Charles Stead, a partner in Newcastle's specialist running store, Northern Runner made up half of a two-man team which won the Elite class at the Mourne Mountain Marathon.

He teamed up with Bob Johnston of welsh club Eryri Harriers at the annual two-day event set in the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland which consists of teams navigating a previously unseen course to an overnight camp with enough kit to camp for the night and then navigate a different set of controls on the second day.

The event is a replica of the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon which first took place in 1968 to test mountain craft, navigation and fell running.

After the first day's competition Johnston and Stead had an amazing 23 minute lead which they extended to 41 minutes by the end of day two. In the 11 hours and 47 seconds that it took the team to navigate their way around the course they covered over 50 miles with 12,000 feet of ascent over rough mountain terrain with few paths or tracks.

A third place at similar event, the Euro KIMM, in France in August showed the pair that they were coming into form giving them the confidence to attack the course on the first day.

The win was particularly satisfying as it was the pairs first Mountain Marathon victory. Their next event will be the Elite class in the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon at the end of next month, where they will compete against the defending champions, Steve Birkinshaw and Morgan Donnelly of local club Northumberland Fell Runners of which Stead is also a member.