Spine Challenger 2017 race report, part 1 - pre race shenanigans

Hello my lovelies.

I have finally got my head around what I have just done, so it is time to put it down on the metaphorical paper for prosperity. I have so much whizzing about in my mind that I think it is sensible to split this down into at least a couple of parts, and maybe more depending on how this goes.

So make yourself a hot beverage, sit down somewhere comfy, and relax (not too much, you don't want to be falling asleep now do you?).

Firstly let me take you through how the weekend would go. Jeff Cooper and Cathy Casey had previously agreed to be my "crew" for this race. This means they would meet me at previously agreed places in the race and ply me with hot drinks, food, and sympathy. Jeff and Cathy go way back. I used to work with them both in my Outdoor Shop days. I now work with Jeff in my current job (I actually sit next to him) and Cathy owns The Climbers Shop and Joe Brown shops who  kindly sponsored me for this race.
So Jeff would pick me up and drive me to Edale on the Friday so I could register for the race. He will then drive up to Cathy's place and they would then drive back down in her camper van to meet me at the first meeting place.
Then they would drive to the next meeting place and this would continue until I either finished at Hawes or crashed out of the race, where they would then take me home again after a meal and a sleep. All great and very slickly planned.

So - here we go. Jeff rocked up in his mini on the Friday morning. I crow-bared my kit bag, food crate, race pack, and spare clothing pack into the back of his mini, along with all his kit (which included a 3 inch thick sleeping mat), and we set off northbound.
We arrived in Edale to a thick covering of snow and ice on the ground. This was looking amazing I thought, I don't often get a chance to play in the snow, so snow for a race would be awesome.
I hauled my kit bag and race pack out of Jeff's car, said my goodbye and off he drove - I just prayed I had got everything as the next time we would meet would be about 25 miles into the race.

I went into the registration area and waited my turn. I had my name written on my kit bag, and because of my high exposure on the race FaceBook page, I got many "oh so you are Chris Worton - it's good to put a face to a name", it seems I was famous. Some people even wanted a picture with me :-)

One of my fans (Lindley) who wanted a picture with me.

Registration includes exchanging contact information, phone numbers of my crew and loved ones, as well as showing them ID to prove I wasn't Mo Farah or some other super runner in disguise. I was pretty flustered with all the excitement of my new found fame, so when asked for my crew head name I said Cathy Gibbins (g-i-b-b-i-n-s) and proceeded to look for her number in my phone. Oops - sorry she got married (nearly 20 years ago!)- she is now Cathy Casey.
Registration done I went over to where they take the photos with the runner holding their number. This would be used in the tracker so you can see the runner when you click their name. I had thought ahead about this and was wearing my DJ and bow tie hidden under my jacket, so I quickly slipped my jacket off and posed in my DJ with my number, much to the delight of the surrounding people. (They didn't actually use these pictures after all so what a waste eah?)

Then came the kit check. This was on a raffle system, you picked a ticket and either got to show some random items, or the whole caboodle. Luckily I just got a 3 item check, my first aid kit, waterproof over trousers, and hat. I Had a large tin of flapjacks I had made the previous day for this occasion, so I dug them out of my kit bag and gave it to my kit check person with instructions for him to share amongst the volunteers. I heard later that they had gone down a treat.

A few flapjacks left.

After my kit check I was good to go, so I grabbed my stuff and headed out into the cold. My next destination was the peak centre up the road where the safety briefing would be. My timings were spot on and I arrived just in time to be let in, and I made my way to the front row, I didn't want to miss anything now did I?

All keen, sitting on the front row.

The safety briefing included useful numbers to store in my phone, and other things to do or not to do if things didn't quite go to plan. All pretty standard stuff for me as my background of mountain life covered most of these anyway.
After the briefing I had booked myself into a simple training session which also covered some useful route notes, including where other people had gone wrong in the past. As usual people recognised me from FaceBook and I got several "Hello Chris" from strangers. Most embarrassing.

After this I was done. No more official stuff to do, so I set off in search of my accommodation, a lovely B&B called Stonecroft Guesthouse. I checked in and was led to my room, where I disgorged the contents of my kit bag and race pack all over the floor so I could properly sort out the kit and pack my pack.

All packed I then set off for some food. Heading down the icy path to The Ramblers Inn, it was a tricky task not to slip over and break something - a disaster indeed, but all was good and I made my way into the steamy bar where everyone was already there eating and drinking merrily. I ordered a fish pie and a pint of John Smiths and sat at a table in the corner. Then a loud voice from the other side shouted "Hey Chris, come and sit with us." This was Stuart Smith, one of the Safety coordinators and definitely a larger than life character. I squeezed in amongst them, and started chatting when I suddenly noticed the chap sitting opposite me was none other than Pavel Paloncy, a previous winner of the Spine race and an all time good bloke. A bit star struck, I was glad when my fish pie arrived and I could tuck in.
Making my excuses I headed out into the cold and back to my room where I made some final kit tweaks before turning in for a very restless night before the big day tomorrow.

To be continued......