READER SUCCESS‘I
love the outdoors.
I grew up on a farm
in Yorkshire and
was always outside.
When I left home,
I had an office job, but yearned
to be in the countryside, and I
ended up marrying a farmer!
I didn’t get into running until
well into my 30s, though, when
I started going out for runs with
some friends. We did a 5K, then
a 10K, then the Great North Run.
I also tried a fell-running event and
realised I preferred it, so I joined a
club. I did some more events over
the next few years, including the
Bob Graham Round in the Lake
District in 2005. The Rounds are
where you try to run about 60
miles over remote, often trackless
mountainous terrain, climbing
around 8,000m in a circuit of
designated peaks in less than 24
hours. I then attempted the Paddy
Buckley Round in Wales in 2006, but
did it just outside the cut-off time
of 24 hours (25.45 hours).’
HEALTH SHOCK
‘Then, a month after doing the Paddy
Buckley, I discovered a lump in my breast.
It was breast cancer. I decided to have
a double mastectomy to avoid chemo
and radiotherapy, then I had breast
reconstruction surgery. After a while, I got
back into fell running, and built up to
doing events such as the Grand Raid
ultra run in the Pyrenees.
‘Ten years after I’d had cancer, in 2016,
I decided to do a running challenge on
a whole different level to celebrate this
landmark. After I’d had my diagnosis, I
carried around a photo of a woman who’d
survived for 10 years after having cancer.’
SPREADING
THE WORD
‘The photo kept me going at the time so, a
decade on, I wanted to spread the word
that people could survive cancer and have
a life. I also wanted to raise money for
cancer charity Odyssey (odyssey.org.uk),
and to see how far I could push myself.
A man in my running club (Dark Peak FellRunners, dpfr.org.uk, which I’d joined
in 2008) called Roger Baumeister
had run the Double Bob Graham
Round (132 miles and 16,500m of
ascent in less than 48 hours, looping
twice over 42 of the highest peaks in
the Lake District).
‘Although I knew it was bonkers,
I wondered if I could do it, plus
doubles of the other two Rounds.
I wanted to do something no one else
had done before and to try to set a
new record. Roger believed in me and
gave me the confidence to try it. I did it
in 45 hours and 30 minutes, beating the
record he’d set by over an hour!
‘In 2018, I was the first person to
complete the Double Charlie Ramsay (116
miles in Scotland). I did it in 55 hours and
56 minutes, and this spring I was the first
ever to run the Double Paddy Buckley
(122 miles, 90 peaks and 17,000m of
climbing) in 57 hours and 25 minutes.’NEXT UP
‘My next challenge is in September –
the non-stop, 205-mile Tor de Géants
with 24,000m of climbing in Italy, which
you have to complete in less than 150
hours. I’m nearly there with my goal to
raise £20,000 for Odyssey, and I’m proud
to have received the British Empire Medal
in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for
services to sport and charity. I’m a
normal person with a full-time job, so
I hope women worldwide are thinking,
“if she can do that, maybe I can do what
I’d love to do, too”.’‘I ran 122 miles non-stop to
create fell-running history’
Nicky Spinks, 52, a farmer and Inov-8 brand ambassador, is
the first person to have run the Double Paddy Buckley RoundRunners, dpfr.org.uk, which I’d joinedascent in less than 48 hours, looping
twice over 42 of the highest peaks in
the Lake District).
‘Although I knew it was bonkers,
I wondered if I could do it, plus
doubles of the other two Rounds.
I wanted to do something no one else
had done before and to try to set a
new record. Roger believed in me and
NICKY’S TOP TIPS
‘Train smarter, not longer. I train
three to four times a week –
speed work, hills, a long run
and often a race at weekends.’‘When it gets tough, ask
yourself if you want to finish.
The answer’s always yes, so
sort out what’s bothering you.’‘I eat things such as muesli
bars, rice pudding and noodles
to keep me going on long runs.’Nicky has set several
records for the DoublesWORDS: Emma Lewis PHOTOGRAPHY: inov-8.com and Tim RipperNicky wore the Inov-8 Mudclaw G 260s and Terraultra G260s on her challenges. To donate,visit: justgiving.com/fundraising/nicola-spinks1