Montane Spine Race

Eoin Keith Wins the Tenth Anniversary Edition of the Montane Spine Race

Press Release / 13.01.2022

Eoin Keith (IRL) has won the Montane Spine Race 2022 in a time of 92hrs 40mins, crossing the line in the early hours of the morning with a lead over his closest rivals of several hours.

Eoin ran his own race and outlasted a field full of high-profile ultra-runners, race winners, and record breakers all, such as Damian Hall, Kim Collison, Eugenie Rosello Sole, Anna Troup, Sabrina Verjee, and more, all of whom retired.

This is Eoin’s 2nd overall win on this course in winter.  He has also finished in 2nd position 3 times, and previously held the course record.  In 2021 he also won the summer edition of the race and set a new course record for that race too, making him the first athlete to win back-to-back summer and winter Spine Races.

Talking at the finish line, Eoin said, ‘This was a special win for me. I didn’t think I had a hope, I thought I’d give it my best, but there were just so many class runners here.’

When asked what his tactics were, Eoin said, ‘to run my own race. it was my most comfortable and balanced spine race. I don’t have gear 5 anymore, but I’ve always said if you run your own race, and optimise your own performance, your best performance will come out.’

Phil Hayday-Brown, co-founder and Race Director of the Spine Race, said of Eoin’s win, ‘I’m really happy for Eoin.  We couldn’t ask for a better ambassador for this race or a better example of what it takes to complete this course.’

The 2nd and 3rd placed runners in the event are now Doug Zinis and James Leavesley.  They’ve been running together for several days.  This morning we’ll see if they cross the line together or if they race for glory.

 Debbie Martin-Consani (#RunDMC) is the leading woman, followed by Elaine Bisson.  In 3rd position is now Lizzie Faithful-Davies, a Brigadier in the armed forces and no stranger to endurance challenges. We expect Debbie to arrive at the finish line later today.