The Spine 2019

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swittle Jan 2019 6:43pm, 17 Jan 2019 52,537 posts	0 swittle Here you go. athleticsweekly.com
Rosehip Jan 2019 6:54pm, 17 Jan 2019 11,574 posts	0 Rosehip I've been showing various KS3 classes clips of Jasmine all day The girls - who as a whole tend to be all "hair nails and make-up" as my mum would say - have been pleasingly "girl-power!" about it Comment from a colleague who caught me showing iplayer clip: "I feel sorry for Montane - Inov-8 got all that free product placing on the BBC and they weren't even mentioned in the race name" I hope Jasmine gets rewarded for all that free advertising
Gromit Jan 2019 7:46pm, 17 Jan 2019 1,202 posts	0 Gromit re kit and lightweight kit there were yet again some “interesting” tales from kit check ......despite numerous emails and contact prior to the race some of the “elite” still tried very sub standard roll mats and stoves, weight weight weight not function function .... one in particular most felt should have be DQ before even starting ... I wonder if this is usual for other big races or just a quirk of the Spine ?
Derby Tup Jan 2019 8:07pm, 17 Jan 2019 28,577 posts	0 Derby Tup Standard sadly Gromit. A very good friend of mine had to DQ one of the winners of a local race for not carrying min kit (basically a cag) quite a few years ago.
flyingfinn Jan 2019 8:40pm, 17 Jan 2019 1,178 posts	0 flyingfinn The flip side of that is that there was also tales of kit that met all the defined specifications and being tried and tested in multiple mountain marathons etc being rejected but the kit checker being unable to define what was wrong with it beyond "I don't like it". From the outside, including watching the fb discussions the whole kit element seemed extremely badly managed and warped by one individual's ego. In the case of the Challenger the compulsory items need to be aligned better with the true nature of the race for the front end. Given the frequency of the road crossings what is the likelihood of ever using a stove in an emergency? And if you need one for the Challenger why don't you need one in races like the Trigger?
flanker Jan 2019 10:34pm, 17 Jan 2019 18,081 posts	0 flanker Being slightly geeky about it, I spent quite a while over the weekend looking at photos and the kit people were wearing and the packs that they were carrying. There seemed to be a huge differences difference between participants, and with some of them I couldn't work out how they were carrying the mandatory kit (assuming it's still similar to when I had my aborted entry). ff, I've had that debate at several winter kit checks where I'll always take my Velez rather than a traditional waterproof shell. Kinky, who because she suffers badly with the cold, takes a Velez on anything other than the hottest events, has had someone trying to get inside the lining checking for taped seams! Whereas at events where experienced people are doing the kit check they only need to see the Paramo label to approve it (after all, if it's good enough for most MRTs...).
flyingfinn Jan 2019 10:44pm, 17 Jan 2019 1,179 posts	0 flyingfinn Interesting you chose Paramo Flanker as your example. Most experienced Spine competitors swear by Paramo and use it continually. However, you will fail the kit check unless you also carry a piece of duplicate kit that is a 'traditional waterproof...
Derby Tup Jan 2019 6:51am, 18 Jan 2019 28,582 posts	0 Derby Tup bbc.co.uk I’ve rather lost track of time this week and not sure if this has been posted before
Gromit Jan 2019 7:12am, 18 Jan 2019 1,203 posts	0 Gromit I Agree with the points about what may or may not be needed but what I don't agree with FF (and from reading your comments you clearly know the runner I am referring to) is that the rules on kit are clearly published with lots and lots of discussion before the event as was the route, the rules are the rules .......... why should someone at the front not have to carry the same kit as me at the back ........ there is the argument I'm going to be out on the course twice as long so more likely to need it but that's a blooming selfish attitude - it should be a level playing for all the competitors - but perhaps most importantly the runner concerned was extremely rude and foul mouthed with volunteers who had given up their time to help the race run smoothly ........... I had similar last year when I did kit checking but the episode this year was on a whole new level and totally uncalled for - the runners finishing position for me and many many others on the race was heavily tainted kit/route choice but I guess he isn't really interested so will continue and do the exact same thing next year.
flyingfinn Jan 2019 8:54am, 18 Jan 2019 1,180 posts	0 flyingfinn Everyone in the race should carry the mandatory kit that the race rules define plus what they need for their circumstances which will differ. That mandatory kit list needs to be set at a level that keeps everyone safe without unnecessarily weighing people down with kit they will never use (others based on their experience may choose to carry extra items). That will mean that some carry more kit but In the same way many other factors differ between competitors. That mandatory kit list should be defined clearly on the race website (not in emails) and not subject to endless discussions/clarifications on fb which are neither practical to track or reference and many rightly can't be bothered to try and keep up with due to all the additional crap that is mixed in. The way in which the Spine organisation communicates is a shambles and as a result it creates issues (which the volunteers unfortunately bear the brunt of) that don"t seem to occur in other races at anything like the same level. I wasn't there on Friday and I don't know what exactly was said by the various parties but as with most things there are two sides to the story which will continue to run I suspect.