Hallucinations are a common theme for runners in what is billed as “Britain’s most brutal race”.
So having already run well over 100 of the 160 miles in the Montane Winter Spine MRT Challenger North, no wonder Cleo Bishop-Bolt wasn’t 100% sure what she was seeing when a dog suddenly appeared on the trail ahead of her.
It happened near Auchop Cairn deep in the Cheviot Hills on what was one of Cleo’s last big upward pushes towards the finish line.
Happy ending
The dog she found was shivering and alone but, in her own deeply sleep-deprived state, Cleo couldn’t be sure of what she was seeing. However this was no hallucination.
The media team at The Spine Race described what happened next: “Cleo, a member of Northumberland Mountain Rescue Team followed her instincts and leapt into action, fashioned a makeshift lead out of a spare jumper in her kit and escorted her new friend to our waiting safety team in a remote refuge hut nearby.
“Cleo and the team warmed their visitor up and plied them with snacks whilst our team at Race HQ began calling around to try and find their owner.
“In no time at all, to the mild disappointment of the safety team who’d have been happy to have their guest stay with them, the owners were tracked down and a quad bike dispatched from Mount Hooley Hostel in the valley down below to come and fetch the now thoroughly contented dog.
“Cleo received a time credit from our Race HQ for taking time out from her amazing race to help a fellow hill walker in need. Many thanks to College Valley Estates for their help in making sure this story had a happy ending.”
Podium place
To cap it off, Bishop-Bolt went on to finish third in the women’s race to claim the final podium place of the week.
It followed her second place in the equivalent event in the summer and reflecting on both races she said: “I suffered massively in summer, and I’m not saying this wasn’t hard but I enjoyed it much more because I’d learned some lessons from that.”
She was also fundraising during the Spine Race for the Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team and if you’d like to donate then you can do so here.
