Damian Hall drops out of Montane Spine Race
Hall was leading the race but stepped off the course after more than 52 hours of running
The Montane Spine Race has claimed yet another front-runner. In a shocking turn of events, Damian Hall has dropped out after holding what looked to be an insurmountable lead for much of the race. This leaves Eugeni Roselló Solé at the front after running for more than 56 hours.
Damian Hall – @Ultra_Damo – has retired from the Montane Spine Race.
He is safe and well and with our team, but the tea-fuelled, 2-time finisher of this race will not continue to Kirk Yetholm.#SpineRace
1/3 pic.twitter.com/HXhlbMfPVB— Montane Spine Race (@TheSpineRace) January 11, 2022
As of Tuesday morning, Hall had created a sizeable gap on the rest of the field. The tea-fuelled runner looked like he would take the win, but the Spine’s course is relentless, and evidently had other plans. It appears as though he called it quits at Blankensopp Common, just ahead of the Greenh’d checkpoint. This leaves Roselló Solé to take over the lead. Irish runner Eoin Keith, who finished second in both 2019 and 2020, is back in second place again, having taken over Douglas Zinis and James Leavesley, who are currently sitting in third and fourth, respectively.
On the women’s side, Debbie Martin-Consani has begun to create a sizeable lead after Anna Troup and Sabrina Verjee both dropped out earlier in the race. Elaine Bisson is behind her in second place, with Nicola Sommers in a distant third.
Hall’s exit brings the total number of retired runners up to 30, with five more days left in the race. To follow along with who’s left, click here.