AN ANIMAL lover and extreme marathon runner from the Dengie has won a nationwide award for her work helping animals.

Fiona Oakes, 52, of Maldon Road, Bradwell-On-Sea, won the “Charity Champion” award at the Amplifon Awards for Brave Britons on Tuesday.

The awards see global hearing specialist Amplifon searches for unsung heroes who represent the “Best of British”.

The awards are in their third year, with this year’s winners being judged by a panel including Falklands war hero Simon Weston.

Mrs Oakes has been a passionate animal lover all her life, being vegan since she was six-years-old, and running Tower Hill Stables Animal Sanctuary with 450 animals, which they recently relocated to Bradwell from Asheldham.

Mrs Oakes’ efforts to support her sanctuary has seen her tackle some of the most hostile places on earth; she holds several world records as a marathon runner, including the fastest female athlete to run marathons on all seven continents.

Last year, she tackled the Saharan Challenge – two marathons over two days in the Moroccan desert – with her journey being made into the documentary film “Running For Good”, executively produced by Hollywood star James Cromwell, which was released this month.

The Amplifon Awards were held at the Army and Navy Club, in Pall Mall, London.

Speaking to the Standard about her win, Mrs Oakes said: “It really was a shock, I went into the ceremony knowing the kind of people I was up against, they had a woman who had lost her leg in the Manchester bombing last year, and police officers who’d jumped into freezing water risking their life to save another.

“I thought running an animal sanctuary is not comparable to those people, but they clearly thought it was.

“The Running For Good film has had a great release too, it’s certainly got a lot of feedback, I’ve been told director James Cameron has been blown away by it, which is incredible.

“I don’t want to push my lifestyle into anyone else’s faces, I don’t think that’s the right thing to do, but if people are interested, then it’s different, you’re not dictating to them, you’re discussing.”

Mrs Oakes attended the awards hot on the heels of her latest adventure, the Atacama Crossing, a 250 kilometre run in the Atacama Desert, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, over seven days.

Next, she will be returning to run in Antarctica, and has no plans to slow down.

She said: “I think I’ll carry on for as long as my body lets me. You can’t plan long term with these things, on the Atacama Crossing there was an American who was going to propose to his girlfriend at the finish line, but he didn’t make it.

"Short term planning yes, but you just don’t know what will come up long-term. You just go with the flow.”

The Amplifon judges said: “Fiona was chosen as the winner not only because she raised the money in some astonishing and formidable ways but also because she ran the charity herself for a unique collection of a Noah’s Ark of animals.”

To view “Running For Good”, click here.