Eighth-placed Challenger finisher Warwick Gooch, right, leads The Spine runner Joel Jaile Casademont on the descent of Pen-y-ghent

Marcus Scotney has won a gruelling two-day race-within-a-race run over the southern part of the Pennine Way.

The Montane-sponsored athlete completed The Spine Challenger course in a time of 29hrs 01min, arriving at the finish point at Hawes, in the Yorkshire Dales, at 1.22pm on Sunday.

The 174km (108-mile), non-stop, winter marathon covers the same ground as its big brother The Spine, which follows the Pennine Way for its full length.

The Challenger has to be completed within 60 hours and runs between Edale in Derbyshire and Hawes in North Yorkshire.

Scotney completed his first mountain marathon in 1994 while suffering from a broken jaw. He planned the course for the first OMM race in 2006 and has won the High Peak Marathon twice.

Since then, he has won the Draycote Water 35 Ultra and has represented England in ultra-events.

Grant MacDonald was second in the Challenger, 32 minutes behind the winner, with Philip Wolstencroft third with a time of 33hrs 23mins.

Leading woman was Jacqueline Cooper who was at the Cam High Road checkpoint under Dodd Fell about 1am on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the main Montane Spine Race continues, with Czech Pavel Paloncy in the lead.

He went through the Tan Hill checkpoint at 9.25pm on Sunday and by early Monday morning had crossed the A66 and was heading for the next checkpoint at Middleton in Teesdale.

British runner Steve Hollyoak was dropping down off Great Shunner Fell into Swaledale at that point.

Leading woman, Debbie Brupbacher of Britain, was just north of Horton in Ribblesdale about 1am.

The record for The Spine was set in Arctic conditions last year by Eugeni Roselló Sole with a finishing time of 5 days 4hrs 52mins.

More details are on the Montane Spine Race website.