Lucy Gossage has run the 268-mile Pennine Way in 70:47:15, setting the fastest supported time ever recorded by a woman on the route. She cut nearly two hours off the previous mark and became the first woman to finish the trail in under three days.
First woman under three days on the Pennine Way
Gossage set off with a group of friends on or shortly before Saturday, September 5, heading along England's high, boggy spine. She had written before setting off that she was returning with friends to make memories together. By early Monday afternoon she had reached day three.
Her tracker placed her past the A58 White House checkpoint at 59:04:49, with the finish still ahead. For much of the route she was moving through the night as well as the day. She held her pace through the closing hours and crossed the line on Tuesday morning, after just over 70 hours of near-continuous effort.
From Ironman titles to Britain's most brutal course
The old women's supported record, 72:46:37, belonged to Anna Troup. Gossage did not just take it; she became the first woman to break the three-day barrier. The Pennine Way is the same course as the Montane Winter Spine Race, called "Britain's most brutal."
Gossage won that race outright in 2025, after finishing third on her 2024 debut. She reached ultra running from triathlon, where she won Ironman and European titles. In 2025 she also set a women's record on the South West Coast Path and broke the South Downs Way 100 record in 16:30:35.
"Too tired to know what to think yet," Gossage said afterwards. "Other than that I have amazing friends."
Away from the trail she works as an oncologist and co-founded the charity Move Against Cancer. The Pennine Way now stands as the second chapter she has written across the same 268 miles.
