Debate
MY BEST RUN Whitley Pike on the Pennine Way
Debbie Martin-Consani on the irresistible misery of the Spine Race
Debbie Martin-Consani
It pushes you to the brink of your capabilities
“I’ve always been an avid follower of the Spine Race, as it terrified and intrigued me at the same time. In January 2020, I took on the event, which starts in the Peak District and covers the full 268 miles of the Pennine Way over the border into Scotland.
The appeal of what is regarded as one of the world’s toughest races is strangely the inevitable misery. The endless miles of unforgiving and unrelenting bog, sleep deprivation, self-navigation, limited daylight hours and the challenge of dealing with all the conditions that the good old British winter throws at you. Last year we had Storm Brendan to contend with too; only one night of snow, but lots of rain to make the conditions more arduous than normal.