Winter Spine Sprint preparation

I over-thought and planned and stressed about this so much!

What's involved

70km from Edale to Hebden Bridge along the Pennine Way.

No proper luxury aid stations. At a few road crossings Mountain Rescue teams have gazebos to give a little respite from the conditions and offer drinks. (we're encouraged not to rely on these being here as the teams may be called away to attend an emergency).

It starts noon, so there's 4 1/2 hours of daylight, and then the rest in darkness.

Being January the weather is usually difficult

Why am I doing this? (pre-race thoughts)

Not just a rhetorical question, you do need to have a decent answer to this, for a race of this nature, or you'd just not bother, or quit at the first obstacle. It involves a fair amount of cost, and the commitment to training and preparation is significant, and then once you're out there it's going to be pretty tough. I can't believe anyone cruises through these things effortlessly.

My answer is that I've found I really enjoy ultra running challenges, and just get a lot of pleasure from completing them and solving the problems that come up.

This one in particular throws up some new conditions, which I'm looking forward to. Saying that, I have my eyes open to the fact that as I'm doing it, this won't be super "type 1" fun.

It's also an exploration of the extent of what I can do in a few ways, which is a good thing generally and it will help me choose what to take on next. I wouldn't have thought I'd want to attempt the full Winter Spine, say - but having had a taste, perhaps I'll feel differently, or go the other way and definitively rule out any more winter events.

I'll learn something about myself, undoubtedly...

Approach / strategy

I'm not kidding myself I'm going to be racing near the front, or that I'll be focussed on pace the whole way, but I do have an ambition to finish with a sense of satisfaction that I did the best job possible. I was pleased to finish mid-pack in the Summer, but who knows with this one, so much depends on the conditions and how I cope with them.

The one pace based number I have in mind is: if I can average 10 min/km from the start to Torside reservoir (25 km) then I'll arrive there before sunset. I'd like to make as much headway before dark as possible, and this seems do-able.

I'm not intending to deliberately join up with anyone else, I'll try and run my own race for the most part - but if it feels right to form a bit of a partnership if the weather's bad, or over a tough part of the route, then it may be best.

After Torside, it's the section I'm most apprehensive about, so that might the time for some teamwork if anyone will put up with me - over Laddow Rocks (a rough path at the top of steep cliffs), bogginess up to Black Hill, many streams to ford, and all in the dark. I expect a big feeling of relief when I reach the A635 at Wessenden and that bit is behind me. (Saying that may tempt fate for the weather to suddenly deteriorate at exactly that point!)

Not finishing is also a possibility, and I shouldn't be too disappointed if that happens.

Preparation

I'll split this into 4 sections:

1. Physical training
2. Mental preparation
3. Kit
4. Route familiarity 

Physical training

Training hasn't gone as well as I'd have liked. For nearly three years I'd kept up a plan of doing at least one marathon distance run each month. That came to an end in September, and due to a few minor injuries, the autumn/winter has involved less running. I really don't think physical fitness will limit my performance. Although I feel less fit than i was in the summer, I've recovered from the injuries, and that's more important.

Mental preparation

For some previous races I've done a lot of detailed planning - not so much on this one. I'm generally confident with many aspects, but I've still managed to think about this a lot.

Having done this distance before, on this exact course, it's "only" the Winter conditions and the darkness that are new or different to me. That's the exciting challenge I'm looking forward to, but there are some serious hazards on this race in Winter, and I've spent a fair amount of time considering them. Partly this is to be practically prepared, but it's a lot to do with the mental aspects. This has necessarily forced me to dwell on the negatives a little.

I'm a little surprised this aspect of the race doesn't get talked about so much in the online chatter - either everyone else is so confident they won't get scared, or it's just not that easy to talk about to strangers, whereas almost every item of kit gets discussed at huge length (e.g. which trowel to get, the weight of a mug, etc.).

It's a long time - up to 18 hours - out there, in a state which is unusual - certainly for me, with my comfortable mainly office based job and nicely heated home. While you are out there, making clear decisions is really important - for example, pulling out of the race may be the wisest and safest option. It's not all about toughing it out.

I've thought my way through some of the worst case weather scenarios. so there will be fewer things that will take me completely by surprise.

I have on a couple of occasions found myself going into what I think is the start of a mild panic attack on hills. I'm glad this didn't happen for the first time on a winter race. I've found that calming down my breathing, walking for a bit and distracting my brain are what's needed to get back on an even keel.

I'm a bit afraid of the dark, I don't know if grown-ups are allowed to admit that. Not in everyday life, but being on a hillside in pitch black is an unfamiliar experience. That's one of the reasons I'm doing the race, to face that fear. A couple of years ago I was out on a training run and my head torch failed. That's the first time in my life I remember being in such total darkness, and i was a bit alarming for a moment.

I also find I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder to an extent, not as bad as some people, but winters are a struggle at times. There can be a feeling of an oppressive mental fog which is hard to fight through. Daylight may lift my mood, but there won't be any for most of this race!

It genuinely feels useful to take stock of these limitations and be aware of them. Ultra races like this are a bit of an emotional rollercoaster to use a cliché - but if I know in advance how I tend to cope, it helps me to separate what I need to practically deal with, and lowers the chances of it all just overwhelming me in the moment.

I tend to suffer fairly bad from imposter syndrome, in most/all walks of life (maybe this is what a lot of this is about), and I'm sure there'll be an element of that at the race check-in too. 

Kit

The kit list for many ultras is basically making sure you have a drink and a waterproof jacket. The Winter Spine list is 25 pages long, contains 31 mandatory items, and now has a series of blog articles written to explain it further, as well as endless online discussions. It's mainly there to keep us warm and safe in the event of something going wrong, so the list is the same whether you're doing the Sprint, or the full 268 mile Spine.

I've not spent as much time or money on kit as some people do, and my bag won't be the lightest, but I'm happy I've got the things I need. In addition to the list, I've decided to take:

• Poles. I think almost everyone takes these.
• One extra phone. Since my work phone uses a different network to my personal one, it makes sense to take both.
• Another extra phone (without SIM card). An old one which I can use for taking photos, listening to music, etc, and it won't be the end of the world if it gets wet/destroyed.
• Extra head torches. The minimum requirement is one head torch with spare batteries. I'm taking 2 big head torches, and one small one, and spare batteries. Being stuck in the dark is such a scary prospect to me, some extra weight is well worth it for the peace of mind. Also I should avoid fiddly battery changes, as I can simply switch torches.
• Extra midlayers. We have to take at least one, but I'll take three - a synthetic insulated jacket, a lightweight fleece and a Buffalo mountain shirt. I'd rather have more than I need here too.
• Extra gloves (multiple pairs). Cold hands could be a race ender. Get cold wet hands and it could stop me being able to get food, put on extra layers, even tie my shoes.
• A music player / earphones.
• Two running watches. I don't have one with a long enough battery life to cover the race, so will use two in turn.
• A baseball cap to keep rain off my face

Feet

The constant wetness for hours is a new challenge, and I've decided to go with a new sock combination. I'll use waterproof Sealskinz socks, which I have tried a few times, wading through some streams. They seem to help keep feet warm if not always dry. The bit I've not tested is to use a combination of merino liners, the waterproof socks, and shoes a half size large. It's a popular choice though, so I'm fairly confident it'll be okay. Due to injuries, I've just not had the opportunity for any long test runs since I put it all together.

I'll also pre-tape problem areas on my feet to prevent friction, but don't think feet should be a major concern over this distance. Full Spine would be a very different proposition, but I've done enough runs of this sort of duration to know what to expect.

Route familiarity 

I've covered the whole course before a few times including 2 summer races, so it's not new to me. I've thought myself through the route over and over again. If I ever can't get to sleep, my standard technique is to visualize the Pennine Way. I rarely get to Standedge before dropping off. To be honest I'll be glad to stop thinking about it once this race is behind me.

I'll have a GPS handheld device, and also my phone(s) with mapping apps on, plus a map and compass, so plenty of protection against getting lost. It's more about dealing with conditions on the ground.

Recces

My in-laws live not far from Black Hill, so on the occasions when I've visited, I've nipped up into the hills to get a bit more experience. Here I am on my way up to Black Hill with some black pudding:

And this is the time I took the whole family to Crowden Great Brook:

Proper Pennine weather is one thing that I don't get living in lowland Cheshire, so a couple of weeks ago, at a post-Christmas family gathering at the in-laws, while the wind pounded the house, I took myself up to Dean Clough in the dark for a very short run out. The wind was fairly ferocious, with sporadic horizontal rain, so I got to try out most of my kit including goggles (mandatory), which were a real help.

Some videos

These aren't mine, but I've found these YouTube videos of past winter races helpful in visualising the journey with the winter conditions.

The first one is by an American, Ben Light, who had a couple of attempts at the full Spine. It's an edit of a couple of experiences of his, and someone else's, which is a little confusing in terms of following the continuity of the route, but it tells a good story. A great insight into the race, and I love the incredulous perspective of a foreigner on this unusual peat bog landscape.

Secondly, this is from 2022 Challenger and shows the conditions over the Kinder and Crowden plateaus - very wet! I heard this got even worse as the snow melted - the Sprint starts later than the Challenger. The streams we have to ford were very swollen and Dean Clough was deemed bad enough that a course diversion (via Blackpool Bridge) was put in place, the first time this has happened. As I write this, 3 days before my race, it's been raining heavily for days, so I'd expect similar levels of wetness.

Finally, this from 2020 shows two friends attempting the Challenger together. There's some nice footage of the course in daylight, including bits I'll hit in darkness due to later start time. Weather conditions look relatively benign on this section - although he doesn't film much at night and mentions that was more difficult.

What struck me about this one is that one of the runners quits before the M62 because he was cold and just mentally done in - about 52km in, so less than a third of his race distance. This just shows how tough the race can be, particularly in total darkness, even with company. Watching that gave me a a bit more appreciation for that side of things - and I have to acknowledge my race could end for similar reasons. You're putting yourself in a very extreme situation, outside normal conditions, for a long time, and it's going to affect you emotionally and mentally. There's absolutely no shame in realising you've reached your limit, and it may happen to me.