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The Spine
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I did it last year & it hurt like hell on the last day,but I can't wait to be on that Start line in January, such is the event. It really is a brilliant adventure. A lot of the time you'll be alone in your own world, but occasionally you'll enjoy the great camaraderie of fellow Spine runners. Hopefully this coming year the camaraderie & banter will be as good.
Last long run completed this sat. 50 k on dartmoor with the full kit on soggy ground and half of it in the rain. Large quantities of food and Bonio,s were consumed. Me and my two four footed training partners are now officially tapering .
Bumping this thread.
This year's race is happening right now (http://www.facebook.com/TheSpineRace for updates) and some of the guys above are going really well.
Hats off to them, got to be tempted for next year on this
I've also been following the FB updates....Oh my....It must be BRUTAL out there!
They are all amazing....The shorter race people too!
This is just an awesome challenge, huge respect to every dang one of them and of course Rich Lendon and Ian Bowles!!
The 2013 Spine Race was an unrelenting raging mind and body changing beast and that was just the first 250 miles. After that it got really serious ! I am sitting on the sofa contemplating my tortured feet and knowing I will never be the same again.
The highlights (or was it he depths): Struggling to cover 10 km in 7 hrs along a mountain ridge at night in a full blizzard with 65mph winds -8c . What got me through was my four other team mates taking turns to break the trail through the drifts. Myself on map and compass one team mate on our remaining functional GPS.
Our goal : not the finish line but a Mountain Shelter and the chance to live another day.
This may all sound like a "boys own fantasy" but it took place on the spine race last friday night.
THE SPINE RACE TAKES ULTRAS TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL!!!!!!
awesome. I think this year it's enough to say congratulations on simply being alive! Bugger the mileage... This redefines "hardcore".
Ian Bowles - The class of 2013 will be remembered for a very long time I suspect, one heck of a ride, incredible barely covers it.
I took shelter in Mountain hut 1 at 04.00 hrs for an hours respite & quick brew, then pushed on through the blizzards to the Finish. My feet are not too bad but I've lost feeling temporarily feeling in 4 fingers.
It was an epic adventure this year
Roll on 2014
Lirish do I detect a wish to enter. I certainly have learned a lot over the last few days.
One thing I will say Is that next years race will be a Best but a different Beast from 2013.
The winner will always be impossible to pick as 7days of Jan weather will never be the same. To get to the finish you need to draw on not just your ultra training but all you have learnt from life. This is one race where the older racers have an extra edge.
Ian, everyone is in awe of your amazing achievement. Looking forward to meeting you one day.
TBH whilst the person who finished first is for the record books, everyone who took part in this are winners and to finish it is the prize! Enjoy your rest and your memories. You've earned them and they will become more precious each day
Hi Lirish by all means train but to be honest I did very little due to work and family commitments (four deaths in the family last year). My best week not counting events was 50miles . I averaged less than 20miles per week.
Mountain Marathons were my best training: Hard hill running day one with full pack then overnight camping and running the second day. Added to this the navigation at speed and you have the perfect Spine training weekend.
The first few spine days actually re train your body to run without sleep and up your food consumption to disgusting levels. (6 full meals a day +all the shock blocks , energy bars and fluid you can wolf down!
Once above about 180 miles your legs are not tired at all by your sustainable pace. At 180 miles I accelerated to a pace I have never achieved before on an ultra (I could not navigate fast enough for my pace) I became an eating /running machine. I flew into one Pub to re fuel ,ordered a pint of pepsi then shamelessly eat the left overs on all the plates in the pub cos I could not wait for food.
This race is about constantly managing yourself and listening to your body.
QUALITY!!!
[Whole office turned round to see me laughing out loud at this part]
I'll have a think about speciifics and get back to you if you don't mind
I did think about this for a few years time,
Congrats Ian.
Congratulations Gary, Rich and Ian!
Ian: I think we might have chatted very briefly at a couple of points-in the first few miles (about the lunatic speed at which a lot of the field started) and at CP2 (you arrived with Jenn?).
I did the challenger with one eye on the full race next year. My goal was to treat it like the first ~2 days of the full thing and arrive at the finish feeling comfortable. Which I did. But the full race is a completely different beast (even without the weather which hit on Friday) and is going to need some very careful thought (and preparation).
Hi An . Yes that was me running with Jenn. We found we were happy at the same pace and ran together for several days, "team age gap". I was gutted when she dropped out at Dufton (she ran out of fuel as she was not eating enough).
You did exactly what I had planned for last year. I had to pull out of the challenger at the last minute (due to a death in the family), I steam roller,d Mark Brooks into taking my entry/gear/van to the Spine. I stupidly said " If you win the Challenger you can give me your prize of free entry into the 2013 Spine Race" The rest is history.
An. Whats the challenger like?
Spen71: hard to give a simple answer. It depends on the weather, your preparation and how you plan to tackle it, in particular whether you want to go flat-out for a time or just finish in comfort.
18 started this year, 12 finished, the first 4 (including 2 of last year's Spine race finishers) in 32-36 ish hours, the rest of us between 50 and 60 hours. For me that included two shortish sleep stops and one pub meal.
I found weekends receing the course really useful preparation. Not just for navigation but also for fine-tuning food and kit (in particular foot care).
I'm very slow (21-24 hours for fellsman), and was next to last for most of the first day, but overtook a few people by keeping going steadily (and not having any significant issues).
If you've got any specific questions, fire away.
It was epic and such an amazing feeling to finish, especially after a DNF last year with severe hypothermia at 135 miles. Britain's most brutal race? Absolutely.
If you are considering entering this, please do not underestimate it. Don't read the info and think that looks good/fun. Trust me, it is brutal and will take you to places physically & mentally that you haven't been before (barring a few hardy individuals). This is not just a long ultra, not just 268 miles. It's 6/7 days of continuous trogging - managing sleep, food, the cold, your feet, trying not to lose focus but trying to make the right decisions, feeling so miserable, wanting to go home. It is tough and many will pull out in the first 2 days.
Not that I'm trying to put anyone off - I'm trying to add some realism.
But if you do enter, you will experience camaraderie, team-spirit, a true feeling of adventure, being at one with nature, episodes of sheer happiness. And believe me, the joy of finishing is unparallelled in my sporting life. I love this race - it sucks you in, takes everything you have but gives back everything you could wish for.
My wife Jenny, who is not a runner, does not get running, was part of the support team. She loved it, and will be part of the support team next year. She now gets why I do it.
I am part of The Spine family - I will be back next year either competing or in the support team
I agree totally with Rich. Especially : I am part of The Spine family - I will be back next year either competing or in the support team
Thats the way most of the Spiners feel about the race. If you enter you will get to meet most of us who just won,t be able to stay away!!
Kit that worked for me on the 2013 Spine Race and why.
Conditions: 90% of time sub Zero Temps down to 65 mph -8c Blizards. I generate extreem heat and sweat in all running conditions but cool rapidly the moment I stop!
Sleeping bag -Marmot (down) hydrogen rated down to-5c .
Bag Liner : Thermolite Reactor Extreem giving a 10+degree boost. The combination of the two gives you a range of +25c to -15c using only two items.
Sleep mat: Thermarest Neoair (full length).
Down Jacket : Alpkit 900fill (not for running in but packs small and keeps you warm the moment you stop)
Stove: MSR Pocket Rocket with Propana/Isobutane cold weather gas. Ok its heavy but will melt snow fast and heat water for food fast (this proved to be vital during the race) Solid/meths stoves are not fast enough when you are close to going hyperthermic!
I used all the above when the shit hit the fan! Would have been in serious trouble without any one of them!
Tent: Terra Nova Laser . Used to camp out the second night and was able to stay warm and cook inside the tent . Set up on snow it was probably -5 that night. Could hear all the folks in bivi bags shivering around me. They saved 400g but got hardly any sleep! This they paid dearly for!
Bivi Bag : Alpkit Gortex only about£30 . I had this in my drop bag but never used it . In retrospect it would have been better to carry this on the last night with the 65mph winds. (the tent would have been useless.
Headtorch : LED Lensor H7 I carried two as on full 160 lumens they only last 5hrs with Duracell ultraAAA,s . Once flat swap torches without having to fiddle with batteries. The H 7 also has a zoom function which can be usefu to spot the rail.(remember to mark your torch so it does not get mixed up at the CP,s) You also need three spare AAAs.
Shoes : Salomon XT wings 2 straight out of the box 1/2 size too large to fit 2prs of Ronhill all terrain wool blend sox. ( Same shoes all race grip worked fine all race without traction aids.) Use whatever shoes never ever give you blisters and have good underfoot cushioning. Next time I may go up another size so I can use Sorbathane liners. The other advantage is that the extra sufrace area of your footprint will reduce the chance of breaking through the frost crust on the bogs. Try everything to keep your feet dry as long as possible!!!! Run lightly on bogs. I never used my spare Inovate 315s the footprint is narrower and I would have continually broken hrough the Ice!
Sox Pete Bland allterrain + compression sox (till my feet swelled so I could not get them on. Seal Skinz won,t survive the pounding for long and leave your feet damp.
Elastic Knee support bandage . Parked on my ankle and only slid up on my knee on steep hard descents. Your knees will take a pounding but don,t wear this in place all the time . Slide it up and down your leg . If nothing else you feel you are in charge and not letting the trail take charge of you. Head games really matter on the Spine!
The rest of your gear will be more specific to you . All I can say is multi layers work but you must get them in the right order . Don,t put a down jacket under a gortex top, run, sweat and wonder why you have a saturated cold bag of wet feathers. I used a Montain jetstreem pertex top 70% of the time for wind stopping but max ventilation. My gortex top was hardly ever used. When It gets really cold and windy use the pertex under the gortex. ( I got up to 7 layers on my upper body the last night. I used everything in my pack that I had) Never ever start sweating : you must either change your pace or adjust your layers . You do have the time on this race to re layer . Youu don,t have the time to completly change soggy layers and carry excess weight to the next CP.
Eat Eat and eat again, Cafe,s Pubs The co op pie stand get troughing. Expect to triple your normal food intake by day 5! Start practicing early .(never feel hungry) You will be re programming your body to run/walk eat and hardlyever sleep. By day 5 your legs won,t hurt ,the only thing holding you back will be lack of food/sleep/ foot problems or bits of your body and mind breaking up!
Foot Care : As soon as you get to a CP locate the drying room/radiator/fire take out your shoe insole and start drying the shoes. The Spine Medics hate compeeds!!! Chances are if you self medecate a blister with compeeds a second blister may well develop under the outer adhesive part of the compeed. Compeed removal will rip off the new blister skin! The medics will re build your feet at every CP. Dry your feet at the CP then powder with talk to reduce the onset of Trench Foot. As the race progresses your immune system suffers and you may find that you have Athletes foot starting to develop. I may be worth using Athletes foot talk from the start but take a tube of cream just in case.
Gloves: 1 craft running gloves with pertex flap mit 2 Gortex overmits. 3 Thick polertec fleece gloves worn under gortex mits.
Gortex gaiters .+ Inovate marino wool debris sox.
Underarmour coldgear tights and long sleeved top. Rab polastop fleece top.
Navigation: GPS ETrex Hcx just about ok with waypoints but has no detail base map so not much use at night if you are trying to push hard. If you can beg borrow or steal a GPS with a !:50000 or better still !:25000 base map showing the pennine way . with this you should never stray more than 2m from the trail. (Garmin Oregon or similar) Note batteries go flat fast in the cold and there were many cases of GPS failure!!. The most expensive new NiCad batteries proved particularly unreliable. Duracell Ultra proved most reliable.
Don,t get lazy early in the race by joining a group with only one person navigating out front. This is a good time to use your map and compass to cross check the navigator. Treat the first part of the race as one long intense navigation course. Chances are two days later you may be on your own and your GPS will fail !!!!! You need to be able to use map and compass.
Maps :Harveys 1:40000 are ok but not for fast accurate navigation. I used !:25000 OS maps which I could nav on faster than a GPS in daylight (however I am an Orienteer)
Finally keep focused on the point of the whole race : that lousy T Shirt
Ps someone took the official bell away from the pennine way finish. I believe for repair . We were gutted (no bloody bell to ring after all that effort !). Another reason to come back in 2014.
Ian, thanks that's really useful, in particular the athletes foot treatment (I'd never have thought of that).
I was actually pretty cosy in my bivy bag on the 2nd night, although that was probably thanks to my slightly bulky -10 comfort rated sleeping bag.