Although many participants of the 2026 Winter Spine Race in England are still out on the 268-mile course at the time of this article’s publishing, the leaders have made their way through frigid conditions and arrived at the finish line in Kirk Yetholm on the Scottish border. Racers set off at 8 a.m. local time on Sunday, January 11, in the village of Edale in Derbyshire on the southern end of the Pennine Way, a route often referred to as the “backbone of England,” and which traverses some of the country’s most iconic wilderness areas.
Both the men’s and women’s events saw surprising late retirements in the race that decided the ultimate outcomes. In the men’s race, Eugeni Roselló Solé (Spain) led for most of the race, but it was ultimately Sébastien Raichon (France) who ran a measured effort and moved through the field as the race progressed to reach the finish in the lead as Roselló Solé dropped due to exhaustion near the finish. Raichon crossed the line in the early hours of Thursday morning, finishing in 95 hours and 43 minutes. In the women’s race, Johanna Antila (Finland) and Anna Troup (U.K.) found each other in the middle of the second day and ran together until Antila was forced to drop with foot problems about 25 miles from the finish. Troup won in 106:19.
Sébastien Raichon, the 2026 Winter Spine Race men’s winner. Photo: The Spine Race/Adam Jacobs
The Winter Spine Race is known for its brutal weather, and this year’s edition was no exception. The race set off in the wake of Storm Goretti, which brought freezing temperatures, snow, and gale-force winds across the country. Rising temperatures over the following days did little to improve conditions, with melting snow turning to slush and ice, creating unstable terrain and treacherous ice sheets. The conditions led to plenty of DNFs as the snow, ice, and cold got the better of runners.
Read on to see how the race played out.
2026 Winter Spine Race Men’s Race
Chris Cope (U.K.) led the field into the first checkpoint at Hebden, 46 miles in, with 9:03 on the clock. He was followed within an hour by Eugeni Roselló Solé (Spain) and James Hargreaves (U.K.). Hargreaves won the 160-mile Summer Spine Challenger North race in 2025 — last summer. Roselló Solé is no stranger to the event, having lined up 13 times, winning in 2013 and placing second in 2017. But he’s failed to finish every other attempt, including a heartbreaking DNF in 2019 when he was forced to stop less than four miles from the finish while leading the men’s race behind overall champ and women’s winner Jasmin Paris. Behind them by 20 minutes was James Nobles (U.K), and John Kelly (U.S.) rounded out the top five, arriving at the checkpoint around 90 minutes after the leader.
Cope and Kelly’s races ended prematurely. Cope didn’t make it out of the first checkpoint after a fall on his knee, whereas Kelly retired not long after, also injuring his knee on the ice. Both were firm pre-race favorites, Cope having won the 2024 Summer Spine Sprint South, and Kelly the 2020 Winter Spine Race in a then-record time.
Roselló Solé was first to the second checkpoint at Hawes, with 109 miles covered, arriving in 25:25. He was followed by Nobles about 30 minutes back, Hargreaves about an hour back, and James Leavesley (U.K.) about four hours back. Sébastien Raichon (France), who won the 280-mile Tor des Glaciers in 2022, 2023, and 2025, rounded out the top five, arriving at the checkpoint about four and a half hours after Roselló Solé, just ahead of Pawel Cymbalista (Poland) and James White (U.K.). White finished 15th at the race in 2023 and was second in the 108-mile Summer Spine Challenger South in 2024.
James White was second at the 2026 Winter Spine Race. Photo: The Spine Race/Adam Jacobs
Roselló Solé continued to extend his lead throughout the second day, arriving at the third checkpoint at Langdon, about 152 miles raced, in 37:46, and over six and a half hours before Hargreaves. Raichon also made steady progress through this section to arrive at Langdon in third place, 90 minutes behind second. By the fourth checkpoint at Alston, with 186 miles covered, he had moved past Hargreaves into second place.
Nobles and Leavesley succumbed to the difficult conditions, dropping out at 165 and 200 miles, respectively, with Nobles showing signs of hypothermia and shortness of breath. These DNFs left the door to the top five wide open. White, who had overtaken Cymbalista near Alston, was now in fourth place, eyeing up Hargreaves in third.
James Hargreaves finished third at the 2026 Winter Spine Race. Photo: The Spine Race/Adam Jacobs
Roselló Solé came into Bellingham at 224 miles in 66:19, almost 10 hours ahead of Raichon. White followed, a further four hours back, with Hargreaves three hours behind him.
This year was Roselló Solé’s 13th participation in the Winter Spine Race, but he’d only finished it twice. With only 40 miles left to the finish line and a staggering lead under his belt, it seemed that this year was going to be another finish. However, suffering from extreme exhaustion, Roselló Solé withdrew from the race at Burness at 240 miles, having raced for 78:45.
Roselló Solé’s exit was a dramatic upset and opened the door for Sébastien Raichon to reach the finish in first place in 95:43. James White came second in 101:52, and James Hargreaves rounded off the podium in third place in 105:20.
Sébastien Raichon crossing the line as the 2026 Winter Spine Race winner. Photo: The Spine Race/Adam Jacobs
2026 Winter Spine Race Men’s Results
- Sébastien Raichon (France) – 95:43:52
- James White (U.K.) – 101:52:13
- James Hargreaves (U.K.) – 105:20:53
- Pawel Cymbalista (Poland) – 106:25:35
- Radmer Schalkx (The Netherlands) – 115:56
- Tijmen Schalkx (The Netherlands) – 115:56
- Andrew Reeves (U.K.) – 117:48
- James Riley (U.K.) – 119:22
- Benjamin Potts (U.K.) – 119:34
- Henry Robertshaw (U.K.) – 119:34
2026 Winter Spine Race Women’s Race
The women’s race also ended unexpectedly.
It was Finland’s Johanna Antila who took the lead early on, streaking across the snowy hills of the Peak District toward the first checkpoint at Hebden, 47 miles into the race with just over 11 hours on the clock. Anna Troup (U.K), who won the Summer Spine Race in 2021, 2022, and 2025, came into the checkpoint 45 minutes later, 30 minutes ahead of Sophie Grant (New Zealand) and Fiona Horsfield (U.K.), who had won the 160-mile 2024 Summer Montane MRT Challenge North, which covers the same route as the Summer Spine Challenger North race, and is for members of England’s professional mountain rescue service.
Fiona Horsfield finished the 2026 Winter Spine Race as the second woman. Photo: The Spine Race/Adam Jacobs
Over the course of the next 37 miles and 12 hours, Troup continued to chase down Antila on their way to Malham Tarn. They joined forces just before the second checkpoint at Hawes at 109 miles, arriving together in 31:50. Grant and Horsfield also arrived at the checkpoint together, in 34:17. Victoria Morris (U.K.) rounded out the top five, arriving just under two hours behind the Grant and Horsfield duo.
Antila and Troup continued to cover ground together at the front, while Horsfield pushed on ahead of Grant through the second night. The leaders passed through the third checkpoint at Langdon, 152 miles in, with 50 hours on the clock. They were about 2:45 ahead of Horsfield, who was three hours up on Grant. Alyssa Godesky (U.S.) had passed Morris and was in fourth, about two hours behind Grant.
Sophie Grant was the third woman in the 2026 Winter Spine Race. Photo: The Spine Race/David Murch
There was no change to the race standings as runners took on the notoriously difficult Cross Fell climb out of Dufton, around 170 miles into the race, and continued down to the fourth checkpoint at Alston at 186 miles. Antila and Troup continued to forge their way through the remote Northumberland countryside, passing through Bellingham at 224 miles in 84:53. They were about five hours up on Horsfield and 12 hours ahead of Grant. After more than 100 miles running near each other, it seemed that the leading duo would cross the finish line together. But just over 25 miles from the finish, Antila was forced to withdraw due to ongoing foot problems.
Anna Troup continued on to win the race in 106:19, becoming only the third person to win both the winter and summer editions of the race.
With the late retirement of Antila, Fiona Horsfield, who had been running in third since the second day of the race, earned herself a second-place finish in 112:48, and Sophie Grant, in her Winter Spine Race debut, finished in third in 117:32.
Anna Troup looking pleased with her 2026 Winter Spine Race win. Photo: The Spine Race/Adam Jacobs
2026 Winter Spine Race Women’s Race Results
- Anna Troup (U.K.) – 106:19:12
- Fiona Horsfield (U.K.) – 112:48:49
- Sophie Grant (New Zealand) – 117:32
- Alyssa Godesky (U.S.) – 119:34
- Victoria Morris (U.K.) – 121:50
- Linda Hubbard (U.K.) – 127:47
We will continue to update the results as more women finish.
