The winner of the 108-mile Montane Spine Winter Challenger South is Daniel Weller. He finished in 24:48:21 with commanding lead of almost three hours.
For a while, he was also close to the course record set by Jim Mann but he revealed that things got tough overnight and from the 70-mile mark. Daniel reported that it was “the people” that was the highlight of the race for him.
James Graham took second place in 27: 39: 25 and Paul Haigh and Jamie Pond took joint third in Paul Haigh and Jamie Pond in 25:51:07.
In the women’s race, Samantha Lissauer triumphed in 33:16:28. Impressively, it was Samantha’s first time running further than 100km (62 miles) and she finished more than two hours ahead of runner up Helen Dale in 35:18:43 and Sam Borrett in third place in 36:59:53.
The Montane Winter Spine Challenger South is a non-stop, 108 mile race along the southern section of Pennine Way, starting at Edale in Derbyshire and finishing at Hawes.
Winners of MRT Challenge South
Part of the Montane Spine Winter Challenger South is a MRT Challenge South event, which is open to active members of the Mountain Rescue.
The winners in 2024 were team mates Tom Parkin and Ruth Smith, representing Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association (UWFRA).
Tom described the race as a “totally unique Pennine Way experience”.
Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association (UWFRA) has produced several Spine event finishers in the past and Tom and Ruth now join them.
Winners of Montane Winter Spine Sprint
Rupert Allison and Jessica Johnson became the winners of the 46-mile Montane Spine Winter Sprint race. Both runners set new course records.
The Montane Winter Spine Sprint is a non-stop, 46-mile race on a challenging and technical section of the Pennine Way.
Rupert crossed the finish line in 07:28:09 and took more than 40 minutes off the course record set by Jon Shields. He described the conditions as excellent and said that this was one of those rare days where everything went 99% to plan.
Rupert also won the Summer Spine Sprint in June 2023 and set a new course record there, too. Completing the men’s podium in the winter sprint Spine race were Ian Cocks in 08:53:13 and Curtis Firth in 09:26:39.
In the women’s race, Jessica set a new course record in 10:04:42 and took more than 90 minutes off the previous fastest time. Completing the woman’s podium was Alice Kershaw in 10:47:51, followed by Sarah Doherty in 11:18:22.
Other Montane Spine races
The 268-mile Montane Spine Race 2024 continues with Jack Scott leading and Damian Hall in hot pursuit. A number of well-known athletes have dropped out, including John Kelly, Kim Collison and Eugeni Roselló Solé.
Claire Bannwarth leads in the women’s race, with Lucy Gossage in second place.
The 160-mile Montane Winter Spine Challenger North, from Hardraw to Kirk Yetholm, also continues.
See live race links at: www.thespinerace.com