Brownie points to the Challenger North peeps. They were all on time for tracker fitting and are off and on their way up Shunner.

Good luck everyone! 🙌🏻💪🏻🤩

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A sneaky peek into Langdon Beck checkpoint just outside Middleton (aka the Teesdale Tandoori) It’s compact & bijou but full of fabulous smiles and lots of support for the athletes on the Challenger North

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What a total star! 🌟

Nicky Spinks wins the Spine Challenger North 2025. She said her highlight was the food, which as Checkpoint Lead, I’m taking as an enormous win! 💪🏻🤩

Absolute privilege to see Nicky take this victory

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A little snippet from our Challenger North registration at the Green Dragon in Hardraw earlier this afternoon. A mixture of excitement, apprehension and anticipation. Looking forward to the race start tomorrow!

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A peek into the Alston checkpoint where our Challenger North leaders are regrouping after Cross Fell and preparing for the next leg.

Paul, the first place runner left before the next 4 arrived and is now in Slaggyford

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Congrats Angela White aka The Running Granny!
Northern Challenger ✅ Excellent efforts in gnarly conditions. Angela enjoyed a quick snooze by the trail on the Cheviots and another in fabulous hut 1 with @oli-hague.bsky.social

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G Brian Hutchinson is without a doubt the most cheerful bloke I’ve ever met and it spreads to everyone around him. He’s no stranger to this race having won jointly with Tim Bradley in 2023!

He likened his stay at the Alston CP to a spa visit 😂

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Smiles from Elaine Bisson & Nicky Spinks as they left Alston earlier, bellies full of lasagne & heads full of determination! It sounds like the course has been challenging, but Elaine did say she’d enjoyed the descent into Middleton earlier

To Kirk Yetholm guys! 🙌🏻

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This guy has absolutely delighted the crew the whole way up to Kirk Yetholm from Hardraw. Paul was calm & relaxed the whole way and says he looked forward to reaching checkpoints, - not because he needed the respite, but because the highlight for him was the crew 🤩

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The awesome Nicky Spinks & Elaine Bisson just touched the wall, taking the joint female win in the Challenger North Race

They said they’d had a wonderful day today, but Cross Fell & a sleep deprived ‘death march’ from Alston to Bellingham was tough

Epic journey 🙌🏻

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First and second place respectively on the Challenger North 2026, Harry Firth & Michal Dzieweczynski!

Outstanding run! In Kirk Yetholm in the daylight and looking remarkably fresh!

Congrats guys! 🙌🏻

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Paul Grundy, lead runner in the Challenger North, arrives in Alston looking & sounding like he’s just done a park run. He has wonderful notes from his children, who arranged his drop bag 🥰

He’s eating lasagne, smiling & offering to share his snacks with the crew

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