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  • 1 week ago
The Spine Race is one of the world’s toughest ultra marathons: 268 miles along the backbone of England, through some of the country’s wildest and most unforgiving terrain in the depths of winter. Ultra Women isn't just a film about running. It asks a deeper question: why do we choose to push ourselves beyond what seems possible? Following the stories of Anna, Llinos, Allie and Sal, we explore what drives four women to take on a challenge that takes them to their physical and emotional limits. Through exhaustion, injury, doubt and moments of unexpected strength, four very different journeys reveal what it really takes to face the winter Spine race.
Transcript
00:00For everything that the Pennine Way gives you, it will take something away from you.
00:03I think it does change you.
00:07You're dicing with a 50-50 chance that you might finish and a 50-50 chance of injury.
00:11If you fly that close to the sun, sometimes it burns you.
00:17I watched the race from a distance initially thinking,
00:20wow, I could never do something like that.
00:22The Montaigne Winter Spine Race is 268 miles along the Pennine Way.
00:27It's quite scary, isn't it?
00:28It is one of the most difficult races, I think, in Europe.
00:31The build-ups in Spine's been years in the making.
00:34We can absolutely compete at the front with the men, and we do.
00:37I actually think it's going to be one of the greatest adventures of my life.
00:40Three, two, one, go!
00:44For me, I need to push myself into uncomfortable places to feel alive.
00:49I fell into a big icy bomb hole at my waist.
00:53No-one does this because they want their cues off.
00:58You do this because you love it.
00:59Oh, look at that!
01:00Oh, my God!
01:01I had to make a decision.
01:03You're either going to live or you're going to die.
01:04It's as simple as that.
01:05I have the opportunity, a second chance, to do this stuff.
01:08I just want to be an example of what's possible.
01:10This is me pushing myself to the limit of, I think, my abilities.
01:13If I, as an older ultrarunner, am showing ladies of every age that this is possible,
01:18that's a win for me.
01:19It's the Spine, and anything can go really, really wrong.
01:23You just keep them going.
01:25Of course.
01:25Do you have to be curious?

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