THE VIRTUAL SPINE RACE

Widely regarded as one of the world’s toughest endurance races, the Montane Spine Race is a truly epic challenge that tests a competitor’s physical resilience and mental fortitude. Racing non-stop along the Pennine Way, runners experience the full intensity and ferocity of the British Winter.

In January 2023, as well as the traditional race, we will be offering the chance to take part in a VIRTUAL SPINE CHALLENGE. Your virtual challenge can take place anywhere in the world and you have from January 1st to the 31st to get to the finish.

With five distances, the virtual challenges offer the opportunity to get active or keep fit and tackle arguably the most iconic trail in the UK…

• THE SPINE RACE along the entire 268-mile Pennine Way from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm in the remote Scottish borders
• THE CHALLENGER NORTH, is a 160 mile challenge from Hardraw, (near to the famous falls featured in the film, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) to Kirk Yetholm
• THE CHALLENGER SOUTH covering the first 108 miles from Edale to the scenic North Yorkshire village of Hawes
• THE SPRINT, 43 miles, from Edale to the small market town of Hebden Bridge in the picturesque Calder Valley
• THE DASH, exclusive to the virtual Montane Spine event, offers the opportunity for those seeking a shorter challenge, 26.8 miles, from Edale to the wild moorlands of Standedge in West Yorkshire.

In addition, a live weather overlay gives you a sense of what conditions are actually like on the trail. And if that is not enough to tempt you, for all participants who successfully complete their virtual Montane Spine challenge there will be buffs and
medals unique to the virtual events

RACE THE RACERS

In 2023 there is a separate virtual challenge giving you the opportunity to ‘RACE THE RACERS’ in the in the 108 mile Challenger South Race. Although you will be able to undertake this challenge from anywhere in the world, like athletes in the Challenger South, your challenge will start at 07.30 on Saturday January 14th and you need to finish by 19.30 on Monday 16th January. 60 hours maximum.

For the ‘Race the Racers’ virtual challenge you will need to provide evidence of the distance you have covered and the time taken through Strava or Garmin Connect account. There will be no trophies, just a great sense of satisfaction, the virtual challenge medal, buff and admiration of all who cheered you along the route!

Choose your challenge carefully. Once you have entered there will not be the option to move to another distance.

SUPPORTING THE PENNINE WAY

The 2023 Virtual Spine Race Challenges will be supporting the Pennine Way National Trail Partnership. You can make a donation of £5, £10 or £20 to support the restoration of part of the Pennine Way National Trail on the southern approach to
Cross Fell. A linear stretch of stone flags has become undercut due to the erosion of
the peat.

At just under 3,000 feet, Cross Fell is the highest mountain in England outside the Lake District. The ferocity of the weather is well known and a clear trail is of the utmost importance for the safety of those navigating in this remote and isolated area.

It is hoped that work will commence this winter and will be completed next summer/autumn.  The project is likely to involve using hessian bags filled with bracken based compost. The bags will be filled over the winter ready for installation next summer. The bags will be air lifted onto site and then placed into the eroded section of the trail by hand. The restored area may then be seeded or planted with plug plants to speed up the colonisation with vegetation.

SUPPORTING THE ENVIRONMENT

The 2023 Virtual Spine Race also offers you the chance to support the TREES NOT TEES initiative.
‘The environmental benefit of planting a tree is huge, it helps us fight against climate change by taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, it provides a home for a diverse range of species, and it gives us clean air to breathe.’ Jim Mann, Co-Founder of Trees for Tees and Spine athlete.

When you enter you can opt not to receive the finisher medal and buff. Instead, you can have a tree planted and receive an e-certificate, a What3Words location of your tree and a unique photograph of your sapling from Trees not Tees.

LOGGING YOUR MILES

NB The map and logging tools will be installed in advance of the start of the race on January 1st

Every time you go for a run, jog, walk or even take the dog for some exercise between 00.00 on January 1st and midnight on January 31st you can log your miles manually or we can collect your miles automatically if you connect a Strava, Garmin Connect or Fitbit account.

We'll show your position on a virtual map along with your fellow competitors and you can track your progress along the legendry Pennine Way, through the official checkpoints.

AUTOMATIC LOGGING

Beneath the map on the event page, you will find a green "Connect Service" button - click that, choose the service and you'll be taken to its approve connection page

Note that:

• We can only collect public activities Activities  public (we only request read-only access to public activities)
• They must be logged as a walk, run, hike, virtual run or similar

MANUAL LOGGING

It's simple to log manually if you prefer or have none of the above services:

• Log in to your UltraBritain account
• Click the View and Register Activities button above the map on this page
• You'll see everything we have recorded for you to date and you'll have the option of adding new activities
• Adding an activity is simply a matter of tapping the date on a calendar (nb only dates since the start of the event up until 'today' are shown) and entering the distance in either miles or kilometres
  
  

IMPORTANT: For ‘Race the Racers’ event you MUST use a Strava or Garmin account.

NEW DESIGN FOR VIRTUAL CHALLENGE BUFFS

2023 will be the third year the Montane Spine Virtual Challenges have taken place.

2022 saw the introduction of medals unique to the virtual events and 2023 will see a new buff design in black and burnt orange.
 

VIRTUAL SPINE CHALLENGE PARTICIPANT WAIVER

By their nature, outdoor activities involve an element of risk and your entry is based on your acceptance of those implicit risks.

All participants must take sensible precautions to minimise any danger to themselves or others and agree to assume all risks that may be associated with or may result from their participation in the virtual Spine challenges.

By entering you are declaring yourself to be fit and able to participate in your chosen challenge.

Entries from children under the age of 18 and vulnerable adults are accepted but they should be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult at all times during the challenge. The parent or responsible adult must ensure this support will be in place and that all the risks have been explained and understood.

Please be aware that in 2022 several, but not all, athletes who entered from Spain and The Netherlands found that their local post office expected them to pay an import fee for their medal, ribbon and buff.

Agreement with all the statements contained in this document is acknowledged by you as part of your entry and registration and you accept all decisions made by the organisers without complaint or recompense.