Dave Phillips and Hannah Rickman take Victory at Northern Traverse

History was made at the Northern Traverse as winners Dave Phillips and Hannah Rickman battled Storm Kathleen to reign supreme and conquer the 300km race.

The Silva Northern Traverse is an incredible adventure that follows the Wainwrights’ coast-to-coast route from St. Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay. The route is 300 km long and has approximately 6,500m of elevation gain, crossing through three national parks and taking in valleys, moors and mountains.

Dave Phillips is no stranger to races of exceptional distance; his previous races include the Arc of Attrition, Montane Summer Spine Race and Ultra Trail Snowdonia. Setting out, Phillips aimed to complete the race in under 48 hours, a goal he set himself.

He told the Race Organisers: “I’m happy – I wanted to do it in under 48 hours. That wind was relentless, but it was more tailwind than headwind. It was more the conditions underfoot that made it slow. The bogs were super boggy! Even coming across this last bit was so wet.”

A real challenge during a race of this magnitude is sleep deprivation. Participants have five days to complete the race. However, sleep too long, and you could lose a higher place; sleep too little, and exhaustion could end your race entirely.

Dave Phillips told  Event Director Shane Ohly that he had only short naps while on the trail. He said: “I only had 10 minute sleeps along the trail. It took me 7 hours to do 32k! I might have been better off just sleeping 3 hours – I’d have been quicker. I’ve never tried properly sleeping in a race – I’ve only ever had 10 minute sleeps. There’s that moment on the trail where you know you’re going to sleep. I’ve never tried sleeping in an aid station. You’re better off just lying in the mud!”