You would expect there to be blisters at the very least. Painful blisters and quite a few aches and pains. But according to Marilyn Steede, former Sergeant Major with Bermuda Regiment and now a personal assistant, she was straight back into her high heels after completing her fourth 24-hour walkathon last weekend.

“I did cover 124km,” she says. “I guess I did the equivalent of the End-to-End walk about three times. But the next day I am fine. I have no blisters, nothing is hurting me. No back pain.

“My friends and stuff don't believe that I'm not in pain. But I do a lot of exercise and I train for it and I am really okay. When I practice I never walk for 24 hours. The longest I have done in my practice is 19 hours. But the adrenaline gets going when it's the real thing.

“I'm also very aware of my body. I start to get massages the month before. I get a massage every week. I think because of that it prepares my body.”

This year was the fourth that Marilyn, from Pembroke, has completed her mammoth journey to raise cash for charity. And as with every previous year, she went it alone. Adverts aimed at encouraging others to take part have never resulted in anyone joining her for the entire route.

It's little wonder - the prospect of actually walking without a break for 24 hours is seriously daunting. But Marilyn is convinced that others could complete the walkathon.

“Each year I have advertised for people to register to take part but no one ever has,” she says, a little sadly. “This year I didn't do that. I know a lot of people could do it and they would be surprised and I think as soon as they finish the first time the adrenaline will get going and they will do it again.

“I see people who walk all the time and I know that they can do that.”

Not everyone has the discipline of a former Sergeant Major though. Marilyn admits that her time with the Bermuda Regiment from 1995 to 2000 undoubtedly plays a part in helping her to succeed.

“The discipline came from there,” she says. “It's the discipline to think you started something so you are going to finish it.”

Her route began this year at 5 a.m. on Saturday at Horseshoe Bay car park, after a blessing from Canon James Francis, from Christchurch in Devonshire.

From there she headed to the tip of St. George's and looped the edge of the Island until she got back to her starting point. She kept walking, finally finishing at Wellington Street, St. George's, at 5 a.m. on Sunday.

When Marilyn says she walked non-stop for 24 hours, she is only exaggerating a tiny bit. There was no stopping to eat. She munched on her tuna and ham sandwiches, fruit and mini chocolate bars as she walked. Apart from a minimum number of toilet breaks, she kept trekking .

“Because I am asking people for money, I try to walk as close to 24 hours as I can,” she says. “My toilet breaks are minimal and I eat and drink as I'm walking, though I never eat or drink much. I really don't feel that hungry. I never have to stop for a rest.”

The charity she is walking for, which was the Bermuda Heart Foundation this year, provides a driver to trail her around the Island. It is necessary since a large portion of the walk is undertaken in the dark.

“A driver is with me the entire time,” says Marilyn. “One, to prove that I actually do it and I don't stop. The second is for protection. During the day, they can get caught up in traffic and I keep walking. In the night time they stay right next to me.

“I'm glad they do. The stuff you see going on in Bermuda is incredible. It's a wonder more people don't end up hurt and on the front page of the newspaper.”

Along the route she gets a lot of encouragement from passersby and some not-so-friendly comments. “In the daytime I get some negative comments from young people. They say ‘get off the road'.

“But at night time the awareness is there. I think the community knows I do it and I get a lot of encouragement. One man in Somerset this time gave me encouragement and said ‘keep going sweetheart, I know you can do it' and he made a donation to the driver.

“Last year all these little children at Dockyard came running and shouting towards me saying ‘you can do it' and I needed that.”

At the end of the walk, Marilyn checked into the Grotto Bay resort for two days and immediately had a hot bath with Epsom salts.

“I'm sleepy and my feet burn but I don't have any aches. The bath is just to warm my muscles back up.”

At 6 a.m., she had a massage in her room and then it was time to sleep. “All I want to do is sleep. I go out like a light but I don't sleep for long. Every year I have woken up at 9 a.m. and this year was the same,” she says. “Then I get a really good bath and I get dressed. After lunch, I go to sleep. That's when I sleep right through.” This year I went to sleep at five minutes to two in the afternoon and slept until 9 a.m. the next day. The sleep is delayed but I really need it.”

On Wednesday, Marilyn was back at work and already thinking about her next walkathon. She has no plans to stop the annual event, despite the lack of fellow participants. She remembers what inspired her to start the walkathon - a friend's stroke.

“In the hospital when I visited my friend I just broke down,” she explains. “When I left I just kept thinking ‘what can I do to help all of these people having strokes?' I just thought ‘I'll see if I can walk all day'. I was scared the first time but I did it.”

She adds: “I intend to keep doing it for a different association each year. People think that I want people to come walk with me but I have already got my motivation.

“I want them to come because I know they can do it. Come for the challenge. But I will keep doing it regardless. I just keep going.”