AFTER 10 hours of non-stop salsa dancing, Bea Prentiss and her team could have been forgiven for wanting to take a well-earned rest.

But with the adrenaline still flowing, the 65-year-old Cowley resident said she could have kept on going.

The 16 dancers who took part in her salsa marathon in Oxford on Saturday were only allowed two toilet breaks each all day as they raised £5,000 for a cancer charity.

Ms Prentiss, a triple cancer survivor, said: “There was something about the last hour in which the adrenaline went up. With that and the crowd cheering us on we just felt like there were no limits to what we could do and could have kept going.

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“It was pretty relentless because we were dancing the whole time – it’s like running.”

Ms Prentiss became involved in the challenge in aid of Cancer Research UK’s Stand Up To Cancer campaign after she was diagnosed with breast cancer three times since 1988.

The marathon was held at St Columba’s United Reformed Church, in Alfred Street, from 2pm to midnight. It included students from Oxford University Dancesport Club, where Ms Prentiss is a salsa instructor.

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Bea Prentiss, left, with a competitor

They performed synchronised dancing in pairs and each made more than 5,000 steps, according to a pedometer worn by one of the dancers.

A crowd gave them vocal support, with about 100 people at a time watching on.

For five weeks leading up to the challenge, the team practised for two to four hours at weekends.

Ms Prentiss said: “In four hours we would lose focus so I thought we would never do 10 hours, but it must have been the adrenaline.

“We kept our technique and focus and if someone saw us at the end, they would never have known we had been there for that time.”

The event was organised by Oxford University Salsa Society president Jilles Fermont.

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