The Montane Winter Spine 2025 was the race that had it all – with Kim Collison putting three years of pain behind him to take a first overall title and Lucy Gossage “finding closure” as she claimed a brilliant win in the women’s race just two of the highlights.
The 268-mile journey up the Pennine Way started in snow and ice but finished for many in blue skies and sunshine, both literally and metaphorically.
There were so many heroic performances behind the frontrunners too, with Dave Brown capturing hearts worldwide for his incredible performance – and emotional motivation – as he reached the finish line not much less than a week after setting off.
Dot-watching delight
All these and more are captured in the Spine Race media team’s eighth and final race-week film, which is embedded below.
The media team hit new heights this week as the story of pretty much every runner was conveyed to the wider world.
And as Will Roberts says in his wrap up, it wasn’t just about those who reached Kirk Yetholm or the other official finish lines for races like the Challenger South and the Sprint.
More than half the runners didn’t manage to make the end – and some went incredibly close after days of hard work – but they all had their own significant finish points.
Community spirit at the heart of it
It’s an event which goes from strength to strength and has captured the imagination once again – the UK’s answer to the Barkley Marathons.
Billed as “Britain’s most brutal”, it definitely ticks that box in terms of the terrain, the weather and the challenges facing the runners.
But the heart and soul of it are the volunteers and the community around it. And the good news is we don’t have to wait a full year until the 2026 Winter Spine as the summer version gets under way in mid-June.
