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TV host runs more than 10 hours in ball on the Irish Sea, fails to reach Scotland

By Ben Hooper
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PORTPATRICK, Scotland, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- A British TV host attempted to run across the surface of the Irish Sea from Northern Ireland to Scotland in an inflatable ball, but was foiled by weather.

Lindsey Russell, one of the hosts of BBC children's program Blue Peter, attempted to run Thursday from Donaghadee, Northern Ireland, to Portpatrick, Scotland, a more than 20-mile distance projected to take about 14 hours to traverse.

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Russell, whose inflatable "zorb" resembles a hamster wheel, was attempting the feat to raise money for the Sport Relief charity, which confirmed in a tweet that the attempt ended prematurely.

Sport Relief tweeted Thursday Russell was picked up by one of the boats following her during the attempt when weather conditions became too rough for her to continue.

Russell's attempt lasted for more than 10 hours, but it was not known Thursday how many miles she managed to run.

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"The most daunting part of this challenge has always been how heavily we are relying on the weather," Russell told the Belfast Telegraph prior to staring her run.

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