Nicola "Nicky" Spinks is a 51 year old, British long distance runner, specialising in fell running,
Nicky has over 16 years' experience of fell and ultra running, successfully completing ten 24 hour Rounds holding the record for the Ladies Lakeland 24 hour round with 64 Peaks in 23.15 hours. She also held the Ladies records for all three UK rounds; BG 18.06, Paddy 19.02 and Ramsay 19.39.
In 2016 she broke the record for the Double Bob Graham finishing in 45.30 hours.
In racing she prefers long mountainous fell races such as 10 Peaks Extreme winning outright and current course record holder, the Ultra Tour Mont Blanc (11th & 16th) , E’Chappee Belle (2nd), Grand Raid Pyrenees (1st twice) and Grand Raid Re-Union (4th).
Nicky has set women's records for the major fell running challenges including, The Ramsay Round, the Paddy Buckley Round and the Bob Graham Round! She is also the holder of the overall record for the double Bob Graham Round.
Show notes
- Who is Nicky Spinks?
- A farmer & a fell runner
- Growing up on a farm with 6 kids and running everywhere
- Going from the farm to working in an office in the city for 7 years
- Meeting her husband!
- Deciding to take her running more seriously
- 2001 - running with a friend and doing her first 10K
- Joining a running club and finding a passion for fell running & doing her first 20 mile run
- Being a competitive person and using races for training.
- What the Bob Graham round is?
- Heading back up to Scotland for training
- Her 10 year journey in running and why she doesn’t rush things
- Enjoying 100 mile races and being happy with her performance
- The biggest challenge she’s had to face - cancer
- 2006 being diagnosed with breast cancer
- Dealing with the emotions and how she handle it and why she applied her training to cancer
- Celebrating more in her life
- Getting back into running after surgery
- Giving her brain a break from the cancer by running
- Diet and food
- Preparing mentally for the Double Ramsey
- Getting through the low points and how she gets out of them
- Dealing with the heat and leg cramps (after 4 hours!)
- Strategy for the race
- Being her own coach and creating her own training plan
- Never wanting to quit
- Knowing she was going to complete the double!
- Sleep deprivation…
- How she recovers
- Would she go back & try to do it faster?!
- The next race….
- Advice and tips for women who want to take their running to the next level
- Blogging since 2006
- Working as a running coach and how it works
- Final words of advice
Social Media
Website - www.runbg.co.uk
Twitter - @NickySpinks