Debbie Martin-Consani sees off rivals to claim Spine Race glory

Debbie Martin-Consani produced a dominant display as she was the first female finisher at the 268-mile Montane Spine Race.

She claimed the lead after Sabrina Verjee, the current women’s record holder for the Pennine Way, retired relatively early on at Horton.

And she was never threatened from that moment on, reaching the finish at Kirk Yetholm in a time of 104hrs 8mins.

Debbie Martin-Consani 2022 Spine Race winner — Debbie Martin-Consani takes the plaudits (Pic: Adam Jacobs, Montane Spine Race)

Elaine Bisson was second, nearly three hours behind, with Lizzie Faithfull-Davies third in an all-British 1-2-3.

When asked how she felt about her victory, Debbie said: “It’s quite unbelievable, nobody is more shocked about it than me.

Leaving it all on the trail

And her thoughts when learning that Verjee had withdrawn: “It changed the whole make-up of the race. I’d just been doing my own thing and then I had to think about how everyone else was doing. It changed the last few days completely.”

The race organisers said of her performance: “It was the very definition of leaving it all on the trail. Debbie has bent herself in half to get to this finish line [arriving listing heavily over to one side due to a back injury] and remained gregarious, friendly and generous of spirit throughout. She is an exceptional athlete.”