What does it take to win the most brutal UK endurance race, the Montane Winter Spine? I spoke to this year’s winners, Kim Collison and Lucy Gossage, and discovered several common factors that contributed to their ultimate success.
They obviously ran their own races and faced their individual challenges. They both had previous experiences of the race: Kim DNF’d three times in previous consecutive years mainly due to injuries but also, as he revealed, because of mental fatigue.
Meanwhile, Lucy finished fourth female in the 2024 edition. She has an emotionally tough story to tell about her last race, during which her partner of three years was outed as a relationship cheat, so she was returning to the event this year with the aim of creating happier memories.
Lucy was also raising funds for the charity Move Against Charity. You can still donate here.
Here are some of the key factors I learned about running a successful Winter Spine Race.
This might also be useful: Tips for Winter Spine Racing.
The concept of sleep in ultra races
Contrary to many ultra runners that I have spoken to in recent years, Lucy, 45, and 44-year-old Kim both decided to take more time to sleep during the race.
I’ve observed a growing trend for long-distance challenge runners to sleep very little. This strategy means that there are more hours for running. However, Lucy and Kim reported that they felt they could perform much better by including more sleep.
This is not to say that they actually spent a lot of time asleep compared to what we might ordinarily do, but it was more than they had slept in previous races.
Kim told me he slept for 30 minutes at CP2, had another 2.5 hours of sleep at CP3 and also took three or four shorter naps on the trail later in the race. This totalled around 3.5 hours over more than three days. His finish time was 82:46:32.
Lucy slept for 70 minutes around 36 hours into the race; had a lie down for 45 minutes after 48 hours of racing; slept in public toilets for an hour around the 200-mile mark and then had another 40 minutes of sleep with 45 miles to the finish. That’s a total of some three hours as well as some lying down and resting. Lucy’s finish time was 87:41:38 and while she was first female, she was also fourth runner overall.
Kim, who lives in the Lake District, said: “My strategy this year was to aim to have more sleep and to move faster in between.
“It was a different race for me with a lot more sleep. There were times when I worried that I would risk losing my lead and then I would need to chase another runner who had overtaken me, but this didn’t happen in the end.
“By sleeping more, I was able to run better and to feel in better shape mentally. I pushed hard to create a good lead right from the start and I kept it throughout the race.”
Lucy, a former professional triathlete who lives in Nottingham, said “I felt amazing compared to the year before when I had much less sleep and ended up really confused on the trail later in the race. My experience at times last year was terrifying because I was so tired.
“This year, after each sleep I felt much better mentally and I was able to push harder. I think that for each hour of sleep I was able to make up the time loss over the next four or five hours.”
Fuelling for racing
The other focus was on consuming more calories. “Paying attention to the calories” is a factor that Nicky Spinks revealed was key to her Winter Spine Challenger North 2025 win.
Kim also aimed for good nutrition on the trail. He said: “I took in a lot of carbs in the first part of the race to reach the first checkpoint. This was the most intense part of the race for me in terms of pace and I needed carbs to fuel me.
“Then I concentrated on high carbs but also real foods plus fats to the next CP. Later on, I switched to expedition style eating with 50 per cent real foods and 50 per cent quick sugars.
“I tried to keep putting in the calories even when I didn’t feel like eating.
“Eating better showed itself not only in my physical well-being, but also mentally. While I obviously suffered and hurt, I felt really well throughout the race.”
Lucy, an oncologist, believes that “eating more” was an important part of her Winter Spine race. She said: “I ate a lot more in this race compared to last year. It was hard to keep forcing down food, especially in the later stages; eating is one of the hardest parts of long-distance events.
“However, I decided I would eat anything that was offered to me at checkpoints. I wanted to eat proper food and whatever it was I said yes.
“I also kept eating in between the CPs. I am glad I managed to keeping eating because it really helped to maintain energy throughout the race.”
Mental resilience
Even with more sleep and food, the Winter Spine is a long and tough race. This year, the weather and conditions underfoot were extremely testing.
Lucy said: “We had a bit of everything. We started with deep snow, which was beautiful but hard going.
“Then the snow started to melt and temperatures rose. It was wet and soggy underfoot. There was water, mud and bog and you didn’t know what you would step into next.”
Kim added: “Of all the four Winter Spines that I have taken part in, I thought this year’s conditions were the toughest. Deep snow, then the thaw and very wet ground. The final part, going over the Cheviot Hills, was perfect but until that point we had a lot of different weathers to cope with.”
While familiar with the winter conditions, Kim still knew he needed be prepared mentally for the race. He said he had suffered with “not being able to get over the hump”.
The hump is a point in the race – there could be many humps – when you don’t feel able to continue. Many people give up when they face a tough hump.
Kim said that prior to the race he focused on improving his mental resilience. He said: “Previously, when I felt at my lowest and impulsively wanted to quit – the hump moment – I needed to be able to create space to find a solution in my logical brain.
“There are inevitably some very hard times mentally during the race when you are really feeling the effects physically and you think you can’t find a way to deal with things.
“For example, about 40 hours into the race, my legs were very sore and I was suffering muscle spasms. I managed to find the mental space to ask for help. I asked a medic what to do and they suggested electrolytes. I also used a foam roller on my legs and had a bit more sleep
“My motto for this race at the checkpoints was, put on stuff and go. Then ‘let’s just see’. “
Kim added that winning the 360km (223 miles) Swiss peaks 360 race in September also gave him an injection of self-confidence before the Winter Spine.
Lucy describes how she was “just in a really good place” on the start line of the race. She said: “After last year, I was so happy to be back doing the race.
“Looking back, I feel like I enjoyed 90 per cent of the race and even when I replay the short videos I took during the race – when I am crying towards the end, for example – I still feel like the race was a joy.
“I know there were tough times but I can’t remember them now and I am so happy I was part of the race.”
Overcoming injuries
In the three previous years, a number of injuries ended Kim’s bid to complete the Winter Spine. Last year, a ligament issue in his knee led to his DNF. In the run up to this year’s race, he focused on biomechanics preparation.
He said: “I worked with a physio to deal with some one-sided imbalance issues. It worked well because although I suffered the normal pain you would expect from such a long and hard race, I didn’t have any specific pain from injuries.”
Lucy also reported that despite some worries about sciatica issues prior to the race, she was fortunate to make it through the Spine without suffering any specific pain.
She said: “Of course, my legs were a bit trashed by the end of the race but there was nothing specific that caused me a problem. I have a sore ITB band now I am finished but that doesn’t seem too bad considering the distance of the race.”
That winning feeling
Lucy, a multiple Ironman Triathlon winner, was very happy to win although she said it was very unexpected. She said: “When I finished I felt satisfied and relieved. I also felt proud. It takes a long time to sink in and I think I am still processing it all.”
She also reveals that she sees ultra running races as “adventures” rather than pure competition.
She said: “A long endurance race such as the Winter Spine is a lot about problem solving. You are thinking about where you are going, what you will eat, when you will sleep and how you are coping with the conditions.
“It’s more of a race against yourself than a race against other people.
“I said at the start of the race, I just wanted to try to get to Bellingham [the last major CP] in good shape. I was so proud of myself for doing this. This was my focus of the Winter Spine.
“To have won is a bonus but mainly the race was about having an adventure.”
Kim described his Winter Spine 2025 win as a fairy tale ending. [Read my interview with him as published on Advnture.] He was delighted to finally complete the Winter Spine after four years of trying and to win emphatically.
Kim led for most of the race and was ahead of runner per up and fellow Brit Brit Dave Phillips by more than three hours at the finish line. He set the third fastest time in the race’s history.
The La Sportiva athlete said: “I am absolutely delighted to win the Winter Spine Race. It has been a long journey to achieve this success and I am completely satisfied.
“I wan’t able to leave this race as unfinished business. After pulling out three times in a row, I still felt I had to keep going until I completed it. It was part of the driving force to do the race again – the more years I failed, the more motivated I was to do the race again.
“It is such a great feeling – and a relief! – to have won and to have set a third fastest time. It’s a fairly tale ending.”