51-year-old woman completes first-ever Double Ramsay’s Round
Yorkshire farmer and cancer survivor completes 48 peaks in the Scottish highlands
She’s done it! The incredible @NickySpinks becomes the first person ever to run a Double Ramsay Round in the Scottish mountains. 116 miles. 57,000ft of ascent. 48 peaks. Time: 55hrs 56mins (TBC).#legend #inov8 #doubleramsay
? https://t.co/G4sg99sBYQ pic.twitter.com/jQ6DvBjOYL
— inov-8 (@inov_8) July 2, 2018
The UK’s Nicky Spinks, 51, has become the first person to run Scotland’s Ramsay’s Round twice. She finished in 55 hours and 56 minutes–not quite the goal of 48 hours, but impressive nonetheless.
A regular Ramsay’s Round is a 58-mile race incorporating 24 peaks in the Scottish mountains, including Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest peak, within a time limit of 24 hours. The race starts and finishes at the Glen Nevis Youth Hostel in Fort William. Spinks’s feat was double that.
Spinks, a farmer from Yorkshire and survivor of breast cancer, has completed the Ramsay Round twice, in 2008 (22:32) and in 2014 (19:39). Her run was also a fundraiser for the British cancer charity Odyssey. She had already raised more than £15,000 for the charity before the challenge began.
RELATED: The race that wasn’t: What I learned from running the Charlie Ramsay Round
Weather is one of the myriad challenges of a mountain race in Scotland. One is bound to encounter all types of weather, as well as the incongruity of running on snow while sweating in a vest and shorts. This year’s attempt was particularly warm, with temperatures in the high 20s C.
We’re at Glen Nevis awaiting the return of @NickySpinks who is set to become the first person ever to run a 116-mile Double Ramsay Round in the Scottish mountains. She’s now been running for 54 hours…. without sleep ? Incredible! #inov8 #doubleramsay pic.twitter.com/IVL5lCiaTh
— inov-8 (@inov_8) July 2, 2018
In 2016 Spinks became the fastest person to complete a Double Bob Graham Round, the English equivalent of the Double Ramsay Round (though considerably less technical). She finished in 45:32.
The race is named for Charlie Ramsay, the first person to run all 24 peaks in under 24 hours in 1978. Twenty-three of the 24 peaks are referred to as Munros, i.e. 3,000 feet or more (914.4m). There have been 114 successful attempts at the Ramsay Round.
A finish line treat of bacon, egg & beans for the first person to run a 116-mile Double Ramsay Round! @NickySpinks photographed this morning with Charlie Ramsay, who created the Ramsay Round in 1978, and her faithful four-legged running companion Wisp
? https://t.co/G4sg99sBYQ pic.twitter.com/HxG3jy1HBB
— inov-8 (@inov_8) July 2, 2018
Spinks wore the new Inov-8 Mudclaw shoe, the first shoe manufactured with an outsole made of graphene, the world’s strongest material. She was supported by a crew who carried food and water.
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