LOTTIE EVANS has spoken of husband Steve’s devastation after dropping out of the 350-mile Alaskan endurance challenge.

The Medical Specialist Group doctor, pictured, made the difficult decision not to continue after suffering from a stomach bug for the last four days.

He had been competing in the Iditarod Trail Invitational, pulling a sled-load of supplies on foot in sub-zero temperatures.

Mrs Evans received a call from him last night to tell her that he had decided it was not safe to carry on.

‘He will be incredibly disappointed not to finish the race. He must have been feeling absolutely dreadful to stop. It’s not like Steve, he doesn’t normally get things like this. He’s done so many of these [events] now that he doesn’t expect not to finish them.’

Dr Evans had been vomiting and unable to eat anything after a meal out in Anchorage before the start of the race, but he had initially thought it was pre-race nerves.

‘He had a dodgy tummy all through Saturday night, but on Sunday he started the race because you don’t go all that way not to start,’ said Mrs Evans.

‘He managed 107 miles of it but he just couldn’t get all the calories he needed.’