In her debut ultra race, Molly Browne shattered Hannah Rickman’s course record in the Montane Spine Sprint race, clocking in at 8:30:29. Browne’s impressive run saw her finish as the top female and fourth overall, beating the previous record by eleven minutes. Lizzie Broughton secured second place among the women, followed by Debbie Martin-Consani in third.
The Sprint race, which began at Edale and ended at Hebden Bridge, saw 100 runners face less-than-ideal conditions, with rain along the 46-mile Pennine Way course.
Reflecting on her achievement, Molly Browne said, “It has been so tough, but I got to halfway and caught a couple of the guys, a nice group to run in and the atmosphere along the course is great. This was my first ultra, so I wanted to finish before midnight. So, a good day on the Pennine Way and some of the views are amazing.”
Stephen Earle led the men’s Sprint race, finishing with a time of 8:21:49, followed closely by Liam Hinshelwood and Paul Johnston, who tied for second place.
Rupert Allison continued his record-breaking ways in the men’s Montane Summer Challenger South with a time of 22:31:02, besting the previous record by about half an hour. This marks his third consecutive Spine Race course record, following his wins in the Summer Sprint last year and the Winter Sprint in January.
The Challenger South race began with Allison leading the pack, closely followed by Jack Cooper. Among the women, Ursula Sullivan, Marie-Lou Alemany, and returning champion Mel Sykes were strong contenders. The race concluded with Allison crossing the finish line just before 7 am.
