The Beginning
I tried to write this so many times.
Each attempt began the same way, pen to paper, fingers to keyboard, but the words just wouldn’t come. Not because I didn’t want to write them… I just couldn’t. Nothing landed. Nothing felt big enough to capture the feelings, emotions, or intensity of that near-week spent on the Pennine Way.
For most of the race, I lived inside my own small bubble of self-sufficiency. Just me, myself & I.
Out there on the Pennine Way, the rest of the world faded away. No social media. No group chats. Phone on silent. Just the occasional, fleeting call home.
I revelled in the silence & the solitude. Completely alone on the hills & moors, I felt no fear, only peace. My only job was to keep moving & to look after myself. Nothing else mattered. In that simplicity, I found something unexpected: a sense of belonging. I was exactly where I was meant to be.
But when the race ended, the bubble burst.
Suddenly, I felt lost. Disorientated. The emotions hit hard & without warning. I couldn’t make sense of them. I think I just needed time, time to sit with it all, to feel it fully, to understand what had happened out there.
And then, slowly, the words began to come. As they did, I started to smile. It’s taken me many (many) months, but writing this became a kind of therapy, a way to pour it all out & realise just how much those 264 miles meant to me.
For over a year, the Summer Spine was my everything. Out on that trail, I found a part of myself I really like. Someone strong. Someone stubborn. Someone braver than I ever believed. And I want to remember that person.
Yet just a few short months later, I look back at this story, the one that’s taken me so long to write & think… was that really me? Did I do that?
So this is my Summer Spine 2025 story.
Written for me so that I don’t forget the journey.
Written for me so I don’t forget the adventure.
Written for me so I don’t forget just how bloody strong & capable I am.
It’s long. It’s raw. It’s honest. It’s mine.
Join me for the ride.
Part II | Hebden Bridge to Hardraw
Part III | Hardraw to Middleton
Part VI | Alston to Kirk Yetholm
What is The Summer Spine
The Summer Spine Race is an ultra-distance trail race that follows the entire length of the Pennine Way, a 268-mile national trail stretching from Edale in the Peak District to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders. Often described as Britain’s most brutal endurance race, it challenges runners to navigate remote, rugged terrain with minimal support, battling sleep deprivation, unpredictable weather & over 40,000ft of elevation gain. Unlike the winter version, the Summer Spine takes place in (theoretically!) milder conditions, but it’s still a true test of physical endurance, mental resilience & self-sufficiency.
Photo Girl Runs 