Vegan wins Spine Race ultramarathon

See Damian Hall’s  GVA profile

The Spine Race crosses the Pennine mountain range in the north of England. It’s 268 miles, and includes 13,000 metres of height gain (greater than an Everest climb). Runners carry all their kit. This year there were also diverse weather conditions including plummeting temperatures and winds.

“The weather was feisty enough for goggles early on and a bit spicy on the Cam High Road too” Damian posted on Instagram. He ran a slower early stage, which seemed to pay off,

He crossed the line with Jack Scott in 84 hours 36 minutes, however, Jack received a penalty so Damian was the outright winner. Following the pair, the next runner came in over 12 hours later.

Damian took up racing late in life, running his first ultra at age 35. By 2021 he had seven records and FKTs (Fastest Known Times). He’s represented Great Britain at the Trail World Championships. International competition includes the Marathon des Sables and four finishes at Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (including 5th).

He went vegan primarily for environmental reasons.

“I broke three records last year and they are important but they are not the most important thing” he said in 2021. “For each of those records I did them without animal products fuelling me. Also without creating any plastic waste, which is much more difficult actually. Plus picking up litter as I went which my team helped me to do.”