The Spine Race is an ultramarathon held over a distance of around 268 miles (431 km) from Edale, England, to Kirk Yetholm, Scotland, along the Pennine Way. Participants are allowed seven days to complete the course.[1] The race has been held annually since 2012. Initially held in the winter only a summer version the Spine Fusion was introduced in 2017. The events are now known as the Winter Spine Race and Summer Spine Race.

The series have subsequently been expanded to four concurrent events held twice a year:

The Spine Races
Event Distance Start Finish Time allowed (hours) Notes
Winter/Summer Spine Race 268 miles (431 km) Edale Kirk Yetholm 168 (winter) 156 (summer)
Winter/Summer Challenger South 108 miles (174 km) Edale Hardraw 60 Challenger South was originally called the Spine Flare
Winter/Summer Challenger North 160 miles (260 km) Hardraw Kirk Yetholm 108 (winter) 90 (summer) The time limit for the summer event was reduced from 108 to 90 hours from 2023 onwards.
Winter/Summer Sprint 46 miles (74 km) Edale Hebden Bridge 18

History

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The event was devised by Arctic expedition guides Scott Gilmour and Phil Hayday-Brown.[2] The inaugural race took place in 2012 when there were only three finishers from a small field of eleven competitors.[3]

The 2013 event was promoted as the Dare 2b Spine Race[4] but later that year it was announced that Montane would take on sponsorship of the event.[5]

In the 2014 and later editions, participants carried GPS trackers for safety reasons and so that the progress of the race could be publicly followed online as it took place.[6] Starting in 2016, daily video summaries were made available during the race.[7]

Due to the time of year and race location, the majority of the event takes place in darkness. Snow, ice and strong winds are common.[8] Severe weather was a factor in 2015 in particular, when racers were held at various checkpoints for significant amounts of time until it was considered safe for them to continue.[9] Some competitors that year were also redirected between Middleton and Alston to avoid sections of high ground, including Cross Fell, during the inclement weather.[10]

Participants wear or carry mandatory clothing and equipment over the full course and have access to an additional drop bag which is transported along the route for them and made available at checkpoints.[11] Individual support crews for the runners were allowed in the past but from 2018 were no longer permitted.[12]

The 2019 race received considerable media attention when the overall win was taken by British women's fell running champion Jasmin Paris.[13]

Runners were taken by motorised transport between Bellingham and Byrness in Northumberland during the 2022 race, due to many trees on or near that section of the route having been blown down by Storm Arwen. This reduced the course distance by about 15 miles (24 km).[14]

The Summer Spine Race was formerly known as Spine Fusion and is a summer version of the Spine Race, covering the full route from Edale to Kirk Yetholm.[15][16]

Route

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The Spine Race closely follows the Pennine Way but involves some slight deviations such as the access to and departure from the Hebden checkpoint. The runners are not required to complete the out-and-back section of the Way to The Cheviot. Racers generally follow the lower-level Pennine Way route option on the approach to Kirk Yetholm rather than the alternative over White Law.[17]

The route has approximately 13,300 metres (43,600 ft) of ascent. The timing points and approximate distances of the main checkpoints along the route are as follows.[18]

Location Distance
Torside
Harrop
Hebden 74 kilometres (46 mi)
Malham
Hawes 172 kilometres (107 mi)
Tan Hill
Middleton 226 kilometres (140 mi)
Dufton
Alston 289 kilometres (180 mi)
Greenhead
Bellingham 353 kilometres (219 mi)
Byrness
Hut 2
Finish 421 kilometres (262 mi)

Results

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Winter

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The winners have been as follows.[19]

Year Men Time Women Time
2012 Gary Morrison and Steve Thompson 151:02:00 None
2013 Eugeni Roselló Sole 124:52:00 Annabel Gates 172:59:00
2014 Pavel Paloncy 110:45:00 Debbie Brupbacher 153:17:00
2015[note 1] Pavel Paloncy 81:34:00 Beth Pascall 90:59:00
2016 Eoin Keith 95:17:00 Anna Buckingham and Zoe Thornburgh 166:38:00
2017 Tom Hollins 99:25:36 Carol Morgan 109:54:00
2018 Pavel Paloncy 109:50:22 Carol Morgan 130:37:22
2019 Eoin Keith 98:18:23 Jasmin Paris 83:12:23
2020 John Kelly 87:53:57 Sabrina Verjee 108:07:17
2021 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2022 Eoin Keith 92:40:30 Debbie Martin-Consani 104:08:22
2023 Damian Hall 84:36:24 Claire Bannwarth 97:39:58
2024 Jack Scott 72:55:05 Claire Bannwarth 92:02:23

Summer

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The winners have been as follows.[21][22]

Year Men Time Women Time
2017 Mark Kromeich and Olivier Lidec 128:54:24 Stephanie Le Men 143:59:22
2018 Mark Denby 78:04:14 Brigitte Daxelhoffer 131:07:13
2019 Esteban Díaz 89:57:48 Sabrina Verjee 81:19:07
2020 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Eoin Keith 77:34:52 Anna Troup 80:28:35
2022 Tiaan Erwee 70:46:50 Anna Troup 78:57:49
2023 Dave Phillips 76:59:33 Jenny Yeo 101:39:50

Spine Challenger South

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Originally call the Spine Challenger, the event is a shorter version of the Spine Race and follows the first 108 miles (174 km) of the route, starting in Edale and finishing in Hawes or in neighbouring Hardraw in North Yorkshire in some years. It starts the day before the full Spine Race. There is also a version of the Challenger specifically for members of mountain rescue teams, held in winter only.[23] [24]

A summer version of the Challenger called the Spine Flare was first held in 2017.[15]

The events were renamed the Spine Challenger South in 2022 with the introduction of the Spine Challenge South in January 2022.

Winter results

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The winners of the Spine Challenger have been as follows.[25]

Year Men Time Women Time
2012 Mark Brooks 36:30:00 None
2013 Philippe Gatta 32:18:00 Anne Green 53:38:00
2014 Marcus Scotney 29:01:00 Jacqueline Cooper 42:13:00
2015 Edward Catmur 29:52:00 Annabel Cremin 41:59:00
2016 Tom Hollins 29:25:00 Beth Pascall 30:18:00
2017 Dominic Layfield 28:00:28 Sarah Davies 37:49:50
2018 Wouter Huitzing 25:42:21 Emma Hopkinson 29:39:35
2019 Jim Mann 22:53:28 Carol Morgan 31:47:37
2020 Douglas Zinis 29:00:32 Elaine Bisson 34:19:05
2021 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2022 Josh Wade 24:54:50 Kendra Wedgwood 46:09:30
2023 Rory Harris 26:25:30 Sarah Hodgson 33:26:44
2024 Daniel Weller 24:48:21 Samantha Lissauer 33:16:28

Summer

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The winners have been as follows.[26]

Year Men Time Women Time
2017 Mark Denby 23:53:36 Lisa Wallis 31:33:56
2018 Michael Harrison 27:45:02 Beverley Clifford 35:38:11
2019 Benjamin Tyas 27:38:21 Saki Nakamura 32:11:22
2020 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Spine Challenger North

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Introduced in 2022 the Challenger North events start at Hardraw, the finishing point of the Challenger South events, and finish at Kirk Yetholm. A distance of 160 miles (260 km) are to be covered in a maximum of 108 hours (in winter) and 90 hours (in summer).

Spine Sprint

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Also new for 2022 are the Spine Sprint events. Starting at Edale, the races finish at Hebden Bridge, a distance of 46 miles (74 km). The time limit is 18 hours.

Notes

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  1. ^ The results from 2015 are not considered for course records due to significant course changes.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "The 2017 Montane® Spine Race". Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Weatherised: Team". Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  3. ^ Mead, Nick Van (22 November 2013). "Montane Spine Race: 268 miles of pain". Retrieved 11 July 2023 – via The Guardian.
  4. ^ "Baildon man completes 'brutal' Dare 2b Spine Race". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  5. ^ "grough — Montane to sponsor The Spine, Britain's most brutal mountain marathon". www.grough.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  6. ^ "The Spine: Britain's most brutal race". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Spine Race on Facebook: Videos". Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  8. ^ "The Spine Race - How Brutal Is It ?". inov-8.com. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Montane: Montane Spine Race – Day 6".
  10. ^ "Montane: Montane Spine Race – Days 2 & 3".
  11. ^ "Spine Race: Compulsory Equipment" (PDF). Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  12. ^ Keith, Eoin (12 January 2018). "The Spine Race 2018 – Preview". Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  13. ^ "First female winner of 'Britain's most brutal race'". Retrieved 11 July 2023 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  14. ^ "Eoin Keith and Debbie Martin-Consani win Montane Spine Race 2022". 14 January 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  15. ^ a b "grough — Runner Pavel Paloncý hits the trail in attempt to beat Pennine Way record". www.grough.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  16. ^ "Montane Summer Spine Race Results". Spine Race. Retrieved 1 February 2022. Summer Spine Race (fka - Fusion)
  17. ^ "Live Tracking". live.thespinerace.com. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  18. ^ Spine Race: Route Description; Spine Race: Live.
  19. ^ Spine Race: Winter Spine Race Results; Ian Corless: The Spine Sponsored by Montane – Britain’s Most Brutal Race.
  20. ^ "Spine Legends". Spine Race. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  21. ^ "Summer Spine Race Results". The Spine Race. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  22. ^ "Open Tracking - MONTANE Summer Spine Race 2023 Results". results.opentracking.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  23. ^ "grough — Strongest line-up yet as runners prepare for start of brutal Spine Race". www.grough.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  24. ^ Willis, Joe (16 January 2020). "Hallucinations, sleep deprivation and finish line tears — runner reveals "brutal" challenge of Montane Spine Race". Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  25. ^ Hall, Jenny (11 January 2023). "Winter Spine Challenger South Results". Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  26. ^ "Spine Race: Spine Flare results". Retrieved 11 July 2023.
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