Former triathlon champ Lucy Gossage excelling at her first Winter Spine Race

Former triathlon star Lucy Gossage has continued her remarkable debut the Montane Winter Spine Race.

Late on day two she was in a clear third place and closing on Hannah Rickman, last year’s runner-up, in second.

Out front in the women’s race and still with a clear advantage is the defending champion Claire Bannwarth.

In the mix

Gossage’s winning track record in triathlon, which includes 14 full-distance successes including the extreme Patagonman and Norseman events, suggested she might be a force to be reckoned with.

However, she’d played down any expectations of a high finish at the Spine, telling us beforehand: “Anyone who thinks I’m going to be near the front – they’re wrong. I won’t be.”

But she could hardly have begun much better, ticking off the first 100 miles along the Pennine Way with incredible enthusiasm before getting some rest in Hawes.

And since then she’s closed the gap on Rickman in second, with the duo scheduled to reach the next checkpoint at Tan Hill around an hour and a half after Bannwarth.

Inside track

During the race, Gossage’s social media is being looked after by last September’s IRONMAN Wales winner Nikki Bartlett and the posts give a fantastic flavour of the challenges she’s facing – and the stunning scenery she’s running through.

Lucy works as an oncologist in Nottingham and set up the running group ‘5k Your Way’ in 2018 to help cancer patients and their friends and has been recognised both locally and nationally, including a surprise presentation by Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis-Hill on the BBC’s One Show.

At the Spine Race she’s raising money for ‘Move Against Cancer’ and you can track her continued progress via GPS here.