2026 Spine

Northern Race

Start at Hardraw to Langdon Beck  - 40 miles Arrived 04:36 so 10.36 hours

With the new start at 6pm on Sunday Jon kindly drove me down and then waited until the start so I could shelter in his car. I was looking forward to setting off and just getting a few miles done. It was cold and there was a lot of ice about but the forecast was due to warm up.

Setting off we immediately hit ice and a few runners stopped to put the spikes on but I was coping ok and the ice was really thin. We headed up and up and the ice gave way to frozen paths which was ok. There was a bitter cold wind. In the dark it was more about head down plodding as you had to concentrate on where you were putting your feet.

Heading down into Keld I had fallen a lot of times and stopped to put my Taktracks on but the were pretty useless on the ice to be honest. I had really had enough of falling over despite being careful and I had bashed my left side a lot including my knee that I was worried about. I enjoyed the hike up to Tan Hill and dived into the barn to get hot soup and fill my coffee up. I had been passing and getting passed by Elaine Bisson a lot and she came into the barn while I was there. She left at the same time and I wondered if she would like company overnight. We went to the toilet and I waited for her to come out. We set off together and started chatting.

It was good running with Elaine as we kept each other going. The weather was miserably cold and we had to keep an eye out for ice patches. Navigation also was hard but between us we did ok. I knew that it was a long way to Langholm and we both wanted to keep the pace going to make it go quicker. We had no idea where we were in the field and we didn't want to know either. As we approached Langdon Beck we discussed how long to stop for and agreed an hour with no sleep.

Hannah Rickman was there supporting and she was a superstar helping get our food and anything we needed doing. We were soon out and on our way.

Langdon Beck to Alston - 32 miles Arrived Monday 15:51 Total 21.51 hours

Yet again because of the ice we had to do the Diversion around Cauldron Spout. I hate this diversion as it's a lot of roads. I had loaded them onto my gps though and knew the way which was a good thing as it wasn't marked. Back on the normal route and up High Cup Nick in daylight was great. We both felt good running into Dufton although Elaine was complaining of a pain in the knee. Into the checkpoint we went and Elaine wanted to get her knee taped. She was allowed extra time for this however I wasn't and so reluctantly I left and slowly set off with Rory (who we had both ran with in 2024)

 Elaine caught us before the climb to Cross Fell and we ploughed on as the weather came in and it was pretty horrid with driving rain and a strong wind. I was glad I had the handheld as it was impossible to follow the path. There was a big slab of ice before Gregs Hut that we avoided and then we gratefully went inside.

It was lovely and warm in Gregs hut and we had to take our jackets off in the first room. Asking for noodles  we sat next to John Bamber in front of the fire.  We quickly ate the noodles and got on our way. The long contouring track went on forever and we were glad to be dropping down to Garrigil. Annie was outside her house and we both headed in glad of some more nourishment. We just had a cup of tea and then headed off as we both needed a sleep.

When we got into Alston we had food - baked potatoes with beans and cheese. A marshall asked us how Cross Fell had been because the first lady said it was awful and so we assumed that we were well behind her. We both wanted to sleep and decided on 30 minutes so went up to the bunk room where we were the only occupants. I went to sleep straight away and after 30 minutes woke up. Elaine was asleep but I had to wake her. We both got up and went to have more food.

As we were doing kit check a lady came down the stairs. Elaine and I looked at one another but didn't say anything.  We didn't really compute who it might be and even when we left we never discussed what position we might be.

Alston to Bellingham - 38 miles Arrived Tuesday 08:50 Total 38.50 hours

It was only when we met Elaine's husband on the road he said "You've pulled a blinder" and we questioned him and he said we had just overtaken the first lady. It was a bit of a shock and to be honest I don't think either of us really wanted to think about racing at that point. However from that moment on we did think about racing. Elaine especially speeded up and I had to remind her we had a long way to go.

As in 2024 when I opened up a gap on 2nd/3rd ladies to Bellingham I knew if we kept going at a good pace then we should be able to open up a gap. We went really well through the day to Hadrian's Wall however as soon as it got dark we were like walking zombies. We kept looking behind on Hadrian's Wall convinced we were going so slowly that we would be caught but we couldn't see anyone. Then the forest was awful - we couldn't even stay on track. I led us off into the forest on a trod and we had to bash our way back onto the path. We were so glad to get to Horneystead and have soup and a coffee to wake us up a bit.

Again as we headed into Bellingham we were hardly talking and afterwards the marshalls said we looked terrible. But we went through the motions of eating, sorting our bags and then went to sleep. I was trying to get a time out of Elaine but she really wasn't with it and just said 45 minutes. We went into separate tents and I set my alarm for 30 minutes. I woke after 20 minutes and deliberated what to do. I could hear Elaine asleep but I wanted more food so I quietly got up and went into the hall. I ordered food and was eating when Elaine appeared thankfully. As we were getting kit checked the 2nd lady came in and started getting her bag sorted too.

Bellingham to Burness - 26 miles Arrived Tuesday 16:19 Total 46.19 hours

We set off and I was thinking "We need a plan". Elaine was setting a cracking pace and I thought it was too fast so I talked to her about making sure we just increased our lead. After about an hour the Spine Sprint leaders came passed us and it was great to chat to Damian Hall as they flew past. A steady stream of Spine Sprint came passed us on route to Burness including five strong women runners with Louise Goddard leading. We ran a lot and it was great to feel a lot stronger than I had in 2024 on this section.

Heading into the checkpoint I made a mental note of the time as I wanted to check what time Opentracking said we arrived there because it's a Out and Back into the village and the Tracking only pings every 15 minutes.

I made up my Expedition meal and I checked where 2nd lady was. She was about 4 miles away on her way to Burness. We didn't stop long and headed out. 

Burness to Kirk Yetholm - 26 miles Arrived Wednesday 01:57 Total 55.57 hours

We climbed well and then on the ridge the ice began again and so we put the yaktraks back on. I really hated them and couldn't run properly at all on the flags. I tried to copy Elaine's short steps stride as it was faster than mine but I also just rain in the heather a lot. I think the earlier falls had dented my confidence and I really didn't want to come crashing down again. There was a steady stream of Sprint runners catching us then all of a sudden we had found our place in their race and weren't getting caught anymore. It was good to have the lights in front of us to guide us. As usual Hut 1 takes an absolute age to appear and we were so glad to get there. We had a quick drink, checked the trackers and worked out that we were now an hour ahead of 2nd place. This boosted us along and we were able to push hard along the never ending flags to the top of Auchope Cairn. Running down the steep hillside to Hut 2 I saw a bank of snow and decided to try the Yaktraks out on there to see if that's what they were suitable for. They worked a treat. They are rubbish on ice and one of Elaine's had fallen apart. In Hut 2 we had more hot drinks and there was a spare Yaktrak which Elaine picked up!

Heading off there Elaine was leading and she followed the wrong trod and we were too low. I joked that she was getting her own back on me and the forest bashing! We were in good spirits as we got to the top and ran down. We could see that we had gained more on 2nd Lady and now were pushing ourselves to get a good time and finish before the night was over.

It was fantastic to run down the road and through the finish funnel, Joint first ladies in a time of 55.57 hours. Thank you Elaine for being a wonderful, running partner for the whole time.

Results - https://live.opentracking.co.uk/spinechallnorth26/