Winner Marc Lauenstein on the summit of Ingleborough

Only nine seconds separated the winner and second-place man in the gruelling Three Peaks Race.

Marc Lauenstein crossed the finishing line in Horton in Ribblesdale in a time less than three minutes outside the course record.

He beat into second place fellow Team Salomon runner Ricky Lightfoot, who has won the 37km (23-mile) event for the past two years.

Lauenstein ran the course, over Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, in 2hrs 48mins 58secs, in wintry conditions with all three fells topped by snow. Strong winds and temperatures only a few degrees above freezing made for less than ideal conditions for the large field of runners.

Ricky Lightfoot was second in a race run in wintry conditions

More than 700 of the near 800 starters completed the course in the Yorkshire Dales.

Another Team Salomon runner Tom Owens was third, finishing 2hrs 52mins 14secs after setting off from Horton. Five minutes behind him, in fourth overall place, was the first over-40 veteran runner Karl Gray of Calder Valley Fell Runners.

Fellow Calder Valley team-mate Richard Pattison was first over 50s runner in 20th place.

Victoria Wilkinson was fastest woman

Victoria Wilkinson of Bingley Harriers was fastest woman with a time of 3hrs 26mins 47secs, in 35th overall place.

Nepalese runner Mira Rai took the honours for second place woman, finishing 65th with a time of 3hrs 35mins 55secs. Third fastest woman was Helen Berry of Holmfirth Harriers, who was also fastest woman veteran, finishing about 1½ minutes behind Rai.

Nepalese runner Mira Rai

The £500 bonuses for beating Bingley Harriers’ runner Andy Peace’s 1996 record of 2hrs 51mins 42secs and Anna Pichrtova’s women’s record of 3hrs 14mins 43secs set when the Three Peaks hosted the World Mountain Running Challenge in 2008 went unclaimed.