Spine Sprint 2022 Full Kit List & Training Tips

All thirty items of kit (and a bit more), ready to go!

One of the biggest challenges of the Winter Spine Sprint race is getting to the start line with the correct gear, but once you’ve got it all you’ve still got to run 74km and 2,700m ascent through the night, and that was a totally new challenge for me. Here are the training tips I would pass on to anyone taking on the race for the first time:

RECCE I walked the route in summer and wild camped along the way. As well as becoming familiar with the Pennine Way, it gave me an idea of a realistic time and pace while carrying extra weight.

TRAIN WITH THE FULL KIT In total my pack weighed around 10.5kg. That extra weight will crush you if you don’t get a feel for how your bag fits and how the weight affects your running. I did one long run (40km-ish) a month with the packed bag in the two months leading up to the race. I didn’t take the full bag on every training run, but I did walk with it a lot.

TRAIN IN BAD WEATHER The conditions on the hill make this Britain’s Most Brutal race, it’s vital to be prepared. You need to know that your kit will keep you warm and dry through cold, wet, ice and wind for hours on end. Extreme conditions leave no margin for error - you’ll have to make quick decisions about kit and have your systems down so you can change gear efficiently on the move.

USE POLES In general UK fell runners don’t use poles and plenty just prefer not to. The Pennine Way isn’t the steepest or most technical route, but in icy, boggy and windy conditions over this distance, they were vital for me to keep my balance, save my back and help on both the uphill and downhill. I didn’t use microspikes, although others did.

TIME ON FEET I’m not a particularly high mileage ultra runner (partly because I’ve been busy writing a walking guidebook). In 2021 my strava recorded 2/3 running 1/3 hiking, but a 20+ km walk with the race backpack is still good training, especially learning to eat and drink to keep the energy up on a full day out.

Refiiling with Mountain Fuel Extreme Energy Fuel at the Standedge checkpoint

SPINE SPRINT FULL KIT LIST WITH KIT-CHECK COMPLIANT BRANDS (2022)

For the Winter Spine Sprint we were required to carry 30 items of compulsory kit, which is the same as the Challenger and full Spine races, since this race is the ‘entry level’ event of the series. It took a huge amount of time and research to get all my gear together, chosen based on the optimum combination of light weight and budget. Here’s every item I carried - all of them passed the kit check, but the race organisers provide an up to date kit list before each race so that’s your bible!

1 - Backpack: Montane Trailblazer 30l

2 - Sleeping bag, lower limit 0 degrees: Rab Neutrino

3 - Sleeping mat: Alpkit Cloudbase

4 - Shelter/bivvy bag: Alpkit Hunka

5 - Cooking stove, 100g Gas & 400mm mug: Alpkit Brukit

6 - Headtorch (100 lumens min): LED Lenser NEO10R & backup headtorch LED Lenser NEO6R

7 - 3000cal food from start: Mountain Fuel in bottles, MF flapjack & MF Sports Jellies, cheese sandwiches & banana

Wearing

8 - Waterproof jacket (10,000mm hh min): Montane Fleet

9 - Warm gloves x2: 1 (must be waterproof): Montane Prism dryline waterproof gloves, 2 (must have fingers): Montane VIA Trail Glove

10 - Neck gaiter: one on head, one on neck/face

11 - Spare cold weather mid layer: Rab synthetic jacket

12 - Appropriate footwear: Hoka Speedgoat

13 - Rear red light: Alpkit Blip x2

Used on route

14 - GPS Device: Garmin etrex 62s & 4x spare batteries

15 - 2l water carrying capacity: Katadyn Be Free water filter & 4x Mountain Fuel Extreme Energy in 500ml bottles. I carried 1l water at any one time.

To hand if needed in bad conditions (not used)

16 - Waterproof trousers (taped seams): Decathlon

17 - Microspikes: Pogu

18 - Clear goggles with strap: Bolle Tracker

Compulsory items (in separate drybags)

19 - Warm hat

20 - Spare dry socks

21 - Spare baselayer top (long sleeves): Icebreaker

22 - Spare baselayer leggings (full length): Montane VIA

23 - Map: Harveys Pennine Way South

24 - Compass: Silva Field compass

25 - Knife (3cm blade)

26 - Spork: Titanium knife and fork

27 - Matches/lighter for stove: Lifesystems firesteel

28 - Whistle: Dog whistle

29 - Medical kit (as specified in race guidance)

30 - Mobile phone in waterproof cover & charging lead

Not compulsory

Waterproof overgloves - Montane Minimus waterproof mitts

Liner gloves - Arc'teryx

Spare gloves - Inov8 mittens

Dry bags x3

Poles

TOTAL WEIGHT: Around 10.5kg

If you’re a real gear geek and you’d like an email copy of my spreadsheet listing every item and calculating weight (plus price!) to use as a basis for your own planning, get in touch via the Contact Me page.