Winter Spine Sprint North

Race strategy

Run easy on the first mountain, then go all out on the second.

• Start easy and control your HR up to 29.9km.
• Hold your race pace up to 50.3km, but stay in control.
• Long race. Control your HR and effort. Early mistakes cost the most.
• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 65.5km.
• 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–29.9km · 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Work · 29.9km–50.3km · This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Fade · 50.3km–65.5km · Climb of 277m, high point 815m. Plus 1 more descent. 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 · 65.5km–69.8km · Descent of 352m averaging 8%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line.

Course

The course climbs 1759m+. With 25m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 31% of the distance is uphill, 29% downhill and 40% flat. The longest climb runs 4.4km at an average 7.2% grade (319m of vertical). The longest descent runs 4.3km at an average 8.2% grade (352m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 23.5% over 0.6km. The steepest descent drops at 29.5% over 0.3km. Surface: 46% trail, 30% smooth, 16% technical, and 7% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 102.6 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Cairn Hill (777m), 55.7km from the start. Other named summits along the route: Auchopecairn (717m). The course also passes close to The Cheviot (816m).

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 2.5km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 23 of 100), with 23% of the load in the first half: 0 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 65.5km.
• 54.3–58.0 km · 338 m D−, -9.2% · 11.8 km ahead → your pace
• 65.5–69.8 km · 352 m D−, -8.2% · 0.0 km ahead → free

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 1°C to 8°C, with around 0°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 61%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 5% of days around this date.

Results

40 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: Damian Hall (Great Britain) in 8:06:51. Women's winner: Louise Goddard (Great Britain) in 11:53:25.