The Spine Race is an ultramarathon held over a distance of around from Edale, England, to Kirk Yetholm, Scotland, along the Pennine Way. Participants are allowed seven days to complete the course. The race has been held annually since 2012. Initially held in the winter only, a summer version 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 five concurrent events held twice a year: + The Spine Races Event Distance Start Finish Time allowed (hours) Notes Winter/Summer Spine Race Edale Kirk Yetholm 168 (winter) 156 (summer) Winter/Summer Challenger South Edale Hardraw 60 Challenger South was originally called the Spine Flare Winter/Summer Challenger North 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 South Edale Hebden Bridge 18 Winter/Summer Sprint North Brown Rigg Kirk Yetholm 18
History The event was devised by Arctic expedition guides Scott Gilmour and Phil Hayday-Brown. The inaugural race took place in 2012 when there were only three finishers from a small field of eleven competitors.
The 2013 event was promoted as the Dare 2b Spine Race but later that year it was announced that Montane would take on sponsorship of the event.
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. Starting in 2016, daily video summaries were made available during the race.
Due to the time of year and race location, the majority of the winter event takes place in darkness. Snow, ice and strong winds are common. 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. Some competitors that year were also redirected between Middleton and Alston to avoid sections of high ground, including Cross Fell, during the inclement weather.
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. Individual support crews for the runners were allowed in the past but from 2018 were no longer permitted.
The 2019 race received considerable media attention when the overall win was taken by British women's fell running champion Jasmin Paris.
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 .
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.
Route 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.
The route has approximately of ascent. The timing points and approximate distances of the main checkpoints along the route are as follows.Spine Race: Route Description; Spine Race: Live.
Location Distance Torside Harrop Hebden Malham Hawes Tan Hill Middleton Dufton Alston Greenhead Bellingham Byrness Hut 2 Finish
Results Winter The winners have been as follows.Spine Race: Winter Spine Race Results; Ian Corless: The Spine Sponsored by Montane – Britain’s Most Brutal Race.
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 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 2021Cancelled 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 92:02:232025Kim Collison82:46:32Lucy Gossage87:41:382026Sebastien Raichon 95:43:52 Anna Troup106:19:12
Summer The winners have been as follows. 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 2020Cancelled 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 101:39:502024Chris Cope79:10:14Sue Straw122:43:492025Shane Morgan91:45:56Anna Troup84:56:37
Spine Challenger South Originally call the Spine Challenger, the event is a shorter version of the Spine Race and follows the first 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.
A summer version of the Challenger called the Spine Flare was first held in 2017.
The events were renamed the Spine Challenger South in 2022 with the introduction of the Spine Challenge North in January 2022.
The Winter 2026 event was affected by death threats being made against humanitarian Sarah Porter who had entered the race. The race organisers felt it necessary to withdraw her from the race part way through due to the situation.
Winter results The winners of the Spine Challenger South have been as follows. 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 2021Cancelled 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 2025 James Allen 34:39:43 Alice Kershaw 43:14:43 2026 Jack Scott 25:12:00 Sarah Page 29:03:20
Summer The winners have been as follows.
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 2020Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 Mark Potts 24:34:24 Victoria Morris 32:20:14 2022 Tim Pigott 23:02:01 Lauren Johnson 30:04:31 2023 Jon Shield 27:53:52 Mel Sykes 32:22:19 2024 Rupert Allison 22:31:02 Ursula Sullivan 31:05:00 2025 Chris Andrade 24:19:46 Eleanor Walker 34:59:48
Spine Challenger North 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 are to be covered in a maximum of 108 hours (in winter) and 90 hours (in summer). Only run in winter in 2022, a summer event was added in 2023.
Winter results The results have been: Year Men Time Women Time 2022 Simon Roberts 43:48:17 Victoria Morris 52:51:38 2023 G Brian Hutchinson 61:13:59 Irene Kinnegin 72:16:52 2024 Joe O'Leary 44:37:20 Nikki Arthur 52:17:19 2025 Paul Grundy 48:03:07 Nicky Spinks 56:49:55 2026 Harry Firth 46:00:29 Elaine Bisson and Nicky Spinks 55:57:59
Summer Results The results have been: Year Men Time Women Time 2023 Jovica Spajic and Tom Hill 39:45:55 Eloise Eccles 56:04:04 2024 Joe Horne 44:52:01 Emma Hopkinson 50:24:02 2025 James Hargreaves 40:17:55 Allie Bailey 53:11:57
Spine Sprint South Also new for summer 2021 was the Spine Sprint events. Starting at Edale, the races finish at Hebden Bridge, a distance of . The time limit is 18 hours. A winter event was added for 2022. From summer 2025 the event was renamed the Spine Sprint South following the introduction of the Spine Sprint North.
Winter results The winners have been: Year Men Time Women Time 2022 Jonathan Price 10:03:03 Alice Kershaw 12:16:15 2023 Jon Shield 08:10:22 Louise Venables 11:39:21 2024 Rupert Allison 07:29:09 Jessica Johnson 10:04:42 2025 Paul Brennan 09:26:48 Hannah Bruce 12:53:47 2026 Joe Leadley 08:17:58 Sophie Littlefair 11:00:12
Summer results The winners have been: Year Men Time Women Time 2021 Niki Worrall 07:30:00 Sara Abbott, Sue Straw, Lynne Murphy 09:54:01 2022 Michael Hyde 07:55:58 Hannah Slater 09:33:31 2023 Rupert Allison 06:59:40 Hannah Rickman 08:41:39 2024 Stephen Earle 08:21:49 Molly Browne 08:30:29 2025 Chris Cope 06:36:41 Victoria Thompson 07:49:44
Spine Sprint North The Spine Sprint North was introduced in summer 2025, a 43 mile race from Brown Rigg, Bellingham to Kirk Yetholm with a time limit of 18 hours. A winter event was introduced in January 2026.
Winter results Year Men Time Women Time 2026 Damian Hall and Jon Shield 08:06:51 Louise Goddard 11:53:25
Summer results The winners have been:
Year Men Time Women Time 2025 Matias Morgan 08:51:55 Louise Goddard 09:05:51
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