Three women completed a marathon run across the highest peaks of the Southern Appalachians last month.

The trail runners spent seven days on a cross-country circuit to the top of all 40 peaks with summits over 6,000 feet. The total journey spanned six mountain ranges and covered more than 300 miles, with the journey beginning at Clingmans Dome in the Smokies and finishing at Roan Mountain.

The runners were Anne Lundblad, 42, of Swannanoa; Jenny Anderson, 35, and Rebekah Trittipoe, 52, both of Lynchburg, Va.

The series of 40 peaks over 6,000 feet were given the nickname South Beyond 6,000 — or SB6K for short — by the Carolina Mountain Club, which challenges hikers to tackle the summits.

Not every peak has a trail right to the top, however. Bushwhacking had to be employed to reach the exact summit of some mountains. The women even had to rappel in one spot. Friends and supporters could join them for various legs of the run, provide food and transportation to a bed for the night and deposit them back on the trail where they left off the next morning — but the women had to run every step themselves.

The marathon run of the SB6K peaks was first completed in one continuous trip in 2003 by a runner who called himself Cave Dog (real name Ted Keizer.) He completed the journey in five days and laid the groundwork for the best route to take in all 40 peaks in a single trip. The trio of women runners finished the SB6K run in 6 days, 13 hours, and 31 minutes, setting the women’s record.