I’ve spoken to a profitable participant within the Montane Winter Backbone North Challenger to search out out her suggestions for clothes, package and devices.

It was Katy Boocock’s first-time within the occasion and he or she was one in every of 11 girls to complete. As well as, 28 males completed the 2023 problem. Some 30 individuals retired from the race.

The 160-mile Montane Winter Backbone North Challenger, from Hardraw to Kirk Yetholm, is a part of a collection of races in January on England’s long-distance path, the Pennine Manner.

It additionally consists of the Montane Winter Backbone Challenger, the Montane Winter Backbone Dash and the biggie itself, the 268-mile Montane Winter Backbone Race.

Learn in regards to the winner of the Winter Backbone Race.

What Katy considered the Backbone North Challenger

Katy, 59, could be very skilled in a variety of outside actions, from orienteering and mountain marathons to mountain biking, snowboarding and extremely operating. She is a superb navigator and each a superb and cheerful workforce member, in addition to being extraordinarily succesful at solo pursuits.

Even so, she spent many months planning and coaching for the Backbone North Challenger. She deliberate long-distance and multi-day hikes and run-hikes in Scotland, ensuring to incorporate loads of tough terrain.

Because of this, she described the occasion as “vey achievable”. She added: “I used to be not competing to win or to set a quick time, so the intention was to easily hold going and end earlier than the cut-off instances.

“I wished to benefit from the occasion and I additionally wished to problem myself. I favored the thought of the additional stage of a problem by doing a long-distance race in winter circumstances.

“I wasn’t out of my consolation zone throughout the race. I had hung out coaching and I used to be strolling, not operating, so it felt manageable. Sure, it’s a really good distance however I used to be as ready for that as I felt I might be.”

Katy slept for a complete of solely round 4 hours over the course of the Backbone North Challenger. She completed in 96 hours, which is 4 full days.

She says: “I knew I’d have little or no sleep and so I didn’t anticipate it. I used to be very drained by the tip however I used to be certain I’d be superb. The primary considerations had been being too gradual or going off-route so I wouldn’t make the cut-off instances and selecting up an damage that may cease me ending.

“I assumed that if I may simply hold placing one foot in entrance of the opposite and likewise if I may absorb sufficient meals, then I’d make it.”

On the day, Katy paired up together with her buddy Fran Britain. Though they already knew one another, that they had not not deliberate to finish the race collectively.

Katy says: “We made the choice the night time earlier than the problem that we’d keep collectively if we may. We knew we’d benefit from the occasion extra if we had the companionship and help of one another.

“At totally different instances, we had been capable of assist one another. For instance, we stored one another proper with navigation with our varied units. Fran helped me with accessing a few of my meals after I couldn’t handle whereas sporting my gloves.

“I used to be additionally there to maintain Fran motivated when she began to endure some accidents. She was superb the best way she stored going regardless of being in ache.

“It was a a lot better problem doing it collectively.”

Whereas some opponents reported that the race circumstances had been very robust, Katy thought they had been good. She says: “It was chilly, very chilly generally, and snowy, however it was dry and there was no wind once we had been doing our problem.

“The views had been beautiful at instances, particularly the sunrises and sunsets, and likewise the celebrities. I assumed the circumstances had been nice for a long-distance winter race.

“I used to be ready for the chilly and I used to be dressed to go well with the climate. I used to be by no means chilly.”

Katy revealed she discovered the route of the Pennine Manner sudden at instances. She says: “I imagined the path to be way more nicely established and well-trodden. It was this for lengthy sections, however there have been components that had been on very tough floor or they skirted round fields with none apparent route.

“I’m very used to strolling and operating on floor with out paths however I feel I anticipated that England’s well-known strolling path could be extra established than any we’ve in Scotland.

“It was nonetheless a rewarding problem however I used to be shocked by how tough, or not notably apparent, it was in locations.”

Katy had excessive reward for the race organisers and volunteers. She says: “It was a fabulously nicely organised occasion and the volunteers had been glorious. The verify factors had been superb and there was loads of meals and sizzling drinks to maintain us going all through the race.”

What Katy wore for the Backbone North Challenger

Baselayers: Katy wore a merino wool mesh vest in opposition to her pores and skin (just like this mesh vest from Wiggle), then two long-sleeved baselayers (one from Findra and one other Icebreaker).

Jackets: She topped the baselayers with a Buffalo insulated shirt jacket and a Paramo waterproof jacket when wanted. When heading over the upper hills, she additionally wore a Karrimor microfleece with Pertex outer (she has owned this for greater than 20 years!).

Legs: Tesco fleeced-lined operating tights, OMM waterproof shorts and, when wanted, Rab waterproof over-trousers. Katy says: “I selected leg cowl that was straightforward to stand up and down so there was no must undo or tie waistbands. This was useful after I wanted to go to the toilet, for instance.”

Gloves: Extremities Thinny Contact Gloves (£9 from Amazon or Tiso) always. Katy topped these with insulated Buffalo mitts. She says: “The Thinny gloves had been glorious as a result of I may use my smartphone whereas retaining them on.”

Socks and footwear: Katy modified her socks and footwear all through the problem. She wore Injinini merino wool toe socks, corresponding to these, as base socks always. She modified them for dry socks at every CP.

Stage 1: On prime of the bottom socks, Katy wore Salomon merino socks. Her shoe alternative was La Sportiva Blizzards, which have a Gore-Tex waterproof membrane and built-in gaiters. Katy explains: “I wished path footwear with grip but additionally waterproofing. These footwear even have steel studs for the ice and snow.”

Stage 2: Change of base socks, plus Sealskinz waterproof socks, just like these or Dexshell waterproof operating socks. Katy additionally swapped to inov-8 Roclite Professional G 400 Gore-Tex climbing boots.

She says: “I knew my ft would swell with all of the miles, so I deliberate to have totally different footwear that was barely larger every time I received to a CP. I made certain I stored my ft as dry as attainable.”

Stage 3: Dry base socks and 360Dry lengthy waterproof merino socks. Katy swapped to her husband’s Hoka Speedgoat trainers. She says: “Peter has measurement 9 ft and these are longer than my regular footwear and likewise the inov-8 boots. Sporting bigger footwear additionally allowed me so as to add two layers of socks.”

Katy believes she was fortunate to flee with “just a few blisters”. She says: “I feel I used to be lucky to endure just a few blisters on my ft. I handled these by popping them with a needle and dressing them.

“They had been sore however I feel it may have been a lot worse. I knew my ft would swell the longer I used to be on my ft and that they might get moist, so my technique was to vary my socks and footwear at every checkpoint.”

Headtorch: Katy took a few headtorches together with her. In the long run, she used a Silva headtorch with a chargeable battery pack (just like this Silva headtorch) for the total race.

Rucksack: Katy carried all of the race package in an OMM 35l pack. She additionally had an OMM chest pod, so she had quick access to meals, small units and bits of package. She says: “The chest pod was sensible. I wished to make it straightforward to get to my meals. I knew that if I needed to take off the pack and rummage for meals, I won’t eat so often, however I knew I wanted to maintain on prime of the consuming.”

Katy ready a number of small gadgets of meals that required solely a few bites every. She made parkin, stollen, peanut butter balls and cheese and chutney scones. She additionally packed Babybels and left different meals in her CP baggage.

One prime tip from Katy was that she took an insulated flask crammed with sizzling spiced ginger drink. She says: “When water froze in bottles, I nonetheless had a sizzling drink. This was so good, particularly when it was very chilly.”

See full required package record for Winter Backbone opponents.

What didn’t work for Katy?

Katy reveals that she was proud of all her preparation and the way she deliberate her clothes and package. The one fail was her Garmin Fenix watch. She purchased a second-hand reconditioned watch. The battery lasted nicely and the navigation was nice to start out with however then it out of the blue switched to “snap to street”.

Katy says: “The snap to street operate meant it was then unattainable to make use of the look ahead to following the route. I had a hand-held Garmin GPS unit with me, in addition to a cellphone with the route uploaded, plus map and compass, so I nonetheless had entry to navigation. Fran’s watch was additionally working nicely.

“Nevertheless, it was annoying to have the watch fail simply after I wanted it. It’s a lot simpler following the route from a GPX file on a watch than different units. The corporate that bought me the watch took it again and refunded me after the race.”

Different necessary gadgets included energy banks for recharging watches and telephones whereas on the transfer. There have been additionally cost factors on the CPs.

See Backbone Race for extra particulars about all of the races.