Oh boy! What a race we have in store. The line-up for this year’s Spine race is awesome. There are only one or two past winners who will not be on the start line. Pavel, Damian, John Kelly, Eugeni and myself will all be there. That’s 9 previous wins in that collection. The fastest Spiner in history is a notable absentee. But Jasmin’s husband is listed to start, so I’d guess we’ll see her at some stage. Tom Hollins is lined up to compete in the Challenger North. He must be getting soft in his old age 🙂
There are several more runners who are well capable of winning or getting on the podium to add to the pile! Kim Collision, Jack Scott (second last year, with one of the all time fastest runs), Rory Harris, James Leavesley, Dougie Zinis, Mark Potts are all runners who will be at the top end of the field.
With such a massive deep field this year is much harder than usual to predict what is likely to happen. With so many fast runners it’s very likely that the pace will be extremely fast from the start. Whoever is going to win this race will have to push themselves right to their limits without crossing over them. That’s always a tricky balancing act, particularly in a race this long. As a result I think we’re likely to see a very exciting dynamic race, with lots of back and forth, and probably a few dramatic exits.
If I was pushed I’d say that the most likely ones to win would be Damian, John, or Jack, with Kim only slightly behind those 3. But they are all so capable that it’s likely that form will be the separator. And nobody will have enough knowledge to know which of those will have the best form in the race. That just makes it all the more exciting. Eugeni has the speed to mix in with those runners too. But he is so unpredictable that it just seems a little less likely he would emerge in front of all of them
One thing I can predict with certainty is I will not be mixing it in with those runners at the front of the field. Even at my best I don’t think I would have been able to catch those 4 at their best. But I’m now 55, and I have been feeling myself losing speed with each passing year for a few years now. I’ve still got all the other tools in the set to compete to win, but without speed that will be nowhere near enough.
So I’ll just be heading out to enjoy the race, compete at my own level (try to compete in my age category, even though there are no “official” age categories or prizes), enjoy the spectacle of the race from an inside viewpoint, and make it to the finish with as little pain and suffering as I can.
The weather forecast is looking as good as you could get for the Spine. It’s quite possible we could have an almost completely dry race, with just the occasional bit of precipitation. With the temperatures forecast to be quite low, the precipitation could well be in the form of snow. All that is about the most straightforward conditions we could hope for. Perhaps a little too straightforward from a Spine tradition point of view. Time will tell. That’ll be another factor adding to a potentially very fast winning time.
The female race also has a collection of strong runners likely to be competing for the podium. Claire Bannwarth is returning to defend her title. I was chatting with her after her very impressive win at the 360 Challenge in Gran Canaria,and she was saying she was hoping to get the full Spine experience of having to deal with being battered by British winter storms. I reckon she has to be the favourite to win again.
Anna Troup is another past Spine winner who will be at the front of the field if she is in good form. Hopefully she can race fully back to her best, free of injuries that have caused her problems.
Then there is Nicky Spinks (My Barkley running partner). Nicky has a long history of excellent performances in tough events. She recently won the Cheviot Goat, which seems to indicate that she will be in good shape for the Spine (The Spine finishes on the Cheviots). Even though its her first Spine she should be able to run it like a veteran.
Elaine Blisson is back, having had a great race last year. She’ll likely be competing for a podium spot as well.
In both categories I’ve likely missed a few runners who will emerge as contenders as the race progresses. There are plenty of names entered who I am completely unfamiliar with.
It’s great to see a good Irish contingent taking Part. Irene Finnegan was going well last year when injury took her out. She’s back to put that to right. My old friend (in every sense!) Brian Hutchinson will also be competing in the full Spine this year. He won the Northern Challenge last year. I’d be very happy to run with Brain out there if our paces align. I’ve known Brian since my college days! Neither of us were runners back then. It’s funny how life creates these loops.
I barely mentioned the other Spine races which will also be happening. There are quite a few notable runners (including another interesting batch of Irish runners) across those races. They should also make for good dot watching. The Northern Challenge looks particularly interesting.
As ever, one of the great things about the Spine is that all of us runners are primarily dots on the live tracker! The live tracking is always superb. The races can all be tracked at https://live.opentracking.co.uk/spinerace24/. The Spine race itself is scheduled to start at 8a.m. on Sunday Morning (January 14th).
It gets easier to pack for these races with experience. Mostly I will be using gear that has worked well for me over the years in this race. There’s one or two new bits on the go though. I’ll be using my Garmin Epix watch as my main navigation device. I’ll also be using two pairs of Columbia Escape Thrive Endure waterproof shoes. These have a huge amount of cushioning in them, and strike me as excellent shoes for a race like the Spine.
So over 400km with over 10000m of climbing, in whatever weather the British winter throws at us, lies ahead, as I make my way up the Pennines (The Spine of England) across the border to finish in Scotland. I’ll be at least 4 days out there. Even with all the experience I have with this race, it is still going to be an adventure which will test me all the way!
Eoin Keith 