First runners reach end of 'brutal' endurance race after Storm Goretti

Runners have started to arrive at the finish line at the end of one of Britain's most demanding endurance races, having faced "brutal" conditions after Storm Goretti.

Competitors in the Montane Spine Race set off on Sunday from Edale in Derbyshire on the 268-mile (430km) challenge along the Pennine Way to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders.

Conditions have been so testing for this year's event that many runners have had to abandon the race.

First to reach the finish line - and win the men's race - was France's Sebastien Raichon in a time of 95 hours 43 minutes and 52 seconds.

He overhauled long-time leader Eugeni Roselló Solé from Spain late in the race.

"I ran a patient race, the parable of the tortoise and the hare was in my mind the whole way and I wanted to make sure that I was the tortoise," he said.

"Eugeni is a young runner, I had to be patient.

"I was expecting smaller hills, and the trail was more beautiful and brutal than I had imagined."

Other runners are still out on the demanding course but many have had to abandon the race.

The inaugural Winter Spine Race in 2012 attracted just 11 starters - with only three of them reaching the finish at the Border Hotel.

Organisers describe the the event as "more than a race, it's a battle of survival".

Founder and director Phil Hayday-Brown said the conditions had been "particularly brutal" this year, with deep snow on the opening weekend giving way to ice and standing water.

He said: "Warming temperatures over the last few days have made the already infamous bogs even more treacherous, and the summits are absolutely freezing.

"Of the 153 that started this year, 57 have now DNF'd [did not finish], and that will likely rise as the cut offs get tighter and tighter.

"It's been an incredibly trying race, and even for some of the most experienced athletes on the field it's proved too much.

"The Winter Spine Race certainly takes no prisoners, and no amount of planning can prepare you for the savage weather and gruelling trail this time of year."

The route crosses some challenging landscapes including the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales, Northumberland National Park, Hadrian's Wall, and the Cheviots.

The difficulty level is compounded by it taking place in the depths of winter when conditions are even more testing.

The event features seven races of different lengths but the biggest challenge is the 268-mile route which was completed in a record time of 72 hours 55 minutes and five seconds by Jack Scott in 2024.

There was no record this year but it is an achievement in itself simply to reach the finish line.