Jack Scott has smashed the course record at the Montane Winter Spine Race, crossing the finish line in a time of 72 hours, 55 minutes, 5 seconds, over 10 hours quicker than the previous record.
Scott’s amazing Montane Winter Spine Race feat saw him record only 54 minutes of sleep across the entire race, overcoming brutal conditions that saw athletes contend with wind chill induced temperatures as low as -20°C across frozen terrain – race organisers predict that fewer than 50% of all runners will make the finish line, with the race still underway.
Speaking to the high dropout rate of athletes, #TeamMontane runner James Nobles, who was forced to retire due to niggling injuries that made it unsafe to continue in the challenging conditions, said: “I still loved my Montane Spine Race experience – it was the most fun I’ve ever had in a race!”
The race is widely regarded as Britain’s most brutal endurance race, requiring runners to tackle the Pennine Way, in a 268-mile, non-stop, seven-day race that sees participants climber over 10,000 metres in extreme, sub-zero weather conditions. The race starts in Edale in Derbyshire and ends in Kirk Yetholm, Scotland, tracing the backbone of England on what was the UK’s first national trail. The route sees participants pass several upland landscapes, including the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales, and the North Pennines before crossing Hadrian’s Wall and onto the Cheviot Hills, with a cut off time limit of 168 hours in place for runners.
Montane’s Marketing Director, Matthew Hickman, commented: “The Montane Winter Spine Race presents one of the toughest and most brutal challenges in the ultrarunning calendar, requiring entrants to overcome extreme winter conditions, tackle steep terrain, and conquer long miles over a multi-day event which truly captures the spirit of Montane. To see Jack put in a performance of this magnitude is remarkable and what this event is all about, and I extend a huge congratulations to him for what is a truly memorable achievement.”
The Montane Winter Spine Race is complimented by five additional races which together form the Montane Winter Spine Event: the Montane Winter Spine Challenger North, the Montane Winter Spine Challenger South, the Montane Winter Spine MRT Challenge North, the Montane Winter Spine MRT Challenge South, and the Montane Winter Spine Sprint.
More information on the results can be found here: https://live.opentracking.co.uk/spinerace24/
More information on the Montane Winter Spine Race can be found here: https://montane.com/pages/montane-spine-race
