UKC

The Spine Race starts on Saturday morning.

It's a run of 268 miles over the Pennine way in seven days... hard core!

http://thespinerace.com

That's about 38 miles per day for each of the 7 days, wow!

In reply to Tony the Blade:

Aye, epic stuff... Especially when you consider the conditions they had last year. Should be a slightly "easier" prospect this year. Very tempted to enter next year - proper adventure

In reply to 24tom:

A tough day today by the looks of things. 3 Brits retiring in day 1.

In reply to Tony the Blade:

Yes, deeply disappointing to have to retire from a race at any time, but must have been gutting to leave so early. Spotted via twitter that one chap had an injury and hobbled out. It'll have been a cold night for them too.

In reply to Tony the Blade:

Better than the first year, 2011 I think it was, if I remember correctly of about 15 competitors 12 dropped out on day one in perfect (but a bit cold) high pressure weather. I think only 2 finished, but someone might correct me.

It looks like Pavel's race to lose now, just gone through Greenhead so about 65 miles (105km) to go - although Steve Holyoak is giving him a run for his money (npi)

This looks gruelling, to say the least.

In reply to Tony the Blade:

Andy Mouncey (#57) seems to be taking a bit of a detour at the moment...

In reply to thedatastream:

Looks like he's retired

In reply to Tony the Blade:
That's pretty gutting, he's spent most of this year preparing for this


Tracker here: http://spine.opentracking.co.uk/race/

In reply to thedatastream:

That tracker is brilliant, you can even see when any of them get lost or take a short cut.

In reply to ablackett:

Yes it is good, isn't it? I am addicted to checking up on people I don't know! What I can't quite get my head around though is just how hard this challenge is. It's the fact it is in winter and specifically with a lot less daylight I think that really gets me! Good nav and mental strength required, but I still can't quite imagine what it would be like (though the fact it is too hard for me I do know).

In reply to mountainbagger:

No great surprise then, Pavel Paloncy has won. However, the great surprise is that he's smashed the record.

He managed to run the Pennine Way, all 268 miles, in a staggering 110 hours and 45 minutes (that's 4 days and 14 hours)

the man's a machine. Well done Pavel.

In reply to Tony the Blade:

Matt Davis - Finished at 6:52 this morning (118hrs 31mins)

and Steve Holyoak has just finished with a time of 119hrs 24mins

Next in should be Damien Hall making it a trio of Brits 2nd to 4th

BTW the record prior to this years event was 124hrs 52mins - so all first three finishers have beaten it.

In reply to Tony the Blade:

A staggering achievement to even finish.

It's going on my fantasy race list

In reply to thedatastream:

It's a phenominal acheivement, but it's very much a fantasy race for me!

In reply to thedatastream:



Mine too, and that's where it'll stay!

In reply to Tony the Blade:
The challenge must be as much mental as physical...

Also, if it carries 4 UTMB points, HOW HARD MUST THE UTMB BE???

In reply to thedatastream:

afaia you 'only' need 4 points to enter the UTMB, so by running The Spine you automatically become eligible.

In reply to Tony the Blade:




Is that running time or actual time?

In reply to johnj:

Actual time - once you start your time is logged on completion.

In reply to Tony the Blade:

No - you need 7 points accumulated in 3 races, I think.

Fair play to anyone who takes on the Spine though, and the winning time is something else.

In reply to Tony the Blade:

Cheers, that is quick. Good effort to em all!

In reply to robthered:


My mistake, you're quite correct...

To register for the 2014 UTMB®, it is necessary to have obtained a minimum of 7 points for finishing, between 01/01/2012 and 31/12/2013 exclusively (*), some of the races on this list. The 7 points must have been acquired from a maximum of 3 races.

In reply to Tony the Blade:

I think they changed it recently to make it harder/very hard to get the points without having done a 100 miler.

I only know this stuff but it's my long term goal. I'm going to run and finish UTMB before my 40th...

(that's 9 years by the way! Proper long term!)