It’s been an eventful couple of days at the Montane Spine Race. First the leader, Jim Mann, was forced to retire (276k in) because of injury. Then Eoin Keith took the lead, lost it and then also had to retire. This left Pavel Paloncý in the lead, familiar ground for him.
The women’s race has been less dramatic, with Carol Morgan in a commanding lead. Sarah Williams in in second and Daphne Derouch is in third. Only seven women remain in the race now.
The big drama on Wednesday was the worsening weather. The snow was getting worse - it was waist deep in places - and some competitors were forced to drop when they felt that their exhaustion made it unsafe to continue, with the threat of hypothermia.
Then, due to a severe weather warning, the Spine® Race was put on temporary hold in the evening. The decision has been taken because the safety of both the runners and the support staff was deemed likely to be seriously compromised. The forecast includes persistent and heavy snow fall, 45mph winds and extreme wind-chill.
Racers were held at CP3 (Middleton in Teesdale), Dufton, Greg’s Hut, CP4 (Alston), CP5 (Bellingham) and CP5.5 (Byrness). The race restarted on Thursday morning.
There have been 43 retirees from the race so far, with 75 runners remaining. Good luck to all who remain!
