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The Spine Challenger race – Post-event catch-up.

As both Andy and I competed in it and we both have our own stories from the event we thought it best to bring in a guest presenter this month.

And this is Jane, my long-suffering wife, who also has her own Spine story after spending lots of time in the area, both when I was personally out doing my recce’s of the route and also running around, dropping off, dot watching and just like Andy and myself getting very little sleep during the event itself.

If you have not already done so, please go back and listen to last month’s podcast, when we had our pre-event chat, if you are looking for the ‘back story’.

If you can support us –

Jon – https://www.justgiving.com/team/jonspine

Andy – https://www.justgiving.com/team/andyayrespinechallenger

1. So, if people don’t know Andy, what is the Summer Spine Challenger South race?

   108 miles in total

60 hours to complete

Total Ascent: 5451 metres, 17,883 feet
1 checkpoint (Hebdon Bridge) – 46 miles
Soft checkpoint (1.5) (Malham Tarn) – 84.5 miles

2. How far to did each of you get?
   – Andy

– Jon

3. Let’s go all the way back to the start, we actually the day before – Registration – kit check – Friday afternoon, day before the event

– Kit check

– tracker – received the Saturday morning

– Race number

4. Race morning – Start to CP1 (Hebdon Bridge) – 46 miles

– Progress

– Difficulty

– Weather

– How did each of you manage – highs/ lows/ speed/ difficulty

– Time arrived – CP1 – what did you do at CP and what time did you get away?

– Jon
– Andy

5. CP1 – CP 1.5 – 46 miles to 84.5 miles (38.5 miles leg)

– Andy, take us through the xx miles from CP1, how did you feel initially, when did things start taking a turn for the worse?

– Nausea – when did this start Andy?
What where you feeling
– Andy reached – Lothersdale – Mileage 64 miles ish – Time ??

Talk me through those 20 miles from CP1 to Lothersdale?

How did you get back and where did you get back to.

• Jon, you hooked up with x 3 walkers coming out of CP1, was this planned? I know you where still with them when I met you at xxx yyy
• Weather leaving CP1
• Daylight
• Feet
• I met you at Lothersdale, a little bit of a Father’s Day surprise?
• Your next stop was Gargrave (74 miles in – 28 miles into day 2), I know this was a key point to get to as it was one of the few places you could stock up with supplies – Co-op

6. Then I met you again at Malham – 83.5 miles

• Weather was a little different than the last time we walked that section, was the Ice Cream van there?

7. CP1.5 – Malham Tarn

– Rain

– I was hoping to sleep just after CP1.5, but with the weather I decided to push on

• Fountains Fell – tent, started to hallucinate.
• Dropped down to Rainscar road – just before climb up to Peny-y-Ghent
• Slept – 12.30 – 1.00 am
• Pen-y-Ghent summit – 2.00 am

Horton in Ribblesdale – 4.20 am – leader overtook me at 4.00 am – official footage from the Spine Race

• Finish 12.04 – Hardraw, just past Hawes