Still smiling

The Montane Winter Spine Race (Challenger North) comes through Dufton, in fact there is a rest station in the village hall, which I am sure most of them take advantage of, as the next section is up to Cross Fell, the highest point of the race (and officially the coldest place in England!).

This Spine Challenger North, described as 'one of the world's toughest endurance races' and a 'truly epic challenge', is 160 miles mainly following the Pennine Way. 

It is possible, and fascinating, to follow the competitors live and know where they are at a particular point. This afternoon I located these two coming down from High Cup Nick and, with the help of Gordon who walked along to find them, I managed to photograph them as they came past the gate. I looked at their details and found they started out on Sunday at 8am and they were here about to be logged in Dufton on Tuesday at 3.51pm. They still have a long way to go!