-old Sydney mother-of-two crossed the finish line yesterday in a time of 24hr 46min. She was the first woman home and third overall.
The race was over some of the toughest terrain she had run on, she said.
Last weekend, she hadattempted the 85km Tarawera Ultramarathon but had to pull out with stomach and kidney issues that led to her being admitted to hospital.
However, ''I got my nutrition in order'' to tackle Northburn.
''It's 30% mental toughness, 30% training and the rest comes down to hydration and nutrition.''
She started running professionally only five years ago and completed her first marathon three years ago.
Early in the race, Stephenson almost went ''heels over head'' as she ''face-planted'' and fell downhill. About 100km into the race she suffered an asthma attack and for much of the time, battled strong winds.
''It felt like it was over 100km [per hour] ... I had to lean forward into it and put my hands on my legs to stop myself falling over.''
The race, which includes sections such as the ''loop of despair'', requires competitors to climb and descend about 8000m over the dry, hard and rocky course, often facing extreme weather.
Despite all that, Stephenson said it was ''so much fun ... I had a ball. I really, really enjoyed myself''.
The race was won by Christchurch teacher Martin Lukes (40), winner of the inaugural Northburn 100, in 2011.
