Winter Spine Challenger South

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 443m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Long race. Control your HR and effort. Early mistakes cost the most.
• Control your HR on the first climb, save your quads on the descents until 68.7km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 167km.
• Start · 0.0km–0.9km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 0.9km–6.6km · Plus 1 more climb. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Work · 6.6km–93.6km · Descent of 443m averaging 8%, descent of 288m averaging 7%. Plus 1 more climb. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Fade · 93.6km–167km · Climb of 522m, high point 692m. Plus 2 more descents. Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Running pays off here: run wherever you can. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 167km–172km · Descent of 332m averaging 7%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Long descent: keep it even and let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 5451m+. With 31m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 31% of the distance is uphill, 31% downhill and 38% flat. The longest climb runs 9.3km at an average 5.6% grade (522m of vertical). The longest descent runs 5.6km at an average 8.0% grade (443m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 32.5% over 0.4km. The steepest descent drops at 25.3% over 0.4km. Surface: 40% smooth, 35% trail, and 20% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 253.9 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Pen-y-ghent (694m), 145km from the start. Other named summits along the route: Kinder Low (633m) and Bleaklow Head (633m).

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 6.3km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 49 of 100), with 47% of the load in the first half: 2 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Control your HR on the first climb, save your quads on the descents until 68.7km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 167km.
• #1 · 19.7–25.3 km · 443 m D−, -7.9% · 146.3 km ahead → control
• #2 · 64.5–68.7 km · 288 m D−, -6.9% · 102.8 km ahead → control
• 93.6–98.1 km · 265 m D−, -5.9% · 73.5 km ahead → your pace
• 144.4–149.7 km · 462 m D−, -8.7% · 21.8 km ahead → your pace
• 167.0–171.6 km · 332 m D−, -7.3% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from -2°C to 7°C, with around 1°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 58%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 5% of days around this date.

Results

153 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: Jack Scott (Great Britain) in 25:12:00. Women's winner: Sarah Page (Great Britain) in 29:03:20.