Winter Spine Sprint South

Race strategy

Run hard on the first mountain, but save energy for the second.

• 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 25.0km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 64.0km.
• Start · 0.0km–1.2km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.2km–19.5km · Climb of 467m, high point 633m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Work · 19.5km–29.4km · Descent of 443m averaging 8%. 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.
• Fade · 29.4km–64.0km · Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. 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 · 64.0km–69.3km · Descent of 295m averaging 6%. 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 2017m+. With 27m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 33% of the distance is uphill, 27% downhill and 40% flat. The longest climb runs 6.6km at an average 7.0% grade (467m of vertical). The longest descent runs 5.5km at an average 8.0% grade (443m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 31.3% over 0.2km. The steepest descent drops at 26.2% over 0.4km. Surface: 37% trail, 32% smooth, 22% road, and 6% technical. Flat-equivalent effort: 97.6 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Kinder Low (633m), 6.7km from the start. Other named summits along the route: Bleaklow Head (633m). The course also passes close to Swine's Back (596m).

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 3.0km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 22 of 100), with 53% of the load in the first half: 1 descent deserves 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 25.0km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 64.0km.
• #1 · 19.5–25.0 km · 443 m D−, -8.0% · 44.3 km ahead → control
• 64.0–69.3 km · 295 m D−, -5.6% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 1°C to 8°C, with around 2°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

115 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: Joe Leadley (Great Britain) in 8:17:58. Women's winner: Sophie Littlefair (Great Britain) in 11:00:12.