Thoughts for a Successful Winter Spine

Climbing out of the cloud on Jacobs Ladder

1 SLEEP!

For a number of years the elite runners at the Spine Race pushed to complete the event with the minimum amount of sleep. Jack Scott enjoyed a total of 54 minutes during his 2024 record breaking run of just under 73 hours. However for those of us at the back of the field who will be out for more than twice as long, and indeed for many faster runners, dialling in sufficient sleep from the outset is key to a successful and ‘enjoyable’ event.

In 2025. I finished the event in good shape, comfortably in control in 159 hours of which 20 plus  were spent asleep. On the final leg across the Cheviots my perception was that many of the other competitors around me seemed to be barely holding it together on less than 10 hours sleep. I was tired but happy with my situation and the sleep monsters never came calling.  My recovery post event was relatively quick and I didn’t suffer any night sweats or other common issues. Four days after crossing the finishing line  I was back at work guiding in the mountains.

My plan was always to sleep at all the checkpoints which would enable me to move faster and make good decisions between them. This also meant that any additional sleeping out on the trail was my decision and all my stops were under cover and made before I dug myself too big a hole.

All my sleeping apart from a few trail naps were based on a normal 90 minute sleep cycle eg sleep stops of 1:30, 3:00 or 4:30 meaning that waking up was easier. In practice my sleep cycle seemed to be slightly less than 90 minutes and as the race wore on I was naturally waking up before my alarm. Importantly I didn’t allow myself to become stressed if I struggled to fall asleep as I figured any down time with my eyes shut would still be hugely beneficial further down the course.

CP 1 Hebden Hay                 1:30
CP 2 Hawes                            3:00
A66 Hunting Lodge              1:30
CP 3 Langdon Beck              2:40
Dufton Bus Stop                    1:30
CP 4 Alston                             4:00
Greenhead Visitor Centre    1:30
CP 5 Bellingham                    1:30
Bryness Church                      3:00
TOTAL                                   20:10

Plus a couple of 5 minute trail naps on Hadrian's Wall and the Cheviots for good measure! 

Dropping down to Ponden Reservoir at dawn

2 Reduce the Tech

I deliberately went very low tech figuring that it was one less thing to worry about. Many of the discussions on the forums prior to the race were concerned with the latest watches and charging issues.

My technical kit consisted of a basic Garmin eTrex 30x GPS with Talky Toaster mapping, a Fenix Headtorch with spare battery. Spare Petzl Actiick headtorch using AAA batetries, an Android phone on airline mode and a very cheap, basic and indestructible Casio watch set to beep every hour to remind me of the passing of time and to keep on top of my nutrition and hydration, an old trick from winter mountaineering and climbing..

Android phone batteries maintain their charge in the cold far better than Apple products. I would usually have gone for an old Nokia brick which is lighter and has an incredible battery life but my secondary navigation system was the OS Mapping app running on my smart phone.

My checkpoint kit only required one plug socket and was set up with a multiway USB plug with enough cables for all my devices. This was contained within a lightweight drybag with my name on it so I could just plug it in and leave it. In the event I did all my charging from power banks as the checkpoints were very busy with limited power options.

Stunning evening at Cow Green Reservoir

3 Dial in your navigation system

I carried my Garmin eTrex 30x GPS on a short tether attached to my OMM chest pouch. It worked flawlessly and despite 95% of the route being new to me I never went significantly off route. The joystick system meant I was able to use the unit with gloves on and it’s also powered by 2 replaceable AA batteries so no issues with running out of power. It was a simple process to grab the unit at regular intervals and check my position.

I simplified my unit set up for ease of use when sleep deprived and had the following screens available to me. 

1. Satellite screen displaying BNG grid reference
2. Talky Toaster mapping with route marked and my position
3. Trip computer displaying time, elevation, sunrise, sunset, BNG grid reference and battery status
4. Menu screen for accessing the current track GPX

To conserve battery power I simply followed the marked route across the map rather than having the GPS track and guide me. I also only used the American GPS system, switched off WAAS, EGNOS, etc and had a 15 second  screen timeout but did have the backlight automatically come on when I pressed a button to help my tired eyes. I also had separate GPX files for each leg as the unit only has limited processing power.

My back up was the OS mapping app on my phone with the GPX files and maps downloaded for use offline and finally a map and full size compass for if the tech went down.

The radar station at Great Dun Fell

4 Go heavyweight with your poles

Dropping down to Ponden Reservoir less than 24 hours into the event  we came across a competitor who was seriously considering bailing as he’d snapped a pole in a slip and mentally was struggling to see how he could complete the distance with the one remaining. Many event blogs also mention broken poles as a recurring issue so it made sense to use my bombproof ski mountaineering poles. Although heavier they were unlikely to break, were designed to be used with gloves, were easy to adjust in the cold and the large snow baskets gave more support in the deep snow and bogs than the usual small running ones.

Somewhere north of Hadrian's Wall

5 Unrelenting Forward Progress

My aim was always just to complete the event within the time limit of 168 hours. To achieve this I planned to always be moving forwards or working towards that goal eg walking, sleeping or eating. This approach coupled with banking a reasonable amount of time over the first couple of legs allowed me to pace myself over the rest of the challenge and there was never the pressure of clock watching. My successful Bob Graham 20 years ago was run on feel without a watch and there is definitely something liberating about not stressing too much about time and just focusing on keeping a comfortable forward momentum. ​

Sunrise on Hadrian's Wall

6  Don’t Recce

I feel like I’m in a minority in that I don’t like to recce the course prior to the event. The novelty of moving forward into new areas and reflecting back on the route completed so far seems a far more positive experience than knowing what is to come and counting down the miles. Certainly for me racing on routes I know is far tougher mentally

Sunrise on Hadrian's Wall

7  Train by walking
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My Spine training averaged out at around 35 miles per week but this was mainly walking in the hills so plenty of time on my feet with a weight on my back, on rough terrain and with plenty of climbing and descending. Again thinking back to my successful Bob Graham this was run after a winter season guiding in the Scottish mountains. No speed work or interval sessions! You only have to average 1.6 miles an hour if you don’t stop!