Fiona wins the Summer Montane MRT Challenge North
Fiona wins the Summer Montane MRT Challenge North
Striding across the finish line in the bright morning sunshine of Wednesday 19th June, Fiona Horsfield became the first woman to finish this Summer’s Montane MRT Challenge North.
(Image: Montane Summer Spine Series. Emma Hopkinson -left, and Fiona Horsfield -right, cross the finish line together)
The MRT Challenge North is a non-stop, 160-mile endurance race along the Pennine Way, created exclusively for active Mountain Rescue Team members. This special edition of the Montane Spine Challenger North allows MRT members to compete against each other while navigating the same gruelling conditions as the standard race. With a total ascent of 5,290 metres and a descent of 5,591 metres, participants face an extraordinary physical test, running through the night and battling tough, varied terrain.
The route stretches from Hawes in North Yorkshire to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders, crossing the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales, Hadrian’s Wall, and the rugged Cheviots – all within a 90-hour time limit.
Fiona Horsfield of Ochils Mountain Rescue Team delivered an outstanding performance in the Montane Spine Race MRT Challenge North. Fiona crossed the finish line as the first female in her category, demonstrating both remarkable endurance and team spirit. Despite catching up to the lead female runner in the regular Montane Spine Race Challenge North, Emma Hopkinson, in the final kilometres, Fiona chose not to overtake her. Emma’s bag had sadly broken and she was having to run the remaining kilometres carrying all her gear in her hands! The two runners decided to cross the finish line together, earning joint first place in a show of mutual respect and camaraderie.
Fiona’s race strategy was initially to maintain a steady pace, but she quickly found herself among the front runners. Her strength and resilience were evident as she navigated through challenging weather conditions—skills likely honed through her experience as a Mountain Rescue Team member. Despite the tough conditions, Fiona’s enthusiasm for the race never wavered, and her ability to balance competitiveness with good sportsmanship made her victory all the more meaningful.
We love the comment Fiona’s partner, Jonathan, left on the post above, announcing Fiona’s victory:
“Congratulations beautiful Fi Horsfield, happy and smiling throughout and loving every second of something that most people would never even think possible. You are such an inspiration to me, our children and everyone else in your life.”
We recently caught up with Fiona to learn more about her journey and hear firsthand about her experience tackling the Pennine Way.
Fiona writes…
“I live near Kinross at the foot of the Lomond hills with my two kids, husband, 3 chickens, 2 cats and 2 rabbits. I work as a GP in Fife.
When did you join the Ochils MRT Team and what is your role in the team?
I’ve been in the team for 7 years now. I’m a regular volunteer but I’m also currently the Community Liaison Officer so will coordinate our assistance at events such as provision of first aid cover or giving talks to community groups.
Tell us a bit more about what it’s like volunteering in the team?
I love being part of the team. It’s always changing with the addition of new members. It’s incredibly rewarding to be part of a rescue. You can’t do it in isolation, you need lots of different people doing different roles. Sometimes my role is as a medic but just as often I’m carrying the stretcher or lugging kit!
The hardest part is the time commitment, to be able to make training and rescues with a young family.
Did you have lots of experience of long distance running races before the Montane Spine Race MRT Challenge North?
A few years ago, I told my husband I would never do an Ultra marathon! But the distance has just crept up over the years. Last year I ran the Cheviot Goat race in December which was 60 miles (supported by their local MRTs who were amazing!) and that was my longest run at that point.
I ran the Bruce’s Crown Race in April this year which was a fundraiser for Galloway MRT. That was around 40 miles through the night and we did it as a team of 4 ( through Storm Kathleen!). That was wild but amazing.
I’ve always run as my ‘go to’ for fitness because it’s so easy to just go from the front door, you need relatively little kit and it gives me headspace. I’ve been entering events that look challenging and exciting.
What did you do to prepare for the Spine Race?
I did a lot of prep because I was so scared of the distance! I think that was fundamentally what was in my favour. I ran regularly, lots of hills and longer runs, and did some strength and conditioning every week. I trained with carrying a bag as for the race we had to carry around 4 kg with essential food/ water and emergency kit such as waterproofs, bivvy bag, first aid kit. I also spent a lot of time working out things like food, blister/ foot protection strategies, and the right kit.
How did you feel in the build up to the event?
I was very nervous, but also so excited to get going and see what would happen.
The Spine has a special MRT category. Tell us more about this?
They set this up as a ‘thank you’ essentially to the MRT support they receive for their events. It’s a heavily discounted fee for entering.
(You can read more about the partnership between Mountain Rescue Teams and the Spine Race here).
Tell us about the event, what were the best bits and the hardest bits?
The event is amazing, I would encourage others to have a shot! It’s so well organised. You have a tracker so friends and family can watch your progress and for safety, but otherwise you are on your own between aid stations. The full spine runs up the Pennine Way between Edale and Kirk Yetholm.
The Challenger South goes from Edale to Hawes and the Challenger North, which I did went from Hawes to Kirk Yetholm (160 miles).
You are self sufficient with food/ water/ navigation between the well supported aid stations which are every 40 miles. The biggest unknown for me were how I would manage sleep – or not sleeping. In the end I had a sleep in Alston which I reached about 5am on the first night and I slept less than an hour. On the second night I had about 10 mins in a mountain hut on the Cheviots. That was the hardest bit, when the second night fell and I was so tired! I was feeling a bit wobbly but lots of sweets and listening to music helped.
The ground was very wet a lot of the time so our feet were never dry, which caused a lot of problems.
I was running on my own for the last 80 miles but I quite enjoyed that.
How did it feel when you crossed the finish line and what did it feel like to be the first female MRT member?
I was so happy to be finished, that last 5km took a long time! My husband had to arrange to have an extra day off work to come and collect me, as I was a day earlier finishing than I thought would be! But it was all amazing.”
