Spine Race Day 02 update from The Spine Team
Beautiful morning but a little cold
Continuing on from an insane first day that saw us lose 6 out of the 16 racers due to injury or fatigue, we thankfully have a much less dramatic day to report. Although, we are sure the racers are still feeling the strain!
As you may or may not be aware we are a non-stop race. The clock doesn’t stop when you reach a checkpoint. You’re on your own clock so this translated into a very early start for most.
268 miles of easy going terrain guaranteed 
It was a very cold morning as the racers made their way on to the moors with -5c temperatures reported. Mixed with low cloud this meant a very chilly start!
The overall race leader, Mark Brooks, who is competing in the 100 mile Challenger Class was first in and first out of checkpoint 1. He has continued his impressive pace throughout the day and we are expecting him to arrive at the 100 mile finish line at between approximately 10pm-12am.
Mark Caldwell, the leading elite athlete is setting an impressive pace out of CP1 and is trailing Mark (Brooks) like a bloodhound! Not wanting to be in 2nd place at any stage he has his eyes set on catching, and possibly beating Mark (B) to CP2. We tried to tell Mark (C) to pace himself but he just grinned sadistically….
It seems that in times of great hardship we all unite under the same banner or in this case 3 banners. Some teams have formed on the course to help each other reach the finish line and beat this monster of a course. The unoffical teams are:
- Richard Lendon, Gary Morrison and Steve Thompson
- Jonathan Zeffert and Karl Baker
- Tim Robinson, Andrew Collister and Brian Mullan
- Team Caldwell… (supported by his father Dougie)
The unofficial teams are well under way. Richard, Gary and Steve spotted at SD 906 581 are rounding Malham Tarn and aim to push on to CP2 (Hawes) tonight. They are really enjoying themselves and unsurpsingly they stopped off at a café – we are sure this was at Gary’s request! With fat bellies and an incredible team spirit we aim to see them at around 4am (16.01.2012).
The lone runners lead!
Jonathan Zeffert and Karl Baker are also pushing hard to catch those in front. Their aim is to stay out tonight and keep pushing for Hawes.
Tim, Andrew and Brian were through a substantial portion of the trip to Pen-y-Ghent and are through Gargrave and are looking to bivi out this evening.
Everyone who is left in the race is doing unbelieveably well, in what many thought was an impossible race. They will no doubt keep on pushing themselves onwards and edge closer to the finish.
A special note regharding Richard Lendon, who has never officially recorded a distance of above 50 miles – well done! You’re in possibly the hardest race in Britain, still pushing on and getting closer to the finish, great job!
More updates will follow.
Emails
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All of our team are currently supporting the race in the field, either at checkpoints, vehicles or on the course. We have limited access to emails so all non urgent emails will be dealt with post the race.
We will do our best to convey messages of support. For safety reasons they will be carrying their mobile phones and will more than likely be checking these at checkpoints.
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