UKC

After a stormy week, the Montane Spine Race is finally over. Rob Greenwood, who spent much of the time glued to a screen watching the trackers move steadily north, brings us a summary of the race along the full length of the Pennines.

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In reply to UKC/UKH News:

I've been wondering about this through the week, but do people know what Spine Racers wear on their feet? I presumed most would go for quick drying trail running shoes, but presumably in January that means you would be spending 87 hours up with wet (and I bet often cold) feet. Can feet stand up to being soaked and punished like that? I think in one of the videos I saw someone wearing some Hoka hiking boots - I noticed because I have the same model, one of the more quirky things I've been asked to review over the years! - these are waterproof with eVent and I've been pretty impressed with them in that respect. I can jog in mine, so I imagine real runners could run in a pair, and I suppose most people end up walking more than running towards the end?

I managed to get a few blisters and bumps doing about the first 50 miles of the PW this summer in a pair of well tested, super comfy trail shoes - in warm, mainly dry conditions and where I stopped reasonably regularly to wash my feet and let them air a bit in streams and lakes. I can't imagine how hard it is on your feet in January doing the full 270!

In reply to TobyA:

Most popular combo will be a fairly sturdy trail running shoe (goretex or not is up for debate, each has pros and cons), sized up to fit waterproof socks (Sealskinz or Dexshell) and a liner sock. There is a footwear survey being run on the spine FB page, I'll try to remember to post the results when they come out

In reply to TobyA:

I was wondering about John Kelly's pack.
Having looked at the kit list, I can imagine he was wearing and carrying most of it.  But what sleeping bag and mat did he have, because his backpack was tiny!

Nice looking pack btw, anyone know what it was?

In reply to Taylor's Landlord:

Ultimate Direction pre production model, available in the spring I believe. Might be a race vest 5 but not sure

In reply to Taylor's Landlord:

One of the little videos showed him being kit checked towards the end and he pulled something out - bivvy bag maybe - and my thought was, well that's shrivelled up in the cold! I guess he gets the best stuff going from sponsors, some of the later finishers seemed to have much more 'normal' backpacking kit.

I did notice how much clothing many of them seemed to be wearing - I guess skinny runners going through vast amounts of energy, even when you are moving constantly you aren't generating the type of heat that a middle aged bloke like me manages walking uphill at a reasonable pace! 

In reply to TobyA:

Hi Toby,

I just posted the following over on the other Spine related thread, which is likely to be relevant as I am pretty confident that feet/footwear/footcare will come up within the article:

" I too am intrigued, hence asked Nikki Sommers - who came 4th in the women's category - if she could write an article for us based around her experiences of the event.

From the outside looking in it's quite hard to grasp how exactly you'd approach the race given that it doesn't have distinct stages such as the Dragon's Back/Cape Wrath Ultra. As a result there's a lot of tactics involved around when to rest and when to push on, how far to push yourself, and how lightweight you choose to go given that the weather is clearly going to be awful.

Not sure of an exact ETA, as Nikki has just got back to work, but keep an eye out - it's definitely coming."

In reply to UKC/UKH News:

I am truly in awe of all the athletes who complete this race. Huge congratulations to all.