Former professional triathlete Lucy Gossage put down an unbelievable performance earlier this week to clinch third place at the 268-mile long Montane Winter Spine Race, which follows the Pennine Way from Edale to Kirk Yetholm.
Gossage, who had previously won races such as IRONMAN Wales, IRONMAN Lanzarote and IRONMAN UK, more than held her own against an experienced cast of ultra runners in one of the country’s toughest endurance challenges.
Fundraising for MOVE, which aims to ‘use physical activity and exercise to improve the lives of people with cancer’, the NHS oncologist has so far raised more than £21,000 for the charity.
Podium finish after thrilling race
For Gossage, who now works at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, the early stages of the race saw her go toe-to-toe with some of the pre-race favourites, such as defending champion Claire Bannwarth and previous podium finisher Hannah Rickman.
Whilst Bannwarth pulled away over the second half of the race, Rickman and Gossage ended up battling it out until the very end. Rickman, who is an infectious diseases doctor, took second place in the final results, with Gossage third after a testing last marathon.
Gossage completed the race in a brilliant 106:05:26, with the 44-year-old completing over ten marathons and 10,000m of elevation gain during just over four very sleep deprived days.
“I’ve been completely overwhelmed by the huge support”
Taking to social media after the race, Gossage was taken aback by the support she had received, with her social media and live tracker, which enabled fans to send well wishes to participants, inundated with messages of congratulations.
“I’ll tell more about this crazy week in future posts once I’ve processed this crazy experience. I’ve been completely overwhelmed by the huge support in the background.
“Sorry to everyone who had to spend six hours longer than planned tracking my final stage. It’s humbling to know so many people care.”
To donate to Gossage’s fundraiser, please click here.
Triathlon’s mid-season report card: Tim Don on who’s raising the bar this triathlon race season
