Runner completes 268-mile race after brain surgery

An ultrarunner who underwent major brain surgery 15 months ago has spoken of her pride after completing a 268-mile race.

Mel Sykes, from Holmfirth in West Yorkshire, ran across the whole of the Pennine Way, from Derbyshire to the Scottish Borders, in just over 132 hours.

The 42-year-old said she had been "falling asleep all the time" since the gruelling race, which left her with cracked ribs and swollen ankles.

But having been diagnosed with a rare neurological condition in 2023 Ms Sykes said she was "over the moon" to have finished the challenge.

A seasoned long-distance runner, Ms Sykes was treated for Chiari malformation, which pushes part of the brain out through the bottom of the skull, pressing on the spinal cord and brain stem.

Symptoms for sufferers include double vision and balance problems.

Ms Sykes underwent urgent surgery at Leeds General Infirmary in October 2023, which was successful.

She then decided to get straight back into running.

Speaking after she completed Spine Race, which takes runners all the way along the Pennine Way from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm in Scotland, Ms Sykes said: "Getting to the start was a win – and then to finish, I'm absolutely over the moon.

"It was just amazing to reach the finish. There were so many people there as well.

"It was weird because I thought I'd cry but I was so relieved to finish. I was just chuffed to bits really."

Ms Sykes had to negotiate heavy snow during the race's opening stages in Derbyshire, before coming down with hypothermia in the Yorkshire Dales.

Despite this, she persevered and refused to drop out of the race.

"I just wanted to get in the car and get warm but you're not allowed, I would have been disqualified," she said.

"One of the safety team members called Ian helped me get into my bivvy bag. I stayed in the toilets for two hours wrapped in my sleeping bag until I'd got warm again. I kept saying 'Ian, I'm not dropping out!'"

Even tripping over a stone and cracking her ribs 1.5 miles (2.4km) from the end did not stop Ms Sykes from finishing.

"I would imagine I had less than five hours sleep altogether during the race," she said.

"My ankles are bigger than my waist. I didn't get one blister but my ankles are really swollen."

After a well-earned rest, Ms Sykes is now preparing to run a 100-mile race in the Lake District in July.

She said she had not completely ruled out running the Pennine Way again.

"I think it was just the perfect race. I think if you go and do it again it might ruin the memory of it. But most people say never again and then go back."

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