So what went wrong – Part One (Apparently)?

People have been really nice about the fact I failed. I’ve been told I shouldn’t see it as a failure, that I did really well and, yes, 220 miles was a pretty impressive effort but in the results list for the Summer Spine Race 2021 I am a DNF – so from that perspective I failed. It was also my fault. By the end I was blistered and disorientated and in no fit state to carry on. As other people finished I can’t blame the course or conditions, I just didn’t look after me well enough.

OK so having established that, in order to prevent it happening again I need to understand where I went wrong.

It’s possibly fair to say that Covid didn’t help, we started in the afternoon so I’d already been up for a while. I had also given a wildly optimistic time for the first leg and so was in the starting wave with all the fast guys. The net result was I set off far too fast in order to try and get to Hebden Bridge in the eleven hours I claimed I could do it in.

After five and a half miles I’d already tripped numerous times, scraped myself, my GPS and dislocated my little finger (I put it back before I had too much time to think about it). By fifteen miles I was fairly sure I couldn’t do this but it seemed a bit premature to pull out so I carried on and after 26.8 miles I’d done 10% of the race and was falling over less so I carried on. Nicky’s Food Bar was a welcome sight, bacon roll and coke helped no end. Falling in a bog attempting to regain the trail didn’t.

Then it started raining… It was by now dark and I kept drifting off the trail around Stoodley Pike, not far off but I had to be very careful to keep an eye on the GPS.

Eventually I was on a very obvious trail, spotted the Spine Race diversion signs for Checkpoint One and arrived there almost exactly 12 hours after leaving Edale at dawn.

I was able to hose my legs down and clean off most of the peat. More importantly I was wonderfully looked after and given food and drink. I also took the opportunity to sleep. This was my first error, I only slept for about 45 minutes. I could have had a good three more hours at CP1 and should have done, especially given the previously mentioned start time.

Quite a lot of the next bit was bit dull – or I just wasn’t paying attention. Actually Withins was very nice. I believe Emily Bronte was very fond of the area

What wasn’t at all dull however was the ‘pop-up’ checkpoint run by the Craven Energy Triathlon Club. Coffee, a bacon sandwich and rice pudding with jam – suddenly this was all very pleasant!

Things were definitely looking up. The weather was improving and the scenery was good. After a while the Pennine Way started to follow the Leeds and Liverpool Canal through the double arched bridge at East Marton

I was rapidly approaching Gargrave, home to the most famous Co-Op in the UK if you follow the Spine Race. I however was more excited by its phone box.

This was my next mistake. I never felt low on energy but on reflection I really should have gone into the Co-Op and bought food rather than posed for selfies with a phone box.

It was after leaving Gargrave I had to stop a few times to adjust my laces on my left shoe as they appeared to be pulling on the top of my foot. I would only discover the significance of this after I had retired…

Malham also had a phone box but it is more famous for its Cove. The Pennine Way runs right through Malham Cove on its way to Malham Tarn and the intermediate checkpoint. However Malham Cove can’t be dismissed that quickly.

CP1.5 provided hot water for the freeze dried meal I’d taken specially for the occasion. I think I also got my feet taped up.

It was beginning to get dark by the time I left. Ahead was Fountains Fell and the notorious Pen-y-ghent. I have to admit that prior to entering the Spine Race I was under the impression Pen-y-ghent was in Wales. it isn’t, its on holiday in Yorkshire. I was going to have to climb it in the dark. Strangely this made things a little easier as my big fear is of falling. In the dark I couldn’t see where I would fall and so didn’t worry about it. I did haver a little trouble finding the path, as did the next couple that caught me up. fortunately the next couple included someone that has done the Spine Race before and he pointed out the next part of the climb. After that the final ascent was quite straightforward.

Then it was down to Horton in Ribblesdale and another phone box…

There may have been some nice parts after this but all I remember is the Cam High Road – about 5 miles of utterly pointless misery and probably my least favourite placed in the entire world. I was cold, my feet hurt and the ‘road’ appeared to have been built by an imbecile. actually some of it was Roman which might explain why it appeared to go straight over everything rather than round anything.

Eventually the Way turned off the Cam High Road to Gaudy Lane. this should have been a nice little downhill romp. Unfortunately I was now paying for an error on the first leg. I descended Torside with a couple of other competitors and hence raced down as fast as I could. I was aware before the event that my local ‘hills’ would in no way provide adequate training for the hills of the Pennine Way and so had incorporated so leg strengthening routines into my training. That seemed to work OK but what I hadn’t considered was the relentless pounding the quads take on steep downhill running. My run down Torside had wrecked my quads and hence my ‘run’ into Hawes was much slower than it should have been. i was also starting to feel the beginnings of a blister on my left foot – I really hate the Cam High Road!

As I entered Hawes I was greeted by Adam. Adam is the boyfriend of Jackie Stretton, a phenomenal runner and friend who had just come second in the Spine Challenger, a race from Edale to Hawes. He directed me through Hawes where I met Jackie and her dog, Jake.

What I really needed was some Deep Heat or similar. Some how I found a tube of Bio Freeze whilst walking with Jackie…. After some goodbyes it was a short walk into CP3. I ate, got my feet looked at, slept in a tent and generally tried to get myself ready for the next leg. Still didn’t sleep enough though…

Well this was supposed to be a dispassionate analysis of my errors during the Spine Race but instead it’s turning into another overly long race blog. I think I’ll call this part one and save the horrors of CP3 to CP4 for another day – thanks for reading!