Anna Troup has won the 2025 Montane Summer Spine Race outright, becoming the first athlete across the finish line in one of the UK’s most demanding ultramarathons. The 55-year-old completed the 268-mile course in 84 hours, 56 minutes, and 37 seconds, finishing over six hours ahead of second place and nearly seven hours ahead of the top male runner.
The race began Sunday morning in Edale, Derbyshire, and concluded Wednesday evening in Kirk Yetholm, tracing the full length of the Pennine Way with more than 32,000 feet of elevation gain.
This marks Troup’s third Summer Spine title, after wins in 2021 and 2022, but her first time finishing first overall, missing the last two editions due to a stress fracture.
“It’s so special coming back from injury, it’s just so great, I can’t even begin to describe how wonderful it is,” Troup said at the finish line to run247. “I’m actually really quite tired. I’ve had 40 minutes (sleep) in the last four days, so it’s quite nice to be here. But I’m thrilled, absolutely thrilled.”
She noted that the final stretch of the course, over the Cheviots, is still one of the most difficult.
“The really tough bit in this race is the last 12 or 14 miles when you’re up on the high points of the Cheviots. You think you’re nearly there, and you’re so not, and it feels like it goes on forever. Even though I’ve done it now three or four times, it takes me by surprise every time.”
Troup moved into the lead near the Alston checkpoint, about 80 miles from the finish, and held it to the end. Irene Kinnegim of the Netherlands finished second overall in 90:58:08, while Shane Morgan, the first male finisher, placed third overall in 91:45:56.
When asked about sleep, Troup explained, “When I got to Bellingham, the lady who runs that (checkpoint), I know her well and I said (to let me sleep for) 20, and she didn’t wake me up!”
Though she works in finance and didn’t begin ultrarunning until her 40s, Troup said she hopes her performance encourages more women to give the sport a try. “I do have a history of sport but ultra running? No. So, it would be great to see more ladies out there.”
More than 700 runners took part in this year’s Spine events, which included the 268-mile main race, the 160-mile Mountain Rescue Team Challenger, and the new 43-mile North Sprint.
Though the Winter Spine is often considered the tougher of the two, race director Phil Hayday-Brown said summer conditions can be just as extreme.
“Everyone looks at the winter event as being the most brutal, but some who’ve done both say the summer is just as bad, if not worse, with the heat, so it just depends on what the weather does.”
Top Finishers – 2025 Montane Summer Spine Race
1. Anna Troup – 84:56:37
2. Irene Kinnegim – 90:58:08 (2nd woman)
3. Shane Morgan – 91:45:56
4. Dominic Gill – 94:46:45
5. Tim McBain – 96:12:19
6. Nikki Han – 100:26:10 (3rd woman)
Hole y crap.
I started running in my early forties, and now I’m a little closer to 50 than 49. I did a trail half a bit ago with 750m vertical, and that felt like a lot, and I was very sore. But 10,000m??? Over 430km??? In 3-1/2 days???
A truly astounding accomplishment!