As 2027 entries open, Winter Spine winner hopes power of community will help other women tackle ‘Britain’s most brutal’

Entries for the Montane Winter Spine Race open at midday on Wednesday (February 4), with this year’s female winner Anna Troup encouraging more women to sign up for what is billed as ‘Britain’s most brutal’ ultramarathon.

Troup was already a three-time Summer Spine champion but by her own admission the Winter version was something that in parts “terrified” her.

But she produced a masterclass of a performance in the extremely challenging conditions, running for a long time at the front of the race alongside Johanna Antila before the Finnish athlete was forced to withdraw less than 15 miles from the finish.

Troup, who is also the reigning Summer Spine champion, joins an exclusive club of only three runners to have won both races – Eoin Keith and Sabrina Verjee are the others.

‘You have to enter first’

She said at the time: “If just one more person feels they can attempt “their Cross Fell” because this old lady has shown them “it’s possible”, then I will be so thrilled.

“In 2021 when I did the second half of the Summer Spine on my own I had never raced on my own or navved on my own. This Winter Spine was a journey I would never have been able to contemplate at that time. Now it’s a dream realised, so many life lessons learned and friends made.”

But now there is a fear that less women may be tempted to enter the 2027 version after the news that the overall cut-off for the 268-mile epic along the Pennine Way has been reduced by 12 hours.

Speaking in an Instagram post in a collaboration with the race organisers, Troup first encouraged more women to enter and then revealed she has helped set up a WhatsApp support group.

She said: “24 hours until entries open for the 2027 Winter Spine. The only way we can increase female participation is if more of us enter. We’re here to support you.

“There’s tons of experience from people just like you waiting to help you cross that finish line – but you have to enter first.”

‘We’re all there for each other’

But recognising the barriers that can potentially put many off, she continued: “We know that the tagline ‘Britain’s most brutal’ is a challenge for many and we know that it makes many of you feel that you’re not welcome on that start line – nothing could be further from the truth.

“To help you, we’ve set up a women’s Spine support group. We’re all there for each other and the aim is to share as much of the experience that’s out there as much as possible. So that when you get to that start line, you feel as prepared as you possibly can be.

“We’ve got everybody on that group – we’ve got middle of the pack, front of the pack, back of the pack, volunteers, Spine support team, experts in nav, experts in bivvying out, those who are afraid of the dark, those who had never done anything like this before and walked themselves to the finish successfully.

“So if you are even thinking about wanting to do a Spine, come and join the WhatsApp group – the link is in the bio. And with all of that positive support, all of that energy that you’ll find there, hopefully we can get you to the finish.”

There are 150 places available for the Montane Winter Spine, each costing £1,345 – more details on the official website here.