JOE Parsons, a volunteer with Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association, who lives in Skipton, has just completed one of the toughest endurance races in the world - and one that saw him coming through parts of Craven along the Pennine Way. Lesley Tate reports.

The Montane Spine Race Challenger along the Pennine Way starts in Edale in Derbyshire, and finishes 108 miles later in Hardraw, near Hawes. In order to successfully complete the race, it has to be done in under 60 hours. Joe, who was 32 this week, and who only started running two years ago, completed it in 40 hours and 44 minutes - putting him in fourth out of 18 in a special section reserved for mountain rescue folk. He actually completed 114 miles, after a couple of diversions, has raised £1,400 for UWFRA - and after a couple of days recovery, is considering doing it all again next year.

Joe, along with other members of Mountain Rescue England and Wales set off at 9am on Saturday, January 13 - with his mum, Heather, having arrived on the train to see him off.

After about 30 miles of mixed terrain, including stone flags, gravel track, heather moorland and tarmac, and with an old knee injury flaring up, Joe's pace slowed to a sort of walk trot.

At the M62, which Joe reached in the dark, some of his fellow team members from UWFRA were waiting to cheer him on. The checkpoint, run with military efficiency, was the first time he had sat down in 12 hours, and he took the opportunity to change his socks, the batteries in his head torch, grab a hot mean and stock up on food and drink. Back in the race, he met up with a couple of fellow challengers and headed for Haworth, and from there onto Cowling. At Ponden Reservoir, a couple of his fellow UWFRA team members provided a hot drink.

"Then it was on, at good striding pace towards Cowling and the infamous Ickornshaw moor - a horrible boggy section of misery. We hit the Cowling main road at about 5am, and fell into the bus shelter for a sit down, food and general adjustment of everything. I taped my really painful knee, which was by now slowing us down. Then my mum appeared at the roadside, I was not expecting that."

The next couple of hours were increasingly painful and demoralising, said Joe, and as they approached Lothersdale, he told his two colleagues to go on without him - because he feared he was slowing them down. By the time he reached Lothersdale, he was in agony, and had slowed to a shuffle.

"My energy levels were good, I had been eating and drinking well. but the pain was bad. My mum had driven to Lothersdale, and walked with me to Pinhaw."

It was then that he decided the pain was too much, and he would stop - with 55 miles still to do and in danger of exceeding the 60 hour cut off point. But his mum convinced him to carry on, telling him he would feel better in the daylight.

From the summit of Pinhaw, it was downhill to Thornton in Craven, but with going down harder than going up. "I trudged on and was given a cup of tea by a kind well-wisher in Thornton, " he said.

On familiar turf, he headed towards Gargrave, where he planned to grab some hot food at the village Co-op, but UWFRA team members had set up at the roadside, and were busy distributing drink and food.

|It was then onto Airton, Hanlith and Malham and for another checkpoint at Malham Tarn, where despite intense pain, he was managing. " Over Fountains Fell, the temperature dropped to way below freezing. Up to this point, we had been blessed with dry settled weather, with good plus temperatures by day and night. I was moving at a good pace, with what can only be described as a Nordic walking style - my walking poles were saving my race," he said. Then came Penyghent.

"I put on all of my clothes at this point, after being advised that bad weather was coming. Penyghent was foggy on top, but I know the way well, and made reasonable progress. For the first time in the whole race, I started to think like a racer. I had made friends with the people around me, but I wanted to get to the finish before them," he said.

After another hot meal at the Penyghent Cafe with his mum, a change of batteries in his headtorch, he was off, chasing down another competitor ten minutes in front of him.

"That was it, the red mist had descended. I had it in my mind that it wasn't far to the finish at Hardraw near Hawes, but at 14 miles, my head had begun playing tricks. I made the Cam High road before I even glimpsed the headtorch of this guy, but I was catching. I had gone from being a broken man in Lothersdale to now chasing down another runner, and the race was on."

There then followed the most monumental storm, and the full force arrived all at once. " I had to keep moving. I passed the guy up at Cam High, I think he tried to stay with me, but he didn't have the pace. The storm was brutal, and battered me without mercy for the rest of the event. I was chilled to the bone, and began shutting down. Hypothermia had got in, and it was slowly starting to do me some serious damage."

At this point, Joe had been joined by one of his colleagues, but despite Andy chatting to him, Joe was not responding. "The terrain was awful, knee deep muddy puddles, boulders as big as footballs, mud and snow, and I was in big trouble. For the first time in 80 miles I had to run. I was quite seriously running for my life. My knees feet and ankles were ruined. Which would be worse though, staying here and succumbing to exposure, or forcing my ruined body - I chose the latter."

Shortly afterwards, he was helped by mountain rescue volunteers, with a hot drink, and the finish in Hardraw was almost in sight.

"I did not want overtaking as I limped the rest of the way home - that would've been the cruellest blow, and I don't know how I would've reacted. I passed through Hawes, and on towards Hardraw. The finish. where I was met by UWFRA members, my mum and Karen, and was presented with my finishers medal, before being dragged inside to warm up, get changed and eat - I had made it."

To show your support for Joe, go to: mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/joeparsons1