One Day To Go

The race starts tonight, well technically it’s tomorrow, and I’ve done my final kit check. I have a car full of stuff and I know I’ll probably only use about 10% of it but as the old adage goes – “It’s better to be looking at it than for it”.

I stayed up late last night so that I could have a long lie today, but it seems to have backfired as I woke early so now I’ve had even less sleep than I normally would – I’ll just have to rely on adrenaline for 24 hours.

Gavin my support runner and his wife Nat, who are travelling all the way up from Falmouth at the tip of Cornwall to help, are well up the road. We’re rendezvousing at Iain, my cousin-in-law’s, house in Kirkintilloch which will give us time for a quick pre-race planning meeting and somewhere comfortable to chill out before heading to Milngavie.

I’m sure everyone experiences the pre-race doubts like I’m having. Have I done enough training ? Will my knee hold up ? Will I make it past Tyndrum (I was shattered at the end of the Fling) ? Do I have enough to eat ? Will I get close to 24 hours ? I decide that it’s too late to do anything about it now so try and put it all out of my head.

Here we go ……………….

The Highland Fling

The big day arrived with my alarm going off at 4am - do all long races start this early ? Unfortunately I’d sat up until about 11pm drinking red wine, which may not have been the best preparation for the race, but I wasn’t feeling any ill effects.

A couple of bowls of porridge, a quick kit check and it’s time to go. We arrived in the car park about 5.20am and already it’s quite busy. I sort out what I’ll be wearing, my Inversnaid drop bag and pack some goodies for the first stage. I don’t feel the need to warm up as I don’t plan to run fast enough to need one.

We’re given a quick briefing then it’s into the underpass for the start. Sub 10 hr runners and relay teams are asked to go to the front, so I hang about near the back. Infact in John Kynaston’s video I can be seen as one of the last up the steps.

Start – Drymen

Within about 5 minutes of starting the rain comes on, but once you’re soaked through you can’t get much wetter and if you’re running it’s not a problem to stay warm. I tried to really concentrate going through the park as the next time I do it will be at 1am, but there should be plenty of people to follow.

I’d no idea how to pace myself and found myself passing quite a few people which made me think that maybe I was going too quickly, so I settled down behind 2 guys that looked like they might know what they’re doing (one of them had a WHW buff on) and comfortably followed along behind them.

The descent at Arlehaven was exceptionally muddy in the rain but I didn’t see anyone go down, although I came close in my road shoes a couple of times. I had a quick stop at the Belltree Inn to change into my waterproof jacket then it’s a surprising distance along the road where I’m glad I’m wearing cushioned road shoes.

Drymen - Rowardennan

On reaching Drymen I’d already decided that I would change into my trail shoes and put on knee supports for the stretch over Conic Hill (or Chronic Hill as my wife appropriately mis-pronounced it). I also hoped to be at Drymen in around 2 hours, but was there in 1hr 45mins, so thought I was maybe going a bit too fast.

I plodded on through Garadhban Forest and for the 1^st time that day found myself all on my own. After about 17 miles a girl passed me at great speed and looked incredibly fresh, which left me somewhat disheartened but after another couple of miles much to my relief, it dawned on me that she would have been a member of one of the relay teams.

The climb over “Chronic” Hill wasn’t too bad and given the weather there was a surprising number of people at the top giving support. The descent on the other hand was not terribly pleasant, steep, slippy and into a strong headwind, thankfully it’s not too long.

I arrived into Balmaha car park (3hrs 1min) looking lost, there were a lot of support teams and I couldn’t see mine, then when I found Fi and took a sandwich I’d no idea where the route went after that until I glimpsed a runner disappearing round a corner in the distance. I didn’t stop but shouted to Fi that my legs were on the verge of cramping so I would like a packet of crisps, to take on salt, at Sallochy.

The stretch between Balmaha and Sallochy was my worst of the day my legs my quads and hips were on fire after the Conic descent and I’m passed by a lot of runners who I just can’t keep up with so I slowed down to try and recover as there’s still a long way to go. I end up running with a guy (sorry don’t know his name) whose done a few ultras so I picked his brains to get some tips. On arriving at Sallochy I met the support team and the only thing they didn’t have ready – yep, the crisps. As I’d started to recover now I didn’t stop, shouting that I’d see them at Rowardennan.

On arriving at Rowardennan (4hr 26mins) Fi met me and ran with me to the car so I don’t get lost. As it was about half way I stopped here for a leisurely 10 minutes to eat and drink plenty.

Rowardennan – Bein Glas

On leaving Rowardennan I’m not sure where I’m going and there’s no-one to follow so I run for about half an hour not sure if I was going the right way, or wasting a lot of energy on the wrong path. Eventually I saw the chap I’d been running with before Rowardennan which confirmed I was on the right road.

Having never been on the Loch Lomondside path I’d no idea what to expect, but no-one seemed to like it on any of the race reports I’d read. I have to admit I didn’t mind it, it was difficult to get a rhythm but the walking at the rockier bits allowed my legs to rest. Inversnaid seemed to take an age to arrive and when it did (5hr 55mins) the heavens opened. I stopped for a couple of minutes and forced more food down which had kindly been brought over by members of the mountain rescue team.

I pushed on along the lochside still enjoying it and passed a few more runners here. I had told my support team that I should not need meet at Bein Glas farm but if I did I would call them, as I was feeling pretty good I pushed on through the checkpoint aiming for Derrydarroch Farm. The reception at Bein Glas farm was brilliant from everyone waiting there and spurred me on – thank you !

Bein Glas – Finish

I was glad to see my support team at Derrydarroch Farm, even though they did spill sticky Lucozade Sport all down my back when they were trying to refill my camelback. I didn’t stop long a quick change of t-shirt and soon was off again. This was where I began to realise that a sub-10 hour time was possibly on the cards as I had about 2 hours left to cover the remaining 10 miles, but it’d be close …

I would like to say that I upped the pace for the last 10 miles, but that was definitely not the case infact I felt that I was putting undue pressure on myself trying to beat the clock, when my body wouldn’t let me go any faster. It was very frustrating.

Running past Keilator Farm was particularly pleasant through the mud which was basically churned up, excreted, cow solids and liquids – nice. Once passed it was into Forrest, which was again frustrating as it wasn’t flat ….. not fair I’m trying to make up time here ! Coming down through the forest was just horrible on my knees and quads so I didn’t make up any time on the descents, of which there were many.

Fi & Ian met me again at the crossing of the A82 and in an effort to speed myself up I ditched my camelback, I felt like I was now floating. At Auchtertyre Farm I had 3 miles to go and half an hour to do it in. I know this bit of the A82 and in a car id doesn’t feel like 3 miles. I dug deep and pushed on; with 10 minutes to go I was on the outskirt of the greater Tyndrum metropolitan area, I knew it wasn’t that large so surely I could run from one side to the other in 10 minutes.

On seeing the finish I felt like I was floating towards it. The reception was once again brilliant, thanks everyone, and I crossed the line in 9hrs 55 mins 44s, well inside my aimed-for 12 hours - I couldn’t believe it. Having ran for almost the last 30 miles on my own I’d no idea where about in the field I finished, a quick enquiry with timekeepers showed I was 17^th out of 137 runners. If I was on a high at finishing I was stratospheric now, I had no idea I was so far up the field, although I was miles behind the winner, who finished in an unbelievable 7hrs 24 mins and was probably home and had his tea by the time I came in – how is that possible ?

Post Race

Now I’ve finished my 1^st ultra I have to say I fair enjoyed it and running 40 miles further than I’d raced before was easier than I had anticipated. That’s not to say it was easy, I had a few lows on the run itself, it took to Wednesday before I could attempt to walk down stairs, and when I finished I thought how would I manage another 43 miles now if I was doing the full WHW race.

So it has acted as a bit of a reality check and shown me what I need to do for the big race. Dario called me the day after to confirm my place in the starting line up on 21 June, so all I have to do now is loads of training and stay injury free.

The Fling itself was a brilliant experience but it also prepared me and my support for the big race. I now know the route from Milngavie to Bein Glas, which I didn’t before and the team know where all the checkpoints are. It has also shown me how to pace the big run, I’ll definitely not be at Tyndrum in under 10 hours then. Now if anyone has any tips on how to break the news about the midgies to the support team …..

The day before …

It’s the Highland Fling tomorrow and I’ll admit to being a little nervous about my first ultra. I have no idea how to pace it so my plan is to walk the uphills, gently jog the flats and downhills and see how I go.

The forecast is for heavy rain in the morning but clearing up later in the day, I would prefer to run in rain than bright sunshine, so hopefully it won’t clear up too much.

We’re heading down to cousin Ian’s house in Kirkintilloch tonight so we don’t have far to go in the morning. He’s also kindly agreed to help with support team duties.

I hope to update with a full race report next week, which with a bit of luck will conclude with me crossing the finish line.

Cairngorms

Yesterday I went up to the Braemar area for a run around the foot of the Southern Cairgorms, an area I know very well, but where I had not been for a while.

I parked at Invereye and ran down past Mar Lodge following the Dee on its north bank for a few miles then head north towards the Sluggan. I can see that the snow is lying to quite a low level, uncharacteristically for this late in April, but I don't plan to go too high. However as I approach the Sluggan I see that on leeward slopes the snow is lying and is a couple of feet deep.















Looking back down the Sluggan.

As I crest the top I see that there is way more snow than I anticipated - this is going to be slow torturous going ! I wade through the snow taking an hour to cover the next 2.5 miles, running's impossible until I'm well down the glen. I'm able to get running through the Clais Fhearnaig then stopped in at Bob Scott's bothy for a quick lunch before heading on to Luibeg.












Climbing up from Luibeg I once again enter the snow which slows me down again. I had planned to turn south and head for White Bridge but the laces on my Salomon trail shoes snapped, if anyone has experienced this they will know what I’m talking about. The lacing system is not straight forward and when not broken works well, but is a nightmare when it breaks.

To cap it off the blue skies disappear and it starts to snow – heavily, so I decide to head for Corrour Bothy to fix the shoe and eat my 2^nd lunch. On my arrival there were 11 people sheltering within but I managed to squeeze into a corner fix the broken shoe and cut the lace on the good shoe and fix that too before it breaks somewhere less convenient.














The path down to White Bridge is a real trackle once I’m out of the snow and my feet have thawed, I have to walk though 5 miles of mud, but I eventually get onto the track and run back to the car through the Linn o’ Dee.

I covered around 31 miles in 7hrs 30 mins, pretty slow, but I take comfort that over 10 of these miles were through snow and mud and slowed me down considerably. This has been a good run and I my legs don’t feel too bad which gives me a bit of confidence for the Highland Fling in a couple of weeks.

Monster Bike and Hike

A couple of Fiona’s team have pulled out of the Monster Challenge leaving them short. I had originally been on standby as a reserve to drive the support vehicle but now I’m roped into doing the full thing. Normally this would have been a good training opportunity for the full WHW but it is only 1 week after the Highland Fling, and my legs could be a little weary. Hopefully I won’t pick up any injuries….

Cateran Trail

After 2 weeks off I run the 11 miles home comfortably and decided to risk a longer run at the weekend. Fiona, my wife, is taking part in the Maggie’s Challenge Monster Bike and Hike on 3 May, (a 31 mile cycle followed by a 43 mile walk) so she and her friend decide that as training they would walk the Cateran Trail from Spittal of Glenshee to Bridge of Cally . I drop them off then drive back down to BoC and run the trail to the lunch hut a couple of miles shy of the Spittal. On the way I'm transformed into a snowman a couple of times by passing flurries but it's blue sky between them. After a quick bite to eat Iran back to BoC and met up with Fiona.

This was the longest run I’ve done to date, 28 miles in 5 hours and still felt fresh, but I’m very conscious the Highland Fling will be twice that. Quads are a bit weary though !

The Lomonds

This weekend I managed an extra run to push my mileage up a bit and went for a run from the Craigmead car park near Falkland in Fife, over West Lomond to the transmitter at White Craigs and back. Unfortunately as I was running over Bishop Hill something twanged in my left calf, but as I was so far from the car I had to continue on it, probably exasperating the injury, but it was 11.5 easy paced miles over rough terrain.

Yesterday I went running with the club and despite some discomfort in the calf I pushed on and had a good run. Unfortunately today the calf is now killing me so I think I'm going to lay off for a week or 2 which is really frustrating as my shin splints have all but vanished.

March 2008

I’m back up to 20 miles a week but a little worried that maybe I’m too far behind schedule and this will be too little too late. I make this up by doing the 8 mile run with the club and running the 11 miles home from work once a week. My club runs are now back up to the pace they were 6 months ago and I’m remaining injury free. I plan to go out for longer runs at the weekends now as the 53 mile Highland Fling from Milngavie to Tyndrum is just over a month away.

February 2008

The 3 February is the Forfar half marathon and it’s very wet underfoot, there’s one stretch of about 30m where the ice cold water’s up over my knees ! This is a fantastic route around Forfar and it’s a good change to get a decent off road run, even if the styles do interrupt the rhythm. There’s a big climb up Balmashanner Hill at 9 miles which I struggle a bit on but otherwise I cruise round within myself finishing in a better than hoped for 1hr 48mins.

Since I’ve started back running my shin splints have returned however the enforced lay off has meant they were not as bad as before. I run in custom made orthotics but feel that they are not giving me quite the support I need for my over-pronation so I book an appointment with a podiatrist. She basically stops short of calling me a freak and adds a couple of extra degrees lift, apparently I need around 10 degrees. I combine this with a new pair of road shoes and the end result – no shin splints, why did I not do this years ago ?

January 2008

The chemo is now finished but I still have no red blood cells and my lungs appear to have been damaged by the treatment. Do the same route at the Xmas run with the club only this time I can’t run it all and have to walk the hills finishing in 1hr 5mins. It’s freezing cold, chucking with rain and to add insult to injury I’m last back – at least it can’t get any worse !

I miss the Devil’s Burdens relay race across the Lomond Hills in Fife, but help out with the transporting of the 2 teams to the various start points. It’s incredibly frustrating not being able to take part.

Throughout January I rapidly recover towards a reasonable, but still diminished, level of fitness and enter the Forfar multi-terrain half marathon as my first fitness goal. My objective is to run all the way round,including the uphills, and get as close as I can to 2 hours ( I finished in 1hr 37 in 2007 which was my first half marathon).