The Summer Spine Race 2022 – This time…(Part Two)

So we left me at CP1 having arrived just ahead of schedule in good shape and I’d been fed. All I wanted next was to sleep – or at least rest. CP1 is at a scout centre and so has proper bunk beds – albeit a bit small and with plastic mattresses. I went for a lie down but didn’t do terribly well at sleeping. Firstly I felt that I couldn’t really have a noisy alarm as others were coming and going and trying to sleep – however I’d never tried to see whether the ‘vibrate’ alarm would actually wake me up. Also it was bunk beds. I managed to get a bottom bunk. Unfortunately the person that took the top bunk was having trouble getting comfortable and every time they turned over the whole bunk shook. I got a couple of hours lying down but eventually decided to cut my losses and get up before I originally planned.

I went back to the kitchen to see what was for breakfast. There was no bacon but I was offered beans on toast – with cheese on top. This put me in an incredibly good mood and so I ate my breakfast, filled my bottles, had my mandatory kit check and left CP1 just before 2am.

The day started without incident and I was rewarded for my early start by reaching Top Withins in time for sun rise.

One of the many things I had changed since last time was my use of my handheld GPS. Last year I simply downloaded the track files as supplied and loaded them onto my device. This year I had them on my watch, which made it easier to keep on track whilst using poles, and I had added waypoints to indicate various potential food and water stops which had been mentioned on the Official Spine Group Facebook page. As a result I knew I would soon reach another unofficial legendary feed station, the one run by the Craven Energy Triathlon Club. I was particularly looking forward to this as I had great memories of a bacon sandwich and rice pudding last year. It also came after a section of the Pennine Way that I found a bit boring and so was something to look forward to.

Like an oasis in the desert, the Craven Energy Triathlon Club feed station came into view.

It was 6:30 in the morning, which seemed to be the perfect time to have breakfast. It will come as no surprise to know that a bacon sandwich was my breakfast of choice. Rice pudding and jam may be a less obvious choice of dessert but it slips down very easily. Add to that a cup of coffee and I was well set to face the rest of the day. These guys do this every year, summer and winter, for every single Spine runner and charge no money, they simply ask for donations to the local mountain rescue. There are many things that make the spine Race extremely special and unique and this is one of them.

Refuelled and very happy, I continued. I passed through Cowling and Lothersdale and found myself at Pinhaw Beacon. Up until now I had resisted the temptation to take selfies at trig points but for reasons unknown I decided this was the point to take the first.

This particular leg was quite a good one for additional food stops. Shortly after leaving Thornton-in-Craven I was greeted by the sight of the Cam Lane Tuckshop. I don’t remember eating anything but I did sit down and drink half a litre of some sort of cool fruit flavoured liquid, probably Oasis, which went down very well as the morning was starting to warm up.

Just after the tuck shop came the diverted diversion that wasn’t a diversion but was. Over the course of the race there were several diversions off the Pennine Way, usually to protect the more fragile parts of the Way from the impact of over a hundred people in a short space of time. This particular diversion took us around a field rather than across it. However we had been told at the last checkpoint that the diversion was no longer necessary and we were to follow the Pennine Way signs. however as the route as supplied had this diversion marked, diversion signs had to be deployed to indicate that we were to take the original non-diverted path. Clear?

The next major point of interest on this leg was the double bridge over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal outside East Marton. After this I would reach one of the most legendary and talked about points on the Spine Race.

The Co-op at Gargrave has almost legendary status on the Spine Race. They are even warned to stock up on pies and sandwiches in anticipation of many hungry runners descending. Last year I went straight through Gargrave without stopping and so almost deserved to DNF. I didn’t make the same mistake this year. I sat in a small shelter and took my shoes off to give my feet an airing while I ate.

The next section was quite pleasant and easy through fields until I got my first glimpse of Malham Cove. Monitoring station CP1.5 was just past Malham Cove. I had a freeze dried meal with me that I planned on eating there because I hadn’t had much to eat since leaving Hebden Hey had I?

After climbing the steps up Malham Cove to the limestone pavement (of Harry Potter fame) I saw Sabrina. I was a little concerned by this as I was expecting her to be several hours ahead of me. I caught he up on the pavement , where she told me she was struggling to find her way. To be fair finding a ‘good’ route across the limestone is hard at the best of times but she told me she had been quite ill and was struggling to keep any fluids down. Last year, when I was in trouble (much more trouble) Les Binns had helped me and so it was an absolute no-brainer to stay with her until the monitoring point at Malham Tarn a couple of miles further on. In fact regardless of my experience from last year it was the only thing to do. It wasn’t far, there would be other runners but part of the Spine Race ethos is to help each other. Anyway it wasn’t so great for her as she had to listen to me babbling on for the next hour or so. I did still manage to pose for photos when the photographer appeared.

We got to CP1.5, which was being run by the legendary John Bamber. I explained the situation and the medic immediately started rehydrating Sabrina and after a while she looked much better. I told her that I was happy to continue with her to CP2 if she wanted. This would have been better than leaving her on her own but a much better option appeared in the shape of Raj Mahapatra. Raj had three Spine finishes to his name as opposed to my one DNF and said he would happily team up with Sabrina. I could have gone with them but I felt that I would add nothing to the party. It was tempting to run with a three time finisher but I felt I needed to do this on my own (not that you are ever on your own in the Spine but hopefully you know what I mean). As it happened I was now pretty much back on my original schedule, having been slightly head when I left CP1. I wished them both well and set out for Fountains Fell, Pen-y-Ghent and, for me, the worst part of the whole race (probably, Blenkinsopp Bog runs it close), the Cam High Road.

Fountains Fell was quite pleasant in the sunshine, certainly a world away from my experience last year in the dark. I was a little nervous about the scrambling on Pen-y-Ghent, last year I was with others, this year I would be doing it alone. As it turned out it was OK, a couple of moments of indecision but I was soon on the path to the top. I’d done a couple of videos on Facebook Live earlier in the race, mainly because it was easier than typing a Facebook update. I decided it would be quite cool to ‘broadcast’ from the top of Pen-y-Ghent however I don’t remember saying much interesting.

After Pen-y-Ghent it was down to Horton in Ribblesdale. I had been told at CP1.5 that he tap on the toilets there was the last chance I would have to fill my bottles. I know how long and dull the section from Horton in Ribblesdale is so I took the advice and filled my bottles so at least that way I would only be bored, not bored and thirsty.

There isn’t much to say about the rest of this leg fortunately. The Cam High Road is terrible apart from one short section where, bizarrely it coincides with a road and is asphalted. I turned off the track to Gaudy Lane, which think I navigated with a combination of luck and GPS. I found a hedgehog and some marshals in Hawes and, having asked the latter not to run over the former, I started on the last mile and a half to CP2 at Hardraw. This was completely uneventful apart from a small amount of amazement at the amount of sheep poo there appeared to be on the last section of the path in Hardraw, although after the Cam High Road almost anything would be interesting. Anyway I arrived at CP2 at ten past two in the morning, which was pretty much exactly on my schedule. I think I was fed a chickpea casserole. This was very nice but I was slightly concerned about the amount of beans and pulses I’d eaten since the start of the race, given the accommodation at CP2 was one man tents.

So the first two legs of the Spine are complete, I’m on schedule and feeling OK, would it last? If anyone is interested all will be revealed in the following instalments…