He may have been a former winner and the holder of the FKT (fastest known time) on the Pennine Way but ultrarunning legend John Kelly still had unfinished business at the Montane Winter Spine Race this year.
For he was derailed by a sprained ankle in 2024 (before pitching in with the support team) and then 12 months later struggled to stay awake from relatively early on but still made it to the finish in fourth place despite incurring a penalty (and a big mental hit) for a missed diversion.
So no wonder there was huge frustration with what played out in this year’s edition as he withdrew within the first 24 hours in what were seriously testing conditions, starting with snow and ice.
He was in the mix at the first checkpoint at Hebden but lost ground thereafter and retired at Malham Tarn in the early hours of Monday morning to leave a dramatic race to unfold without him, Frenchman Sébastien Raichon eventually going on to take the title on what was his Spine Race debut.
‘The kind of fall that rings your bell’
Kelly took to Instagram to explain what happened, saying: “This is one of those I really can’t sugarcoat or find some shiny silver lining from. tl;dr – I slipped & fell & hurt my knee but I’ll be alright I think.
“Conditions at the Spine Race started with wind that blew me uphill at one point, and snow drifts I had to crawl across. That was all good & fun, comical really.
“But as the snow melted away & the rain increased, it uncovered deposits of ice left from a previous thaw-refreeze cycle. Hard as concrete, smooth as glass, and randomly hidden amongst the water, rocks, and mud. At mile 25, I actually saw the ice & tried to stop, but the wind pushed me onto it. I went down hard, the kind of fall that rings your bell a bit & you stand up feeling woozy & nauseous. My knee took most of the impact. Mile 40, again. Same knee, same spot.
“I thought I could run it off. The pain came & went, but by mile 80 it was persistent & intense enough that it was causing nausea, which led to eating less, which led to getting cold (should have listened better to my own pre-race tips).”
‘I have some thinking to do’
But things would go from bad to worse, with Kelly explaining: “At mile 85, in 4th place at Malham Tarn, the medics advised I should go to the hospital. I assured them that was unnecessary, that I’ve been worse, but I also wasn’t about to make someone come pull me off the next hill or jeopardize the rest of my year & my Western States opportunity after a decade-long wait.
“Last year, I physically could continue, but mentally didn’t want to. So I continually kicked my own butt 200 miles down the trail until I not only finished but in the end had fun doing it. This year, I mentally wanted to continue but physically couldn’t.
“The @spinerace organization is phenomenal, & full of wonderful people. Thank you to everyone who makes this race possible. Two years ago I stayed to help after a race-ending injury. I’m sorry I couldn’t this time. I honestly didn’t have the physical or mental energy for it, and I wanted to get back to my family.
“This has been a stretch of “below aspirations” results for me, and I have some thinking to do.”
The Barkley Marathons usually feature on Kelly’s calendar while a Western States debut comes up in the not too distant future for him after he was finally drawn out of the lottery.
