Let's get ready to dot watchđ
What is dot watching and why are we all quietly obsessed by it?
Tomorrow, people all over the world will be dot watching. If youâve never done it before, you might be reading that sentence and thinking, what on earth are you on about.
Dot watching is, quite simply, following the progress of someone in a race via an online tracker. Each runner is represented by a dot or pin on a map, usually with their bib number attached, and as they move through the course, so does the dot. Itâs most commonly used for really long ultramarathons where competitors are out on the course for days rather than hours.
The reason so many people will be dot watching tomorrow is because itâs the start of the winter Spine Race, a series of races including the âbrutalâ 268-mile race along the Pennine Way. This legendary race is where Jasmin Paris rose to international fame when she won the event outright whilst breastfeeding her daughter, back in 2019 (this story forms the start of my co-authored book Ultra Women). Meanwhile the summer version of the race was won outright by 55-year-old Anna Troup in 2025, and she chatted to me about the challenge just days afterwards.
How a 55-year-old woman won Britain's toughest ultra marathon outright
Women dominated the 268-mile Montane Summer Spine race this week breaking history in the process. It was the first time that the top two overall podium positions were held by women.
So why is dot watching so appealing and what can it tell us about a race?
