Lloyd Biddell

As mentioned in my preamble the Spine Race is no ordinary event and was the big one I had on the horizon for many months after it was cancelled last year.  This was meant to be the race to finish my running 'career' and what a way it would be to sign off!  I had promised my wife that post Spine I would tone it down. The short story (read spoiler alert) is that I DNF'd - Did Not Finish.  In all of the races I've ever done, this is a first for me, I cannot ever recall having not ever finished a race I've entered.  I've always found a way.  Essentially the race sucked me in and spat me back out in disdain.  This is the story of what happened... The Story... Start to CP1 (Hebden Bridge) After checking in at the Rambler Inn at Edale, I went to my allocated slot to register and have my kit checked.  As always with me, as my number ended in a 1, I had a full kit check but to be honest everything passed without problem and soon enough I was on my way.  That just left a

This is the big one. In a few days I will be starting the 2022 Spine Race which is a 268 mile non-stop race that follows the entire length of the Pennine Way from Edale to Kirk Yetholm.  Just to make it even more spicier, it is held in January so you have to face the best that British weather can throw at you and you have to be self-sufficient, albeit there are five checkpoints along the way where you can replenish. I've purposely done zero recceing of the route as I want it to be an adventure, even if this compromises the race aspect.  I do know bits here and there, such as the first four miles out of Edale and the bit that overlaps the Hadrians Wall Path, but in the main most of it will be totally new to me.  This should add to the 'fun', but whether it will feel like fun when lost at 3am having had no sleep time will tell! Frankly, the thought of the Spine scares me in a way that the Marathon des Sables didn't.  Whilst ultra-marathons were a new phenomena to me, the