9 Jan 2023
A West Yorkshire vet and rescue volunteer is taking on the elements and remote Pennine terrain in a charity challenge.
Allister Webb
Job Title
From left: Clare Canty, Abby Robertson and Ruth Smith. Image © Abby Robertson
A West Yorkshire vet is making final preparations for a gruelling 108-mile race that is only open to members of mountain rescue teams.
Abby Robertson, a small animal vet at Aireworth Vets in Keighley, is also a volunteer with the Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association (UWFRA), which relies on fund-raising and donations to finance its rescue work.
Now, alongside her UWFRA colleagues Ruth Smith and Clare Canty, she is making final preparations for the Spine MRT Challenge, which begins on Saturday 14 January.
The team’s fund-raising is being divided between UWFRA and the mental health charity Mind.
Participants have 60 hours to cover the course between Edale in the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales village of Hawes, coping with the remote and rugged terrain of the Pennines and the worst that a British winter can throw at them.
Dr Robertson, who lives in Skipton, has been training for the event for the past year after noticing the low level of female participation in 2022.
She hopes their involvement will inspire more women to take part in the future and join their own local mountain rescue units.
Dr Robertson said: “There’s a lot of training involved. I have a very supportive partner and am very lucky at Aireworth Vets, where we have a very good work rota.
“I am approaching this as an expedition; although, it is a race. I twisted my ankle a month ago, so my estimated finish time is slower now. I would be very happy to do it in 45 hours.
“It is very exciting, but I am a bit apprehensive. The weather is a massive factor. You can get 50mph to 60mph wind, constant wind, rain, sleet or snow at this time of the year.”
