Winner Runs 268-Miles On 2 Hours 20 Minutes Sleep

Damian Hall wins The Montane Winter Spine Race 2023!

Seasoned ultra-runner Damian Hall (GBR) has crossed the finish line in Kirk Yetholm as the winner of the Montane Winter Spine Race 2023. The dream to win ‘Britain’s Most Brutal’ has eluded Damian in previous years, but on his fourth attempt he’s taken the title. He ran in with fellow competitor Jack Scott (GBR) who took second place having put in a performance that in any other year could have secured his own victory. In doing so he set up one of the most exciting Montane Spine Race events on record.

Damian set a strong pace from the start and created an impressive lead alongside Kim Collinson before he retired at 125 miles. Closing down on the front runner, Jack remained laser-focused throughout. Making safe decisions when they were needed and pushing at the right times, showing an aptitude for this scale of race that came close to matching that of our more experienced winner. 

The battle between the pair had the ‘dot-watchers’ on the edge of their seats right to the finish line. Damian commented, “I thought we were going to have a nice time running together but every time I saw Jack he seemed to keep pushing harder.” Jack broke through to take the lead but unfortunately made a navigational error incurring a 40-minute time penalty. Both runners beat the previous male course record with Damian clocking a time of 84:36:24 taking 3 hours off the record set by John Kelly (USA). However, the overall course record of 83:12:23, is still held by Jasmin Paris (GBR).

“Over the Cheviot Hills we were knee-deep in snow for about 10 hours. Jack pushed me right to the end. Retiring last year with an injury really frustrated me so I wanted to come back and do better. It’s been an incredible race.” said Damian.