winter spine race kit

The kit list for the Winter Spine Race is extensive. There's no getting away from that. And understandably so. This year runners on the full length Spine Race endured heavy snow fall, rain, 70 mph winds, sunshine, temperatures plummeting to -8C, and windchill factors as low as -20C. It takes a lot of very good kit to be able to look after yourself in such a range of weather conditions.

On the 13th January 2024 I ran the the Sprint. This is the baby of the Spine races (a 74km long baby!) but it still has the same kit requirements as all the other longer winter races. Before being allowed to toe the start line everyone must pass a thorough kit check, with roughly one in five people having to empty their packs completely to go through every single item. I was one of the lucky ones who emptied their rucksack, so knowing that everything passed, I though it would be useful to share what I carried.

If anyone is thinking of signing up to one of the Spine races, this is what got me through the winter Sprint in pretty nice conditions. I'm lucky that both my partner and I work in the outdoors so already had a lot of the required kit, but you could easily spend a lot of money on stuff that may not get much use afterwards. Borrow from friends, rent from companies, and check Vinted or Facebook groups for second hand kit. You definitely don't need to go and buy loads of new equipment.

Backpack

OMM Phantom 25. Lightweight, loads of space and good amount of pockets that are accessible without having to take it off. The only thing that I feel is missing is an easy way of stashing my poles. However, at no point in the race did I think about putting my poles away so this ended up not being an issue. Like most packs these days, it has a whistle attached which is another item on the mandatory kit list. I stripped out the Duomat back system and carbon fibre stays, bringing it's weight down to just over half a kilo. My rear red pack light was a little Topeak bike light.

Compass

Silva Expedition 4. Because it's the best. I never used it on the race but it's the only compass I ever use when out in the hills.

Maps

Harvey Pennine Way South. OS maps are great and have more detail but the Harvey maps fold away smaller and are waterproof so there's no need for a map case.

Compass

Victorinox Classic SD. Your knife has to have a 3cm blade, and this one measures in at about 3.2cm. It also has the scissors that are required in your first aid kit.

GPS Device

Garmin Oregon 600. This has to be a dedicated handheld GPS device, so having mapping on your watch or phone isn't enough. The Oregon 600 is an old model but still does everything it needed to for the race - show the map, the route and my location - and I'd far rather borrow kit than buy new unnecessarily.

Goggles

Bolle Cobra Safety Goggles. Your goggles have to be clear, seal around your eyes and have a strap around the back of your head. These were the smallest ones I could find that ticked those boxes. If I was on one of the longer races or knew the weather would be worse than it was I would consider taking full ski goggles just so they'd cover more of my face. Hail in the face hurts!

Headtorch

Petzl Aktik Core. Plus another one as a backup. And another spare battery. I didn't end up needing the spare headtorch or battery but I wouldn't go without them. There is so much darkness on the winter races that the last thing you want is a flat headtorch battery.

Waterproof Jacket & Trousers

​Montane Phase Lite Jacket. Heavier duty than most lightweight running waterproofs but still fairly light, and perfect for the Sprint.
Montane Minimus Nano Pull-Over Pants. These were questioned by the race director, probably because you can almost see through them! But they have a hydrostatic head of 15,000mm and fully taped seams so are technically a pass. I only took these because the weather forecast was so good and I did not see myself needing them. Had the forecast been worse I would definitely have taken something more durable and less see-through!

Hat, Gloves & Neck Gaiter

A woolly hat and a neck gaiter. A balaclava counts as your neck gaiter but it can't be your hat as well.
Montane Switch Gloves with Pull-Out Mitt were my non-waterprooof pair and Montane Prism Dryline Gloves were my waterproof pair.

Other Clothes

Spare socks have to be the same size and standard as your usual running socks. Not children's socks or something that's only 40 denier to try save weight. These are things people have tried!
Spare top and bottom base layers should also be winter weight. Not super lightweight summer layers to save weight.
Spare cold weather mid layer can be a fleece or synthetic/down jacket. Mine was synthetic. Don't take down, even though it's lighter and smaller. When down gets wet it's useless so there's no point having it. Even if your synthetic jacket is soggy it will still give you some warmth. There's a good chance of getting wet on a winter Spine race. And a summer one. Carry the extra weight.

Footwear

Scarpa Spin Ultras. Obviously a very personal one but this is what I used. Comfy, good grip, no blisters. But no good if these don't fit you.
Yaktrax Pro. The chance of needing anything more spikey than this on the Sprint was slim. But I also saw some full Spiners with these on and they went through some brutal conditions.

Sleeping System

Rab Mythic 400. The sleeping bag is probably where most of the space and weight goes for a lot of people. I was very lucky that I could borrow this snazzy ultralight bag from my partner. Your sleeping bag must have a comfort limit of 0C and there are quite a few companies now (including Rab) that hire them out. Saves you buying something that you may not use again.
Rab Bivvy Bag. Not actually sure which model it was as it was also borrowed from my partner. This item has to be a proper waterproof bivvy bag with taped seams. A plastic or foil bivvy bag will not pass.
ThermaRest NeoAir UberLite. Your mat has to be at least 3/4 length, no holes or gaps in it and not be home made. Again, if you're not a camper a sleeping mat can be hired from various companies.

Cooking System

MSR Pocket Rocket. My partner and I have a few stoves between us and this is the lightest and smallest of them all. Not as efficient as a Jetboil or Windburner, but I wasn't expecting to use it so went lightweight.
Evernew Ti 400 Cup. This doubled up as my cup and cooking pot. 400ml is the minimum capacity and this holds 400ml. Just.
Windproof lighter and spoon.

Food & Drink

You have to carry 3000 calories and there are limits on what can be from powders for drinking, dehydrated food and ready to eat food. I took 400 calories of Tailwind and the rest ready to eat food. This was roughly added up at the kit check so make sure you take the time to work it out beforehand.
You should also have the capacity to carry 2 litres of water. You don't have to have 2 litres of water, just the capacity to carry it. I had a 1 litre Platypus full of Tailwind. This was a bit of a risk given that sub zero temperatures would cause the tube to freeze and I wouldn't be able to drink. It was pretty warm for the Sprint so I got away with it. I also had a 600ml Katadyn soft flask with a filter, just in case I had to fill up from any questionable streams. Finally, I had another empty 500ml soft flask in my bag just to make it up to 2 litres.

Toilet Kit

This was added to the kit list last year because humans can be disgusting...so the toilet kit is made up of poo bags x3, a pack of tissues and a trowel. One of my best Christmas presents was The Deuce UL Trowel from The Tent Lab (I'm easily pleased), weighing in at a colossal 17 grams.

Poles

Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z Trekking Poles. These aren't on the mandatory kit list but I wouldn't do a Spine race without them. There's so much slippery slidey boggy terrain and with the extra weight of your pack you will definitely appreciate poles.

I didn't weigh my pack on race day but on my last training run all this kit came in at a smidge over 5kg with no food or water. With food and water added in it was probably about 7-7.5kg.