Spine Race

The event was devised by Arctic expedition guides Scott Gilmour and Phil Hayday-Brown.^[2] The inaugural race took place in 2012 when there were only three finishers from a small field of eleven competitors.^[3]

The 2013 event was promoted as the Dare 2b Spine Race^[4] but later that year it was announced that Montane would take on sponsorship of the event.^[5]

In the 2014 and later editions, participants carried GPS trackers for safety reasons and so that the progress of the race could be publicly followed online as it took place.^[6] Starting in 2016, daily video summaries were made available during the race.^[7]

Due to the time of year and race location, the majority of the winter event takes place in darkness. Snow, ice and strong winds are common.^[8] Severe weather was a factor in 2015 in particular, when racers were held at various checkpoints for significant amounts of time until it was considered safe for them to continue.^[9] Some competitors that year were also redirected between Middleton and Alston to avoid sections of high ground, including Cross Fell, during the inclement weather.^[10]

Participants wear or carry mandatory clothing and equipment over the full course and have access to an additional drop bag which is transported along the route for them and made available at checkpoints.^[11] Individual support crews for the runners were allowed in the past but from 2018 were no longer permitted.^[12]

The 2019 race received considerable media attention when the overall win was taken by British women's fell running champion Jasmin Paris.^[13]

Runners were taken by motorised transport between Bellingham and Byrness in Northumberland during the 2022 race, due to many trees on or near that section of the route having been blown down by Storm Arwen. This reduced the course distance by about 15 miles (24 km).^[14]

The Summer Spine Race was formerly known as Spine Fusion and is a summer version of the Spine Race, covering the full route from Edale to Kirk Yetholm.^[15][16]

The Spine Race closely follows the Pennine Way but involves some slight deviations such as the access to and departure from the Hebden checkpoint. The runners are not required to complete the out-and-back section of the Way to The Cheviot. Racers generally follow the lower-level Pennine Way route option on the approach to Kirk Yetholm rather than the alternative over White Law.^[17]

The route has approximately 13,300 metres (43,600 ft) of ascent. The timing points and approximate distances of the main checkpoints along the route are as follows.^[18]

Originally call the Spine Challenger, the event is a shorter version of the Spine Race and follows the first 108 miles (174 km) of the route, starting in Edale and finishing in Hawes or in neighbouring Hardraw in North Yorkshire in some years. It starts the day before the full Spine Race. There is also a version of the Challenger specifically for members of mountain rescue teams, held in winter only.^[23][24]

A summer version of the Challenger called the Spine Flare was first held in 2017.^[15]

The events were renamed the Spine Challenger South in 2022 with the introduction of the Spine Challenge North in January 2022.

The Winter 2026 event was affected by death threats being made against humanitarian Sarah Porter who had entered the race. The race organisers felt it necessary to withdraw her from the race part way through due to the situation.^[25]

Introduced in 2022 the Challenger North events start at Hardraw, the finishing point of the Challenger South events, and finish at Kirk Yetholm. A distance of 160 miles (260 km) are to be covered in a maximum of 108 hours (in winter) and 90 hours (in summer). Only run in winter in 2022, a summer event was added in 2023.

Also new for summer 2021 was the Spine Sprint events. Starting at Edale, the races finish at Hebden Bridge, a distance of 46 miles (74 km). The time limit is 18 hours. A winter event was added for 2022. From summer 2025 the event was renamed the Spine Sprint South following the introduction of the Spine Sprint North.

The Spine Sprint North was introduced in summer 2025, a 43 mile race from Brown Rigg, Bellingham to Kirk Yetholm with a time limit of 18 hours.^[31] A winter event was introduced in January 2026.^[32]