Luke Latimer, left, and Martin Wilcock descend Pen-y-ghent in last year's The Challenger

A gruelling race along the southern part of the Pennines has been won by Surrey-based runner Edward Catmur.

The 32-year-old arrived at Hawes, the finishing point of The Challenger, 29hrs and 53mins after leaving the start in Edale early on Saturday morning.

The Challenger is the ‘little brother’ to The Spine, whose competitors have to complete the full length of the Pennine Way.

The Challenger racers, along with fellow competitors in The Spine, had to face storm-force gales, hail and snow overnight on the route through the South Pennines and into the Yorkshire Dales.

Catumur’s time was 52 minutes outside the record set last year by Marcus Scotney in more benign conditions. Only one person officially completed the first running of the race in 2012, winner Mark Brooks.

The Spine’s 2014 winner Pavel Paloncy is currently in the lead, having cleared Pen-y-ghent and is now heading north towards Cam Fell. Damian Hall is in second place on the southern nab of Pen-y-ghent, with Eoin Keith a short distance behind in third, though both appear to have taken the Brackenbottom path into Horton in Ribbesdale rather than summiting the hill.

Next is 2013 winner Eugeni Roselló Sole who is currently at the Malham Tarn field studies building. Leading woman is Beth Pascall, who is ascending to Malham Cove.

The Met Office is forecasting winds gusting at up to 75mph (120kph) after dusk in the Yorkshire Dales today, though temperatures are due to nudge just above freezing as the day progresses.