The UK’s most brutal race noticed athletes from everywhere in the world take a look at their endurance alongside essentially the most iconic and demanding nationwide path in Britain
With record-breaking feats, a few of the most punishing situations the race has ever seen and numerous tales of perseverance, the 2025 Montane Backbone Race has come to an in depth.
Spanning 268 miles from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm within the Scottish Borders, the race happened from January 11-19, testing the endurance of 537 athletes from throughout the globe.
This 12 months, members confronted extraordinarily chilly, sub-zero temperatures and icy, treacherous terrain alongside the long-lasting Pennine Manner. In complete, 313 athletes crossed the end line.
The head occasion of the Montane Backbone Race, the Full Backbone, commenced on January 12. Alongside the 268-mile course, rivals confronted not solely extraordinarily chilly but additionally a punishing complete ascent of over 10,700 metres alongside the Pennine Manner.
Kim Collison (Will Roberts)
Kim Collison claimed the general victory in a time of 82:46:32, the third-fastest time in race historical past. Having set off at 8am on Sunday, he led from early on and held off his rivals as he crossed the road shortly earlier than 7pm on Wednesday.
Collison was the winner of the Swiss Peaks Path 360 final 12 months and has additionally triumphed within the Northern Traverse and Arc of Attrition previously however his journey from Edale to Kirk Yetholm has been longer than most. His triumphant win was the fruits of 4 years of setbacks and DNFs in his earlier three Winter Backbone makes an attempt.
Lucy Gossage received the ladies’s race in 87:41:38, ending an impressive fourth general, with Staff Montane athlete Robyn Cassidy ending second within the ladies’s race with a time of 94:31:43.
Lucy Gossage (David Wooden)
Gossage has not lengthy transitioned from duathlon and triathlon to extremely operating, the place she now has a primary and third place in back-to-back Winter Backbone races.
The race additionally featured the Challenger South and Challenger North challenges, which examined members over 106 miles.
The Challenger South race kicked off on January 11 from Edale, with rivals dealing with -9°C temperatures.
James Allen took victory as the boys’s champion with a powerful 34:39:43. Alice Kershaw received the ladies’s race in 43:14:45, cementing her place as one of many race’s prime performers.
Montane Backbone Race (Adam Jacobs)
On January 13, the Challenger North set off from Hardaw because it offered one more brutal take a look at for the ultra-runners.
Paul Grundy claimed victory within the males’s race with an general time of 48:03:07, which included a 38-minute penalty as a consequence of a navigation error. Nicky Spinks triumphed within the ladies’s race with a time of 56:49:55.
Montane Backbone Race (Adam Jacobs)
Probably the most unforgettable moments got here from Cleo Bishop-Bolt, who was the third lady within the Challenger North. Amidst the exhaustion of the race, Bishop-Bell discovered herself serving to a stray canine she encountered alongside the path and after crafting a makeshift lead, she escorted the canine to a distant refugee hut.
In the meantime, the 46-mile Backbone Dash race, which additionally began on January 11, examined rivals over a shorter however no much less gruelling course.
Paul Brennan took the highest spot within the males’s race with a time of 9:26:48, whereas Hannah Bruce claimed first place within the ladies’s race, ending in 12:53:40.
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