When I first decided I was going to take on the Spine Race there was only one thing I was very definite about - I would only ever do the Summer version. The Winter version was cold, dark and had no appeal to me whatsoever.
Anyway it’s January 2024 and I’m waiting to register for the Winter Spine and go through kit check, so what went wrong – or as a very unlikely outside possibility, right?
This is question which has occupied my mind quite a lot since I decided to sign up for Winter 2024 and it’s hard to give a coherent answer. If you are of a certain inclination the Spine can really get under your skin. I think for me it’s the people involved. They make you believe you can do it and give you the support and encouragement to turn belief into reality.
One of the most important people in the Spine organisation from my perspective was Lindley Chambers. I needed kit advice, one option is to ask in the Facebook group and get as many different opinions as replies. The other is to ask Lindley. For instance I had more or less the smallest, lightest sleeping kit that met kit requirements, all of which I had been pointed to by Lindley. I wasn’t planning on bivvying out so whilst I needed kit that would perform in an emergency, I was less worried about long term durability or comfort and was happy to lose some of that in return for less weight to carry.
Kit check is fairly straightforward. Some people will get a full kit check but most will get checked on a selection of items based on their race number. I was checked on the ‘yellow’ list, which included the previously mentioned sleeping bag. I didn’t mention its Japanese and has no rating label. Fortunately Lindley was on hand and admitted that he really should pass it as he was the one that told me to buy it!
After passing kit check I was issued with a tattoo of Lindley which would allow me to complete my registration.
I managed to remember my name, Sharon’s name, some phone numbers and my race number. I’d also taken my ID so I was given a number and photographed with it. The photo is for the tracker page – I think it’s to give the Safety Teams some idea of what to look for if I get lost.
We were spending the night before the race at Rushop Hall, the same place we stayed before the 2022 Summer Spine. Another Spine Racer, Allan Anderson was also at the B&B so we gave him a lift to the start with us.
The only thing to do in the morning was have my tracker fitted and wait until it was time to start.
At 8am precisely (more or less) we were off! Strangely it was actually a much nicer morning than when I did the Summer spine in 2022. Yes it was (much) colder but the sky was clear with the promise of a brilliant sunrise – which I missed.
This was a part of the Pennine Way I’d run several times before – most recently in June on the Summer Spine Sprint with Sharon. Due to the Summer Sprint starting at 12pm and sunset in Winter being several hours earlier, I was expecting to lose the light at a similar point to that of the Sprint so I was fairly confident about the first leg at least.
Once the sun rose the views were stunning. Sadly I only managed a few decidedly average pictures as I was concentrating on the race and not messing up at the start.
The first climb took us to Kinder Low. apparently ‘Low’ has nothing to do with it being not quite as high as Kinder Scout but means meadow. personally I always imagine meadows with less rocks in them but that’s just me.
I continued over the plateau without too many mishaps – I think I may have tripped once or twice – until I reached Kinder Downfall, which had some water in it but still not a lot.
After a while I tentatively negotiated the the steps down to Snake Path and carried on up Mill Hill and the fairly easy slabbed path to the A57.
The section from Snake Pass to Bleaklow is one of many sections of the Pennine Way I’m not fond of. It starts of as the Devils Dike (Drain) and is twisty muddy gully. This section was made more entertaining by having to occasionally step aside for the fell runners racing towards me on their event. Eventually I got to Torside where I made my traditional navigational error (it’s the lower path). We had been warned at the start that the Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) who usually provided hot drinks at Torside were out on a call so it was a case of carrying on to Laddow Rocks.
After the Rocks I was expecting it to be quite wet up to Black Hill so I was quite happy to find that actually it wasn’t too bad and my waterproof socks were more than up to the job. Soon the path became slabbed and so the danger of getting excessively wet had passed – or so you would have thought…
I saw a runner ahead of me stop at a slightly dodgy section of path that appeared to be missing a slab or two. I quickly assessed my options and decided I could go round. It was a diversion of about 20 paces. The first 15 were fine. The last 4 were fine. The 16th saw me up to my delicate bits in very cold water…
Snoopy’s Food Van was at Wessenden Head and I bought myself a Coke and a sweet coffee. I could have had a bacon sandwich as well but I uncharacteristically turned this down as I was planning a stop a Nicky’s Food Bar, eight miles further on.
Some work was being done on the Pennine Way at Wessenden which meant there was a small diversion. The path was longer but a bit less steep so I don’t think I gained or lost from it.
I did start to question my decision not to have a bacon sandwich at Snoopy’s but eventually I arrived at Nicky’s Food Bar where Nicky was proudly showing of her Spine jacket. I had my bacon sandwich, coffee, coke and a banana. Nicky deserves her jacket as she provides food and a comfort for every single Spine Runner that passes, Sprint, Southern Challenger and Full. She doesn’t get to sleep much for a couple of days!
My friend Paul always tells me to look out for the red rose of Lancashire as I cross the M62 but I’ve never seen it. He also mentioned an old Roman road. I did know where that was so I took a photo – by now it was very dark.
It was somewhere on this section I nearly had a complete disaster. My left shoulder was aching slightly. The left water bottle was also full of some not particularly pleasant tasting water. I think the safety teams put purification tablets in the jerry cans we fill our bottles from, which is a good idea from a hygiene perspective but does give the water a very ‘chlorine’ taste. Anyway I decided that as I had enough other water to get me to CP1, I could empty the bottle and slightly reduce the load on the shoulder strap. The empty bottle really didn’t want to go into bottle holder. I took my glove off and spent the next five minutes or so wrestling the bottle into the holder. Then I went to put my glove back on… except I’d managed to drop my my glove and be completely unaware of the fact. Slight panic. I did have a second pair (it’s part of the kit list ot have two pairs) but I certainly didn’t want to lose a glove this early on – or at all really. Fortunately my head torch has three settings, adequate for most things (which I’d been using), quite a bit brighter for finding gates and stiles, and daylight. I engaged daylight mode, retraced my steps and fortunately found my glove. I took this as a valuable lesson. At the moment I was quite fresh and with it. Later in the week I would have to be really careful if I removed any kit.
I passed the marshals outside the White House pub and set off into what, in my mind, is the home straight. The run around various reservoirs is straightforward. The run to Stoodley Pike is not difficult either but it does seem to go on for a long while in the dark.
From Stoodley Pike it was mostly downhill to the canal and then most uphill the other side of the valley. There is a short section where the Pennine Way goes between two dry stone walls. This was actually easier in winter as in Summer it was full of rocks and vegetation. In Winter the rocks were still there but the weeds had died off so at least I could see them.
Eventually I reached the road and the diversion to CP1 at Hebden Hey. I carefully negotiated the notoriously slippery steps down to the checkpoint and was greeted by a volunteer and reunited with my drop bag.
Checkpoint One is inevitably quite busy as everyone is still relatively close together so early in the race. I got some food, had some rest, put things on charge and went for a short rest. First leg done and I’m in quite good order, feet are fine and I’ve learned a couple of valuable lessons – don’t jump in puddles and don’t drop stuff. 46 miles down, still a long way to go but so far so good – will it continue? The next leg is the longest and I’m ever so slightly worried about freezing to death on Pen-y-Ghent…
The Only Way Is Pennine... 