Montane Spine Race

In February 2025 a small group of runners, adventurers and expeditionists travelled to a remote part of northern Sweden. Starting in Abisko, they attempted to traverse the brutal Kungsleden Trail in the harshest of Arctic conditions. Battling 297 miles of difficult mountainous terrain, deep snowdrifts and temperatures as low as -38. This year, only two finished the full race. This is the Montane Arctic Spine race.

The final finishers of Britain’s most brutal race!! After 7 days on the Pennine Way, Mark Andersen and Steven Jeff crossed the line together, completing the full 268 miles in a time of 166:10:14. A phenomenal effort. Well done both 👏

Helen is one of the legendary trail angels on the Montane Winter Spine race, opening her home, giving up her time, and serving endless rounds of hot soup alongside life-saving cups of coffee. Helen’s kindness and warmth go far beyond what’s expected, offering runners a much needed lift before they stepped back out into the cold to continue their relentless journey. Full film coming soon… 🎥 @lizzie_jenkins_film

Just because it’s summer, doesn’t mean it’s any less brutal. 4 weeks until the Montane Summer Spine Race. 📸: @iancorlessphotography

Spine Race | Our Next Women Focused Webinars! It’s time to sign-up for our next three women-focused webinars! Join Anna Troup, and a panel of experts as they prep you for the Spine Race! Wednesday, 20th May · 20:00 · Looking after your health Wednesday, 27th May · 20:00 · Building into a Spine Race Wednesday, 3rd June · 20:00 · The importance of recovery when training and racing Sign up via the form in our bio, or head here: /forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSciliAUKHPeoEk3lzv6CGDMzamIjLZ6k6J9QojlN7_5acgJWQ/viewform

MONTANE SPINE VIRTUAL CHALLENGE | Race at your pace 🏃🏃‍♀️ Entries are now OPEN for the Montane Spine Virtual Challenge. You have the whole of June to complete your chosen distance while tracking your progress on our live tracking page. You can take part in this challenge right from your front door. Go for a walk, jog, run, push the baby buggy, or take the dog for some exercise to get your miles logged on the virtual map. You can then track your progress along the iconic Pennine Way through the official checkpoints. A live weather overlay will even tell you what the conditions are actually like on the trail. You can even add photographs and updates to your tracking page, so you can share your journey with friends and family. 📸 All participants will also receive a generous 20% discount code to use with our sponsor Montane, so you can get kitted out with everything you need. Follow the link for more info or hit the link in our bio🔗 /spinerace

Three weeks to go until SPINE launches on Kickstarter. As photographers, we live for projects like this. The ones that push you, challenge you, and demand everything you’ve got — creatively and physically. These are the opportunities that shape us, and the work that will define us in the years to come. If you haven’t already, you can now pre-register your interest via Kickstarter using the link in my bio — so you’ll be the first to know when the campaign goes live. SPINE is coming. @leicauk @spinerace @vertebrate_publishing @montaneofficial @sportsshoes #spinerace #leicauk

Last weekends @spinerace summer training workshop was hands down one of the best I’ve been a part of. It was cup filling, soul quenching joy from start to finish, thanks mainly to the wonderful athletes that came along to share their stories, vulnerabilities, jokes, highs, lows and trails with us. This group of people exemplified what the Spine is about. It’s a race anyone can do if they put the time and effort in, if they’re willing to learn, overcome and fail in equal measure. We have some great workshops from @louise.mountains and @kevrunstrails and a talk so inspiring from @alice.kershaw that I’m pretty sure it convinced everyone in the room to enter at least one of the races. Other support came from @back2ultra @kirstyreade72 and these incredible shots of our day one run come from the immense talent that is @clorroe_cam . So many great photos that I will post day two tomorrow (and Pickle will have to have her own post as there are well over 15 amazing Pie Shots) I want to make these workshops feel welcoming to EVERYONE. I’ll say it again, I believe everyone can do this stuff if they’re prepared to do the work. When I started this silly hobby I didn’t know where to go for help and advice. Now I want to help provide that for anyone that needs it. We had such a great range of people at this one and they were all so supportive of each other on and off the hill. I hope these photos inspire you to at least think about doing something epic. Your growth edge is just outside your comfort zone. Remember that. 🪄✨ Same again next year?

MONTANE SPINE VIRTUAL CHALLENGE | Entries now OPEN 🏃🏃‍♀️ You have the whole month of June to complete your distance, while following your progress on the virtual Pennine Way tracking page. Choose your challenge from 5 distances: SPINE RACE – the full 268 mile Pennine Way CHALLENGER NORTH – 160 miles from Hardraw to Kirk Yetholm CHALLENGER SOUTH – 108 miles from Edale to Hardraw SPRINT – 43 miles from Edale to Hebden Bridge DASH – 26.8 miles from Edale to Standedge in West Yorkshire You can share your progress with your friends and family, and there is even an option to get a finisher medal, ribbon and buff to celebrate your achievement. 🏅 For more information on how to enter, follow this link or tap the link in our bio! 🔗 bit.ly/SpineVirtual23

You’ve seen the teasers… now I’m excited to finally share the news! I’ve officially signed a deal with the @spinerace and @vertebrate_publishing to create a photo book documenting the 2026 Winter Spine Race. This project has been building behind the scenes for a while, and I can’t wait to bring you into one of the most brutal and beautiful endurance events out there — through the lens. The book will be launching via Kickstarter. Hit the link in my bio to pre-register your interest and be the first to hear when it goes live. More details coming very soon. Please share 🙏🏼 @montaneofficial @sportsshoes @leicauk #spinerace #leicauk

MONTANE SPINE RACE / The Summer Virtual Challenges are back in June 2026 🏃‍♀️📱 Starting on June 1st , you have the entire month to complete one of the Virtual Spine Race Challenges! 🏃‍♀️ SPINE RACE – the full 268 mile Pennine Way 🏃‍♀️ CHALLENGER NORTH – 160 miles from Hardraw to Kirk Yetholm 🏃‍♀️ CHALLENGER SOUTH – 108 miles from Edale to Hardraw 🏃‍♀️ SPRINT – 43 miles from Edale to Hebden Bridge 🏃‍♀️ DASH – 26.8 miles from Edale to the wild moorlands of Standedge in West Yorkshire. Every time you go for a run, jog, walk or even take the dog for some exercise you can log the distance covered on a virtual map and track your progress along the legendary Pennine Way. The application process for the virtual events will open on May 1st. Keep your eyes peeled for the link 🔗 We’ll be posting more information ahead of time, including the design being used for finisher medals, ribbons and buffs! 🥇

SPRING SIGNING / Beyond the Ultimate and the Spine Race welcomes new Team Member 🖊️ We’re delighted to welcome Eleanor Claringbold to Beyond The Ultimate and the Spine Race! Eleanor brings with her a boatload of operations and marketing skill and will bolster both teams across both race series. As a keen traveller and ultra runner with lots of experience in the industry, she’ll be a great fit to the core team. We’re really excited to have Eleanor on board, and are looking forward to you all meeting her on one of our events. Welcome to the team Eleanor!