Dave Phillips and Hannah Rickman win the 2024 SILVA Northern Traverse races

Dave Phillips and Hannah Rickman have claimed victories in the 300km 2024 SILVA Northern Traverse. After a race in which athletes faced the extra challenge of the impact of Storm Kathleen, Phillips completed his journey from St Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay early on the morning of Monday 8 April, while Rickman finished second overall a few hours later.

The early leader in the 2024 SILVA Northern Traverse was Mark Darbyshire, who set a blistering pace, but he pulled out in Richmond. Once in the lead, British runner Dave Phillips maintained a strong pace and reached Robin Hood’s Bay in 47 hours 32 minutes and 14 seconds. Fellow Brit Hannah Rickman ran brilliantly to win the women’s race and claim second place overall, in 52:42:18.

Finland’s Juhanna Kirk won the SILVA Lakes Traverse in a time of 12:11:44. The women’s race was won by Brit Samantha Lissauer in 13:27:04. The SILVA Dales Traverse was won by a Dale. Cumbria based Gavin Dale stormed along the course in 4:45:40, while the women’s race was won by fellow Brit Mary Gillie in 6:42:49. There was more British success in the SILVA Moors Traverse, with Benjamin Voke winning in 8:47:59 and Hillary Anne Szwed winning the women’s race in 10:55:28.

On Saturday and Sunday, runners faced heavy rain showers, very boggy underfoot conditions and wind speeds of up to 50mph, as Storm Kathleen moved from west to east. Participants towards the back of the races were diverted from high ground to a lower level route for safety reasons.

Speaking after his victory in the 2024 SILVA Northern Traverse, Dave Phillips said: “It was an adventure! I’m happy. I wanted to do it in under 48 hours. That wind was relentless, but it was more tailwind than headwind. It was the conditions underfoot that made it slow. The bogs were super boggy! Even coming across the last bit was so wet.

“Coming over that coast path now was the toughest because I thought I wasn’t going to make it in under 48 hours, I suppose because it was so boggy. Last night was terrible without any sleep and I was a bit all over the place until the sun came up. I didn’t have hallucinations, but was just really confused about how long things were taking. I thought I was going round in circles most of last night.

“I only had 10 minute sleeps along the trail. I might have been better off just sleeping three hours and perhaps I’d have been quicker. I’ve never tried properly sleeping in a races. There’s that moment on the trail where you know you’re going to sleep. I’ve never tried sleeping in an aid station. You’re better off just lying in the mud!”

Hannah Rickman comments: “It was so muddy – I was really ready to be done! A lot of the last bit was uncontrolled falling. I’m not aching in unusual ways, just the expected ways

“Both of the nights were pretty rough. The weather during the first night was rubbish – painful and so slow going. It was pretty horrible – probably the worst conditions I’ve ever been out in overnight. On the second night I was a sleepy mess. I did a lot of curling up in a ball on the side of the trail, and the moors were cold. And every time I did try and sleep I got the muscles spasms coming in. All of the people and the volunteers were amazing!”

Other participants in the SILVA Northern Traverse are now well into their third day of running, with many continuing through the night. The leading contenders coped with minimal rest, taking short breaks at checkpoints and support points along the route, which are staffed by the race organisers and an army of willing volunteers. Meanwhile, further back in the pack, participants are simply striving to complete the race within the five day deadline.

The public can follow the progress of runners in the SILVA Northern Traverse at https://live.opentracking.co.uk/northerntraverse2024. Updates will be posted on social media, by @northerntraverse on Twitter and @thenortherntraverse on Instagram. For more information about the events, visit www.northerntraverse.com.

Photo:  ©No Limits Photography

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