Pressendye Hill Race - Welcome to the Pleasuredome

So a brand new race, included as part of the Cosmics Summer Series due to the cancellation of the Durris Mast race. Unfortunately a bit further to travel than Durris which meant that only myself and Gary were there from Stonehaven.
We'd had a family walk up Pressendye at the end of last year (or start of this year, I can't remember) but the race route was slightly different, starting on the edge of the village of Tarland with a short road bit before turning onto a fairly narrow path through the trees which widened enough for overtaking quite soon. Not that I was doing any overtaking - I was just planning a nice steady race the whole way. After a bit, the route opened up a bit more onto a wide, grassy path through moorland, great to run back down I was thinking as I pushed on, run/walking towards the track where we would meet the route taken on our walk and where I knew I could run for a little bit before the last steep push to the top. Which was steeper and harder than I remembered so it was a great relief to round the trig point and start back down - an even bigger relief for a lady I'd been following all the way up but who really suffered and felt sick on the last climb, but then got a second wind and flew past me on the descent. I picked off a couple of runners on the way down which felt good and even had time to look up at the fantastic view - a panorama taking in Clachnaben, Mount Battock, Mount Keen, snowy Lochnagar, and nearby Morven.
So overall, I'd say this was a good wee race - a traditional up-and-back hill race with some steep climbs and fast, runnable descents with the bonus of some good views when you're not concentrating on your feet. It's just a shame that it felt such a long way from home.

There Will Be Blood

Well, that was quite a weekend.

It seems like there are a lot of wee stories to tell:
the solo drive to Tyndrum with Nirvana and Spacemen 3 blaring on the stereo;
meeting up with mrs s (briefly) and Julia and Christina before setting off towards Auchtertyre in the wonderful left hand drive camper van with no power steering;
the joy of seeing Ian heading up the trail looking really strong;
meeting the bundle of excitement that was HappyG back at Tyndrum;
the prescient words of Alan No Mates;
the shock of finding no midges at Bridge of Orchy;
Minty taking a power nap before setting off up "Murdo's Mount";
my relief that my leg felt fine on the descent to Inverarnan;
the weird colours on Minty's leg;
seeing new ground on the stretch from Forest Lodge to Ba Bridge and finally covering every part of the Way;
burger and chips and hugs from mrs s at Glencoe;
the beautiful rainbow seen from Altnafeadh;
the drive to Kinlochleven to get ready to support Minty to Lundavra;
and possibly more.
But all of that would just be a prelude to the events that happened on the Lairig Mor at some time shortly after midnight. The Lairig Mor doesn't often appear in anyone's "my favourite bits of the West Highland Way Race" list. It's an uneven, stony path with a number of small streams and a few puddles; fairly hard going at the best of times, difficult when tired, treacherous in the dark. Nevertheless, Minty and I were making decent progress despite wet feet and me almost walking off the path once. We had reached the corner and turned northwards, we could see Lochan Lunn Da Bhra in the pale moonlight, and knew we were about two miles from the bonfire at Lundavra where we would meet up with the rest of the team again. And then there was a small thump and I heard Minty say something along the lines of "ow! I've tripped and hit my head". And there he was, face down on the path with a grazed cheek and a bit of blood above his eye. OK, not a problem, let's get him back on his feet and take a proper look. Except that he was a bit wobbly on his feet so we sat down again and I decided to give him my buff to wrap around the cut which thankfully wasn't flowing much. And then, he took a turn for the worse and slumped a bit. Thankfully, some other runners had arrived up the trail and we got his feet elevated and tried to keep him talking to check how he was. Which wasn't great - he wasn't making much sense and at one point fainted briefly and was slightly annoyed to come round a few seconds later as we having such a good dream apparently. Of course, there was no decent phone signal there but one of the other support runners ran on ahead to get help, and I sent out an emergency text after we got Ian wrapped in a couple of foil blankets in an approximation of the recovery position. At which point he said (quite clearly) "I'm going to be sick" and retched a few times. His condition generally seemed to be improving so it seemed like a good idea to try and head up the trail, towards warmth and safety so we got him back on his feet (on the second attempt) and we resumed our journey, more slowly than before, with Minty holding on to me, shivering, and realising that he'd also bumped his leg. Oh well, I was thinking, another mile or so of this and he can get warmed up and taken off to the hospital to get checked over.
Next thing I know, my phone goes off - it's the police, following up on my emergency text, and happy enough to stand down when I explained that the injured runner was back on his feet and close to getting extra help. And shortly after that, George called to try and find out more information - I explained what was happening and as he conferred with Dr Chris at race control, the battery went dead so we just had to keep going and hopefully, we'd be able to better find out what was happening when we met up with the crew at Lundavra. By this time, Minty's head torch was blinking occasionally to indicate that the batteries were getting a bit low, and I was worried we'd have to stop and wait in the dark which would have been bad news as we were now moving at a better walking pace, talking a bit and starting to warm up again. So it was a great relief to see a head torch heading towards us and to have Neal Gibson join us, especially as he was able to donate a very warm jacket to Minty's cause, and to further raise our spirits with more chat. And very quickly, the certainty that this race was over dissolved and it became clear that Minty would want to keep going, depending on how things looked when we met up with Julia and Christina at the meeting point. And almost before we knew it, we arrived at the bonfire, and sat down to warm ourselves and come up with a plan. Communications with race control weren't very clear so it came down to the support crew to decide on the best course of action. Our runner obviously wanted to continue (and I'm not sure we could have stopped him if we'd tried), bleeding had stopped, he had been moving well, talking coherently, he was taking on food and drink, and he was just 7 miles from the finish. Christina was due to take over buddy runner duties but very sensibly said she wanted another runner as well. Julia wasn't keen to accompany them on that section in the dim light, so I agreed (in less than a heartbeat) that I would continue on foot with them. And so, we set off, looking forward to seeing the sunrise over Ben Nevis. The sunrise was less spectacular than hoped for, but we covered the miles in good time and in good spirits and we were soon on the final climb and getting our first glimpse of Fort William. Thankfully, there were no tears for me this year. And when Minty suggested we run down the hill, I was happy to break into a jog all the way down to the bottom. Even the road to Braveheart Car Park seemed shorter than usual and it was great to see Mike there and be able to congratulate him on his brilliant finish in 6th place. He then scooted off in the car to let Julia and everyone else at the finish that we were on our way. Julia came out to meet us at the edge of Fort William and we all ran to the finish together feeling relieved and elated. He'd done it! Minty would be collecting his crystal goblet after all. At least, he would be as long as he was out of the hospital which was where Silke told him he was going to get properly checked out.
I was exhausted, but decided to get a shower at the Leisure Centre so I could wait with mrs s for our friend, Wee Rhino to complete the race. It was brilliant to see her finish but then it really was time to get to the hotel for some sleep - we'd heard by then that Minty had got a couple of stitches and they were keeping an eye on him but he was doing well so we slept fairly soundly for a few hours before heading up to the Nevis Centre for the prize giving. Minty had been released from the hospital so it was fantastic so see him get his goblet along with the other finishers, all of whom will no doubt have their own stories to tell.
I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who helped us out - the runners who stopped and assisted, the guys that ran on ahead to get help, all the folk at the bonfire. You were all brilliant and your help was greatly appreciated by everyone in Team Minty. I also want to say that I was very pleased to be a part of the team; we all got on really well, had some fun, and got the job done. And finally, I want to say well done to one of the most determined, meticulous, kind-hearted, wonderful, and mental runners I know. Ian Minty, you are a legend.

Yuck, ouch, and ouch.

The Cateran Trail Ultra is a pretty tough race, not just for the runners but also for their kit. And sadly, it was as much as my trail shoes could bear. To be honest, they were practically falling to bits before the race so the decision was taken to send them to the bin.

Adidas Kanadia TR2

That's them---->
My second pair of Kanadias (and not my last; I have replaced them with a pair of Kanadia TR4), these trusty shoes racked up over 1090 miles (the previous pair managed 1111) and I would recommend the Kanadia to most runners as a good value, durable,comfortable trail shoe. Compared to other shoes I use, they're heavier than my Breatho Trails and not as grippy as my Mudclaws, but they're probably more comfortable than either and fulfil a different purpose. The newer versions also seem to have a better sole so definitely recommended.

Anyway, the main purpose of this post is to remind myself and anybody else of the importance of recovery. As you will recall, I wasn't in the best shape at the end of the Cateran race. In particular, my legs were a bit sore, my feet were a bit sore, and my ankle hurt. So, I took a few days off until the club run on Thursday when I decided to go out and see how it felt. And it felt ok; my leg muscles all felt good and enjoyed the work out, but the ankle still wasn't 100% and had a bit of a dull ache. Until the next day when it was bloody sore. Walking was difficult all weekend and I ended up taking a walking stick to work on Monday. So, yes, the Thursday evening run was a mistake and I should have waited until the ankle felt completely recovered.

Fortunately, it seems to be properly on the mend now which is great news because we're doing a sponsored walk on Saturday to raise money for the Aberdeen Mountain Rescue Team. It ought to be a good, but tough day out. If you would like to sponsor us, you can do so through JustGiving:



Thank you.

I'd have done anything for a pint of orange juice

Stage 1 - Spittal of Glenshee to Dalnagair Castle

And they're off. Photo: Muriel Downie

My race plan was simple - run and see how it goes. Unusually, I just didn't have the legs or the confidence to keep up with Donnie Campbell and Mike Raffan and they accelerated away and were soon out of sight. As the field began to spread out, I happily found myself in a group of Stonehaven women (mrs s, Claire, and Nicola S) along with Alex P and Carol Martin. It was a good sociable group and we were soon at the checkpoint. I'd decided to have a small drop bag at each checkpoint but wanted to spend as little time as possible so just grabbed the bag and continued on down the road.

Stage 2 - Dalnagair Castle to Kirkton of Glenisla

Up the hill above Forter

Auchintaple Loch

The girls pulled ahead a bit on the road section but I was confident of catching them again on the climb after Forter and I was able to overtake them for a bit before the next flattish bit when we all regrouped and there was plenty more good blether on this bit and again, the miles passed fairly easily.
It was good to see the junction where Minty, Alan and I had gone wrong last year and to go the right way - helped by the huge new gate blocking the wrong route. Coming in to Glenisla, I was drifting off the pace a wee bit so even more determined to make it as short a stop as possible and let the rest of the group catch up after a longer break if they wanted to.

Stage 3 - Kirkton of Glenisla to Den of Alyth

mrs s and Alex very quickly rejoined me and we were soon away up the steep hill and over the wee stile where I managed to jar my ankle - an action I managed to repeat twice on the way down the hill. I realised that pain was going to be a constant companion for the day, but it didn't feel as bad as I first feared and I was able to keep going. Wet weather had been forecast so it was no surprise when the rain came on as we hit the road section near Ardormie - in fact the surprise was how little rain there was compared to the forecast which was probably just as well. As I pulled on my waterproof, I also realised that the foot pain which had threatened to stop me running had disappeared, or was at least being masked by the slight pain in the ankle and the familiar pain in my toe joint which suggested that I was in store for a gout episode at some point. Sorry, don't mean to moan - simply jotting things down that I remember.
A couple of miles from Alyth, we met up with Ali and Kate (Alex's sis) who ran with us into the town. It was a nice boost to see them and have a wee chat, although I think it boosted my running companions too much because they kicked on a little bit quicker leaving me trying to catch up as we jogged down into the Den of Alyth. I don't remember being particularly uncomfortable at this point, but this picture taken by Muriel Downie seems to suggest otherwise.

Stage 4 - Den of Alyth to Blairgowrie

Another super quick pass through the checkpoint and food on the move as I walked through the wooded den before being caught and passed by Dave K and then reunited with mrs s and Alex and it was on up the road towards Drimmie Woods. I felt like I was definitely struggling to keep up by this point so started to suggest that they should go on ahead as I was going through a bit of a slump. Anna caught us up in the woods, saying that she couldn't run downhill but had been forced to carry on and was stopping at Blairgowrie. Stopping at Blairgowrie. Now, there was an idea. I could do that. I'd just have to get there first, so try and keep going for now and let's see. After a bit more plodding and getting passed by a couple of people, I noticed a small stone in my shoe and decided to sit down for a minute and clear it out. When I got back up, my legs felt much better than they had and I was able to get a decent jog going on the long descent although I was easily passed by Claire who was running well but slightly concerned that Nic S might have gone the wrong way somewhere but was probably back on the right track.
It was great to see santababy and get a huge hug at the road crossing in Blairgowrie and I could also see Ali, Kate and Laura at the checkpoint. Again, the idea of stopping here and cadging a lift up to the Spittal flashed through my mind. After all, I was pretty sure I could get a lift up the road, I would probably have Anna's company so I wouldn't be mooching about on my own, and I might even get to see some of the fast guys finish for a change. Very tempting.

Stage 5 - Blairgowrie to Bridge of Cally

But not tempting enough. I was going to finish the bloody race. So, I got my drop bag, got my water bottled filled (thanks Bill), another hug from santa, and I was away.

The River Ericht at Blairgowrie

My drop bag contained a buttery and some flapjack, neither of which appealed at the time so I downed some liquid and thought about what I really wanted. And the answer was some orange juice, specifically a pint of fresh orange juice with ice. Oh, that would have been so good. Ada passed me on the way up the hill but not only did she not have a pint of orange juice on her, she gave me a very strange look when I asked. I decided not to ask Vicky or Claire who both passed me again (because they'd stopped longer at the checkpoint) but I couldn't help thinking about that orange juice. I had a wee trip down memory lane at the farm where mrs s and I got on the wrong side of a fence in 2011 and I scratched my calf climbing over a barbed wire fence (I still have a faint scar 2 years later) and then the rain came on again and I hit a bit of a low. I was passed by Jo Rae and Karen but otherwise didn't see anyone for ages. Just before the descent to Bridge of Cally I was thinking about the 2011 race again and remembered bashing my toe and falling but feeling much better afterwards. Just then, I stubbed my toe again and although I laughed at the coincidence, I didn't fall and headed on down to the checkpoint to see if they had any orange juice. They didn't, but Sean did have some vaseline which I was pleased about for a different reason. They also had Jane, Carolyn, and Johnny Fling with much needed words of encouragement.

Stage 6 - Bridge of Cally to Enochdhu

Nicola going up the steep hill towards the boggy slopey bit

As I was heading out of the checkpoint, munching on a buttery and drinking irn bru, I heard someone behind me and turned round to see Nicola S. I was really chuffed to see her, partly because I'd been worried she might have dropped out after thinking she was lost and being on her own for a bit, but mainly because I hoped that it meant I would have some company for a while. I walked on slowly for a wee bit to keep warm and she soon caught me up so that we could continue together. It was good to have somebody to talk to and we made decent progress, walking the ups and breaking into an occasional run on the downs. It certainly brightened my mood for a bit until the rain hit us again on the approach to Kirkmichael and it became a bit of a slog.

Some humorous route marking from Neil and Marc  

A pretty waterfall

We caught sight of Dave K in the distance a couple of times but were unable to close the distance. The little wood before Enochdhu provided some shelter from the weather but I decided to put on waterproof trousers just before we got back out into the open. Nicola said she would keep going and I could catch her up. I faffed about getting my trousers on and also threw an extra top on as I was concerned about getting cold, then exited the wood and jogged on after Nic. I couldn't see her at first, but it was reasonably clear which way to go (wasn't it) so I was sure she would be just a bit further along the way. Still no sign of her past the big white house and down towards the junction; I must have taken longer than I thought and she was already at the checkpoint. I heard some dogs up the hill and briefly wondered what they were barking about before I headed in to Enochdhu where I was happy to see Carolyn, Flip, and Leon but where there was definitely no Nicola. Shit. Where was she? Obviously, she must have missed the turning or something. I decided to drink some of my vodka while we decided what to do. It tasted good (would have been better with orange juice!) but didn't solve the problem of the missing woman so Leon agreed to head back along the track and see if he could find her while I would see if I had her phone number and give her a call. Before we managed to locate my phone, Leon reappeared, with Nicola and we let out a huge sigh of relief. She had a little of my vodka, I managed to get some orange lucozade from Carolyn (not quite orange juice but not bad!) and we were ready to set off on the final stage.

Stage 7 - Enochdhu to Spittal of Glenshee

Thanks to Carolyn for this picture at Enochdhu

As we set off, Flip gave us a good send off by forcing some Soreen (other malt loaves are available) into Nicola's mouth and then pointing out the damage he'd done by bumping Dod's van into a bollard. Well, it made me laugh.
What didn't make me laugh was the aching in my thighs and the feeling that I just couldn't get even a decent walking pace going. After we got past the farm and onto the hill track I felt pretty bad but was just determined to keep going to the finish. Three deer skipped across the path and I was going to comment to Nicola but realised she was out of earshot because of the ever-present wind and was getting further ahead of me all the time. It made me smile to see her looking strong but I knew I was in for a hard, lonely slog up the hill. I can remember looking over towards the sun and trying to figure out if it would drop below the skyline before I reached the finish. It did but there was still daylight and I could make out a few dots further up the path. Somewhere near the bothy, I realised that one of the dots had been coming down the hill and was Marc. He and Neil had been doing a fine job of escorting runners up that last bit of the hill and it was good to see them and hear some of the stories from the day, and to have some fresh ears to moan about the wind to. Since they thought that any other runners were in a group with the sweepers, they decided to accompany me to the finish. I had been hoping to run down the final hill with them, but found it was sore so the three of us walked down together.

So relieved to finish.

 It was annoying for me as I really liked the finish in 2011 and 2012, and it must have been very frustrating for them as I'm sure they could have barrelled down the hill in no time at all, but we eventually reached the bottom and I managed to jog over the line for a series of massive hugs from Karen, mrs s, Dod, and probably some other people but my brain wasn't on full power and I can't remember everything. I do remember a huge round of applause on entering the bar so thank you to everyone there.
Thanks also to Karen for putting on another great race, to all the marshals for making it possible and for their help and encouragement at all the checkpoints, and to the sweepers for helping keep us safe - you are all brilliant and I hope you all read this. I also want to say thank you to the winner, Donnie, who filled his winner's quaich with some very fine whisky and shared it with everyone there. But most of all, I'd like to thank everyone I ran with who kept me going on a difficult day - without mrs s and Alex, I doubt I'd have got as far as Alyth, and without Nicola, I still think I'd have finished but it would have been a much less enjoyable race.
Thanks for listening.

To Run Or Not To Run

My preparation for this year's Cateran Trail Ultramarathon wasn't really as good as it should have been. For starters, my training hasn't been great this year - too many long runs that have felt tired and slow rather than fun and easy. And to make matters worse, I got a really sore foot on the Tuesday before the race - not really sure what the problem was but some sort of pain on the top of the foot on the inside above the arch (any medical people who want to diagnose this please let me know in the comments). The pain was bad enough to stop me running the Durris Mast race on Thursday evening and at that point I was putting my chances of running on Saturday at about 40% (the length of the blog might give you a clue as to whether I reached the start line so don't scroll down if you don't like spoilers). The foot felt a bit better on Friday so I went ahead and registered at the Spittal of Glenshee Hotel but felt the pain increase a little over the course of the evening - as I headed for bed, I really didn't think it would be worth pulling on my shorts in the morning. A combination of high winds, a draughty window, a banging fire door and the foot pain meant that I didn't get a lot of sleep; I think I was still awake at about 1:30am when I took some more Paracetamol and played some games on my phone in the hope that it would make me sleepy enough to get a couple of hours kip before the 5:30am breakfast alarm. I woke feeling less sore, got dressed as if I was going to run, and headed off for a nice breakfast with the mrs and a quick hello to many of the runners who we hadn't seen in the bar the previous evening. After breakfast I jogged a few steps to see how things felt. Well, it was a wee bit sore, but no worse than I've felt at the end of other races so there was nothing for it but to get ready to run, take some more paracetamol, sort out the drop bags and join everyone for the wee walk round to the start line and we were soon off on another wee adventure.

But that's a story that needs more time in the telling so I'll sign off for now.

(Sorry to anyone who believed the bit about the length of the blog being significant in any way)

Looking for piles of rocks

Cairn on Mongour with TV mast

Near the top of the slug road, on the way from Stonehaven to Crathes, near the Durris TV mast, there's an exposed hill top with a cairn on the top. Having spotted this hill quite a few times, I became curious as to what it was and how to get there. After identifying it from the map as Craigbeg and noting that there was another cairn on nearby Mongour that I'd never seen, I decided to explore.
Starting at the car park near Spyhill cottage, I followed the route of the Durris mast race route as far as the benches on the top of Mongour and then continued East past a small stone shelter and along a wee track through the trees which then came to a wee clearing containing a substantial cairn, larger and better built than I was expecting.

The entry to the "tunnel of doom" - not today!

I kept on the track down to the access road for the mast where I was able to rejoin the race route just where it heads off the road through another fire break and across the stony gully. At this point the race turns left and enters the "tunnel of doom" but my path kept me going forwards onto a heather covered hilltop, devoid of any obvious paths or signs that anyone had been there in some time - it was hard going but before too long, I reached the cairn, next to a stunted tree, from where there were fine views across to Cairn mon Earn and back down the valley towards Stonehaven. To get back to the car, I dropped down to the North East, quickly found the track going round the hill and followed it back to the access road and then back down to the car park.

Looking towards Cairn mon Earn from Craigbeg

As "long" runs go, 5 miles in 1hr22 doesn't sound too impressive, but at least every time we drive over the slug, I can point up at the wee cairn and say "I've been there!". mrs s will never tire of hearing that, I'm sure!

Approximate route taken

WHW Race - a supporters tale

(note: in the time it's taken me to write this, both Vikki and Rhona have written blogs, so there won't be many surprises in here. This is my personal account. After all, it's all about me, isn't it?)


Well, what a weekend that was. One with many ups and downs, both literally and figuratively, with tears and laughter, lots of hugs, with tea and cake and chips and beer, with winding paths that stretched and distorted both time and space. And rain. Lots of rain.

To be fair, the rain was expected - all the forecasts had been indicating a wet weekend - but what had been unexpected was the pain in my leg (somewhere on the outside about an inch or so below the knee) which appeared on Thursday morning, throwing my role as support runner into some doubt. Nevertheless, I achieved goal 1 (get Vikki to the start line in plenty time via registration and short kip in the car) despite the sore leg and my general desire to wander around the car park chatting to all the fabulous people who were there to run or crew or whatever.

And they're off

  

Vikki and Dave at the start

1am arrived and the race started, the runners disappearing off through the underpass, the supporters more slowly heading back for their cars, and I felt a few pangs of worry as I felt the rain fall and thought of the long long trail Vikki was setting off to follow. A chatted to a few more folk, and then headed back to the car and got the stove on to make some hot chocolate for myself, Rhona and Graeme (the other members of our team). They were going to head directly to Tyndrum and try and get some sleep - meanwhile I was going to meet Vikki at Drymen so there was no hurry, at least until I realised I was needing the toilet so I decided to make a stop at the Beech Tree Inn where I was able to stand under a brolly and watch the runners go through, chat to some of the other support crews and to Neil and Conor from the sweeping team, and get a bacon roll. What I wasn't able to do was go to the toilet but I found a wee side road on the way to Drymen which did nicely.
Drymen was wet - again, lots of support crew huddling under umbrellas waiting to see their runners through safely and see if they were going to need anything for the section over Conic Hill. All V needed was a quick kiss and off she went, leaving me to drive through the rain up to Balmaha where I had plenty of time to enjoy a cup of coffee with George, Karen, Joopsy and Siouxsie in the Oak Tree Inn (who had specially opened the pub and the shop for the race) before heading out to the car park in time to get a phone call from the top of the hill requesting dry clothes to be laid out and a cup of tea. There was a bit of a faff getting V into new clothes, but the tea seemed to keep her happy and she was soon off again in pursuit of Dave_K and Johnny Fling who had both left soon before her. Dave H and his crew were right next to us so I had a quick chat with them and then headed off to Tyndrum. The rain was belting down, there were huge puddles over the road, and I was a bit tired so it wasn't the greatest driving experience - still, I was probably a little more comfortable than the runners making their way up the other side of the loch.

MTFU about that knee, shanksi

Heading for BoO

I got some sleep (probably not as much as I'd have liked) in the car at Tyndrum and woke up to see the lovely Lorna walking past the car so I wound down the window and had a chat with her while also checking text messages to try and catch up on all the race news. Rhona and Graeme came over to say good morning and we decided to head over to the Green Welly for breakfast and to chat about how the race was going and what the plan would be. I'd heard from Vikki and she was doing ok but her ITB was hurting a wee bit so it was likely to be a march to the finish from now on. My leg was throbbing a bit (and there was a new pain at the front of the knee) so I said I'd probably just walk with her from Auchtertyre to Tyndrum to see how it felt and would hopefully continue to Bridge of Orchy but it would depend how sore it was. We killed a bit more time, chatted to Carolyn and her parents for a bit, then jumped in the car via The Real Food Cafe for some take away tea which would hopefully still be warm when Vikki reached the check point (it was).
It was great to see Vikki again and she seemed happy and full of beans - ready for the long trek ahead, although not before a change of clothes and a Pot Noodle.
It turned out that my knee was quite comfortable with the pace we set to Tyndrum so I was able to keep going and we had a nice walk, chatting about the scenery, other runners, how the race was going, and how all our friends were getting on elsewhere on the course.

A bit of a grump

Inveroran 

At "Midge of Orchy", Graeme and Rhona took over buddy duties and I took the car round to Inverornan and headed back up the hill to meet them so I could give Vikki her gloves and to take in the view. Back at the car, Vikki said a hot cup of tea would be nice, so I whizzed round to the car park at Victoria Bridge and got the stove going. Unfortunately they were past me before I could get a decent boil going in the windy weather so no tea. I was annoyed at myself for forgetting to bring a flask as we had planned, and got more annoyed when I  found that the entrance to the car park was partially blocked by a parked car - the same parked car that had partially blocked the entrance on the way in, but who had reversed further in when they saw me coming but had obviously then rolled forward again (presumably so they could talk to the people in the van next to them through the window) before exiting the car. I had to bump over a couple of wee stones to get back on the road - I wanted to have one last chat to the team before they set off towards Rannoch Moor but just missed them at the wee lodge so I was in a fairly grumpy mood on the drive up to Glencoe. My mood lifted a bit after I parked up and had a wee chat to George, and could see the cloud drifting away from over the Devil's Staircase. I even glimpsed a strange blue colour in the sky - perhaps we'd be lucky enough to get a dry night which I was sure the runners would appreciate after their soaking on Saturday morning. I realised I was hungry so headed up to the cafe for some lovely chips, checked the schedule to see how long I had to wait and decided to head back up the path to meet the team coming the other way. My knee was still a little sore so I jogged/limped/walked up the path. Great to see Dave K and Colin Knox and quite a few folk I didn't know still going and looking forward to reaching the checkpoint. I met Vikki, Rhona and Graeme at about two miles and we were soon joined by Jonathan and M1nty - spirits were high, and why not? After all, Glencoe had a proper toilet and the cafe was serving hot food.

On a high

Jonathan and M1nty

Vikki asked me to get some take-away chips and some coffee for her and I decided that a bottle of cold beer would be just what I needed - spirits were even higher as we headed towards Kingshouse and we picked up the pace again, which unfortunately meant pulling away from J and M as we approached Altnafeadh. Rhona had taken a wee break to get some food but met us there. Graeme had taken over driving duties. As we started the climb up the staircase we passed Ada who was having some trouble with her back - to her great credit she showed amazing courage and finished the race but needed a wheelchair to get to the award ceremony. We also passed some time with Silke and Thomas who were having a nice romantic stroll in the dusk, Silke on the way to get her first goblet, supported by Thomas who already has a small collection. It's not often I'll get the chance to beat him to the top of a hill (probably never again) so it was fun to set a good pace up to the top (yes, I know I'm a bit sad!). Night was falling as we made our way over the top and head torches were coming on - little pairs of light ahead and behind, reassuring to know we weren't alone.

Down in the dumps

The descent to Kinlochleven took a lot longer than expected, partly because we were a bit slow and partly because I'd completely forgotten about a large chunk of path. I had also started to notice a rubbing around my ankles. Moods were darkening like the night around us and (I'm disappointed to admit) there were a couple of tetchy exchanges. It was a great relief when we finally reached the town and headed for the warmth and comfort of the community centre where Graeme was waiting to get us whatever we needed. But first, Vikki needed to be weighed and she'd gained 2kg since the start of the race. This is a bad sign and Julie asked her to go to the loo and report back on her pee colour before any decisions were made, but it looked very possible that she'd be advised not to continue. So near (well, 15 miles to go but you know what I mean) but so far - all that to go home without a crystal goblet, I felt awful and I'm sure V was worse.....until she reappeared with the news that her pee was quite normal and that she had just realised that her previous weigh-ins had been without her hoody or waterproof trews. Big, big relief but I still needed to sit down for a few minutes and take the weight off my feet. I looked over and Vikki had lain down on a sofa after feeling a wee bit faint - more panic in my head but a few biscuits later, more sips of tea, and we were good to go again. We left KLL along with SueW, her infectious good mood gave us another wee boost and we made pretty good time up the steep hill to the Lairig Mor where we spotted some flickering orange lights. They turned out to be torches set out by the Trossachs Search and Rescue guys who were up in the hill keeping everyone safe and providing good cheer and encouragement (and doggy hugs if you like that sort of thing). We'd spotted the torches from the hill on the other side of KLL, from where they'd been a vague orange glow and it was a good moment to look back and pick out a few white spots from the head torches of some other runners. The Lairig Mor is a long and rocky path through the hills and it drained our spirits again but it was good to share some time with others: SueW gave us some caffeine tablets which, washed down with irn-bru, got Vikki going again for a bit;  Lesley Halstead hobbled along, obviously in a lot of pain but determined just to keep going. The sky was lightening as we turned the corner but the path to Lundavra still stretched ahead and V was getting sore feet, tired, needing the toilet, generally just needing to get to the end. A stone in her shoe, normally a minor inconvenience, became a major problem and the air would have turned blue if it wasn't so bloody grey. A clump of trees made an acceptable toilet but was also home to a huge herd of midges which were busy swarming around me and trying to get some breakfast when Jonathan and M1nty went past again to my great surprise - I thought they were ahead of us as they'd been in and out of the KLL check point very quickly but had loitered in their camper van for a while.

The last push

All downhill from here!

When we finally reached the "roaring fire" at Lundavra, Rhona decided she wanted to drive to the finish with Graeme, so the last stretch would just be another romantic walk in the woods for the married couple. Well, it might have been romantic if we weren't both sleep-deprived, sore, and taking uncomfortable alfresco toilet stops. The ups and especially the downs through the woods were hard going and both of us found it tough. V was practically asleep on her feet - some more caffeine helped a bit but I was getting genuinely worried that she was just going to lie down and simply go to sleep. I knew J and M weren't far behind us (M1nty was delighting in waving his bright green hat whenever I turned round and caught sight of them) and I was picturing the situation where I would need their help to keep going until Rhona or Graeme could get back up the trail from Ft Bill to meet us. It was therefore with an amazing sense of relief that we reached the top of the hill at the finger post with views to Ft Bill in one direction and Ben Nevis in the other. Just three miles to go. We were going to make it. I took a photo. Another runner took a photo of us both. Vikki had a short cry. I cried. Actually, I couldn't stop crying and we had to set off down the hill with me trying to keep my feeling under control and stop the tears streaming down my cheeks. It was just as well that Vikki had picked herself up because I was in a bit of a mess. I felt like all the stress of the last few hours that I'd been holding back had just burst forth and I was stumbling along, tears flowing, feeling a little bit cold and feeling like an idiot. J and M passed us, looking good and happy to be on the final push to the finish. And then they passed us again, having taken a wrong turn and let us get ahead of them. The path to Braveheart car park seemed much much longer than I remembered but we got there eventually and were really chuffed to see Siouxsie and Joopsy who were happy to dish out some big hugs. By this stage, Vikki could easily have gone on quicker without me but sacrificed a few minutes (and probably a sub-31hr finish) to stick with me. Seeing Rhona and Graeme in Fort William was brilliant and we covered the last short section to the leisure centre together to applause and hugs.

A bit vague

Everything seems a bit vague but I remember getting some hot sweet tea and sitting down to chat to M1nty for a bit before Sean (race medic and really nice bloke) came over and told me I was looking a bit pale (I've seen the photos - I looked a mess frankly!). We had a chat about how I was feeling and he suggested I might be best lying down under a foil blanket and getting some rest. The invitation to lie down was too good to pass up so I let Sean lead me round to the casualty area, lay down and spent the next 40 minutes or so feeling variously hot, cold, sleepy, tearful, faint, hungry, nauseous, thirsty and generally wiped out. The medical diagnosis was that my body temperature had dropped through the night, and I was suffering from a mild hypothermic shock sort of thing that my brain had somehow decided not to notice for as long as possible but had then all hit me back at the top of the hill. It was all very strange, something I'd never felt in the same way before, although with some similarities to the coldness I felt at the LAMM this year. I was disappointed that I wasn't awake to see Dave K finish but pleased to hear that he'd made it to the leisure centre - news I heard from Carolyn who very kindly was checking on how I was doing. Eventually, I was able to sit up without feeling faint, but then it was time to face the next issue - the smelliest, evil socks and shoes were still on my feet and I was scared what might be underneath. My ankles felt like they'd been rubbed raw by the cuffs of my shoes, and my toes felt like they'd been flayed. Of course, I'd woken up thinking I wasn't going to do any running because of my sore leg but had ended up walking about 40 miles (I think) without taking any care of my feet - no lubrication, no taping, no blister prevention, nothing. I peeled off my socks dreading what I was going to see, but to be honest, they weren't as bad as feared. Some of the skin was rubbed away and sore and they looked a bit raw but there wasn't much actual blood and the soles were surprisingly intact. Yes, they stung in the shower, but really I was relieved that they weren't much worse. The pain in my knee was back, but I could walk. Things were looking up.

Ordinary people doing an extraordinary thing? 

Vikki getting her goblet from John K

We made our way to the awards ceremony where I applauded and cheered for every finisher because they are all amazing, except when I was nodding off (in the front row, just a little embarrassing). It was wonderful to see everyone collect their crystal goblets and, several times, it almost set me off crying again. I felt so proud of Vikki as her name was called out and up she went - 95 miles completed in some horrible weather, 31 hours non-stop including 2 nights, it's a remarkable achievement however you look at it. After all the awards were presented, we mingled for a while and caught up with other finishers and support crew as well as some friends who didn't finish this year but had the good grace to come and show their respect for those who completed the course. I know that many of them will be back next year, some lessons learned maybe, hoping for better weather and no injury problems, but determined to complete the course, whatever nature can throw at them. Will I be among them? It's a question that was asked more than once over the weekend, and Colin would seem to think that I should be considering it (I'm flattered).  Originally, when Vikki first said she was going to enter I said I'd support her this year, and she could support me next. However, I'm not sure I've got the desire for it at the moment, and I think that unless you are completely dedicated, you're just not going to reach the finish line. It's an arduous race and anything less than 100% determination is not going to be enough. Furthermore, a good friend (who was also a support runner this year and is mentioned above) has said that he intends to run the race and I may just have blurted out an offer to support him - it would be a pleasure to do so and I'll be there for him if he wants me. The year after that could be the year of the Red Wine Runner, and I may well volunteer to be part of that crew (although she might have other plans and it's a long way away). So, basically, it looks unlikely that I'll be running this race in the next couple of years and I've currently not got a burning desire to do it. That said, it's one of those things that gets under your skin and I've got a feeling I'll give it a go. Probably. Maybe. Some day.

"Team mrs shanksi" - job done!

No Sleep Til Fort William*

* Sung to the tune of No Sleep til Brooklyn by the Beastie Boys
Warning: this blog contains content that some readers may find TMI, but as Mike Raffan said "We're ultrarunners, the poop is all part of it" (or something like that, I can't remember exactly). In fact there may be factual errors in this due to sleep deprivation! And it's a bit long. But then, it was a long race!

Milngavie 01:00 Sat 23rd June

Me and Dave K at the start

I was very pleased to make it to the start of this race after my ITB issues earlier in the year. I think I made the right decision to defer the Cateran Trail Ultra and instead I took it really easy and only ran 47 miles in the whole of May. I had two wonderful sports massages and did lots of foam-rolling and stretching so I was feeling good and was raring to go. My crew were ready: husband Iain (although he woke up on Thu morning with a sore knee :-(), Rhona Mitchell, and her boyfriend Graeme McKinnon. I got registered at 21:30 and then I went back to the car to try and sleep til 00:00. I managed to get some sleep despite the racket of the torrential rain on the car roof. The alarm went off and I quickly got changed and we all stood and listened to Sean (race medic) give the pre race briefing. He said I think there might be rain. At 00:30 it was warm and had stopped raining so I decided to run in shorts and pack the waterproof trews. I met up with Dave Kiddell as we had made a pre-race pact to run together at least until dawn. That turned out to be one of the best ideas I've ever had as not long in to our run the heavens opened and the deluge began. Visibility was very poor and it was a struggle to see much with the headtorch. I ran at Dave's pace and basically kept looking at the back of his legs! He really kept me going as I already felt a bit worried at times because I got drenched. We passed the Beech Tree Inn where I hadn't thought I'd see anyone but Iain had decided to go and he said hi.

Drymen 03:15 ish Sat 23rd June 12 miles

Dave's fiancee Carolyn wasn't meeting him at Drymen and I had taken enough food to last til Balmaha so it was a quick hello to shanksi and on to Conic Hill. By this time I was really desperate for the daylight to come as it was quite a struggle to run to the light of the headtorch with the weather so bad. The rain started to ease and the daylight came on the way up Conic and this lifted my spirits, although the path was like a river running downhill. I was looking forward to meeting Iain at Balmaha (Rhona and Graeme had gone straight to Tyndrum to try and get some sleep). I phoned him from the top of Conic Hill to tell him I needed a full change of clothes ready and a cup of tea. Dave said he was taking it easy coming down Conic but I couldn't keep up with him! I was being v cautious as I didn't want to fall.

Balmaha 05:03 Sat 23rd June 19 miles

At Balmaha

Got a change of clothes and a cuppa here. Saw a few familiar faces including Dave Heatherington and Darren Barnes. I took quite a long time getting changed by I'd already decided that comfort came before speed and my mission was to finish in time for a crystal goblet so it didn't bother me to take a wee while. I think I was here for 25 mins. I put on my long tights and waterproof trews and felt a lot better. Dave K was ready quicker than me so I set off on my own. Iain then drove to Tyndrum where he would try and sleep and I was now running on my own most of the time until Bein Glas.

Rowardennan 07:30 Sat 23rd June 27 miles

The rain was much lighter now but that meant the midgies were out in force. And where was my midgie net? In the car at Tyndrum... I walked the many hilly bits of this section but ran the flats and downs and I felt great. I met up with a few folk including Dave Heatherington and Louise Jones who was not too happy unfortunatley. I gave her my pep talk, told her to imagine the award ceremony and all that. She got in to Rowardennan just when I was leaving and I followed her but Loon Dod told my I was going the wrong way. I said but Louise is going that way, you're winding me up. He said no, she's pulled out :-(. Totally gutted for her. I remember speaking to Minty at Rowardennan and he said Jonathan was doing well.

Inversnaid 09:16 Sat 23rd June 34 miles

John is quite happy to be at Inversnaid!

Got my drop bag and stocked up my rucksack with the new food. I enjoyed my Irn Bru. This next section at the lochside is quite technical and not that runnable for me so I just tried to enjoy the journey. Met up with John Duncan and had a chat with him. Also chatted to a few other random folk. I could see Dave in the distance a few times and I shouted on him but he went on ahead. The Inversnaid Hotel seemed to appear quicker than expected which was nice and I got my drop bag and took it inside the hotel as it was raining. Went to the loo and saw myself in the mirror :-o shocking hair!! I definitely had the worst hair of everyone in the race!!

Bein Glas 11:22 Sat 23rd June 40.5 miles

The section between Inversnaid and BG is even more technical and it was the trickiest conditions I'd experienced (apart from when icy) as all the waterfalls coming off the hill were torrents. I had to hold on to the rocks quite a few times to stop myself falling in the loch.

Auchtertyre 14:20 Sat 23rd June 50 miles

Finally caught up with Dave again at the BG checkpoint and asked him if he was trying to run away from me?! He said he thought I was ahead of him so that's why he didn't think it was me calling his name! We then ran together almost as far as Auchtertyre. My ITB pain came back but it wasn't as bad as during the Fling although I didn't run that much more after BG. I could fast walk with no pain so that's what I did. I phoned Iain when I got to the main road crossing so he could get a cuppa sorted for me and some more clean, dry clothes. Was brilliant to finally see all my crew again :-). I got weighed and I ate a pot noodle and got changed including putting on sealskin socks and my hiking boots since I figured they might be best for walking in. Iain walked the next section with me to Bridge of Orchy and it was a lovely part of the race, I made good progress, although quickly decided I'd prefer to wear my roclites. Met Rhona and Graeme at Tyndrum and I changed back in to my roclites.

Bridge of Orchy 17:40 Sat 23rd June 59 miles

Was great to see The Lord of The Bridge (Sean Stone, race medic) at Bridge of Orchy. It also signified the furthest I'd ever run :-). Went to the loo at the hotel and saw that my period had started :-o. Blimmin' awful timing. I was feeling a bit bleugh about that but nothing I could do about it. Rhona and Graeme were by now wanting to stretch their legs so they walked the next section with me to Glencoe.

Glencoe 21:03 Sat 23rd June 70 miles

On the way to Glencoe we met Murdo McEwan sitting under a Scotland flag, handing out jelly babies :-). He asked me my number and I said 9, he said I must've been keen to do the race to have such a low number! I said yes, I entered on the first day entries opened. I reminded him that he'd told me to enter the race when he met me at the end of last year's when I was crewing for Mike. The sun actually came out while we were on this section. And it was a lovely surprise to see Iain. He had run up the way from the Glencoe car park and met us with about 2 miles to go. By now I was fantasising about the chips (with vinegar) that he was going to buy me :-)

Kinlochleven 01:14 Sun 24th June 81 miles

Me, Iain, Graeme, and Rhona at Kinlochleven

Glencoe was my favourite checkpoint, the chips were awesome and I had a coffee too. Minty and Jonathan were there and we walked with them to Altnafeidh. They shared my chips and we had a good laugh, took some photos which led to singing Paul Simon songs since someone mentioned a photo opportunity - "You Can Call Me Al". Things were stating to get weirder. I remember shaking the takeaway box full of chips at a few folk including Jonathan to spur him on! He told us about his tummy troubles :-(. Good to see him still in the race though. We'd heard of a few friends DNFing including Fiona MacDonald and Sandra McDougall :-(. Graeme had taken over the driving at Glencoe, Rhona had a rest with him and they met us at Altnafeidh. Saw Ada Stewart at the start of the staircase and she was in agony with her back. We offered her painkillers but she had them already. The three of us went over the Devil's Staircase and met Silke and Thomas Loehndorf so we had a chat. I also enjoyed listening to them chatting to each other in German, it was soothing for some reason. I was definitely getting more and more tired by the time we were coming over the other side of the mountain. The lights of Kinlochleven appeared and disappeared and I was hating the pointy stones on the road down. Legs were aching, and my mood was darkening and I was sure we'd gone the wrong way. Of course my sense of direction sucks on a good day so not surprisingly I was annoying Iain and Rhona at this point. It was dark again and this did not help me. Finally after what felt like 1000 miles KLL appeared and we walked in to the community centre. I got weighed by Julie and she looked all serious and said I'd gained weight :-(!! She said I should go to the toilet and see what colour my pee was. So I did and it was ok I thought. Then I remembered that I was wearing my thick hoodie and waterproof and had my phone in my pocket and I bet that added at least a couple of pounds. I went to tell Julie and she asked me the dates of birth of my children. I told her them and I think I got them right as she said I would be ok. I felt a bit dizzy though and decided to lie down on the sofa. Carolyn was there and she is a nurse and so knew what to do and got me to elevate my feet. I lay there for a while but I thought I am not sleeping! I have to finish this damn race! Part of what spurred me on was that nearly everyone in Stoney knew I was doing it and I'd had so many lovely messages of support that I didn't want to let folk down. After about 45 mins we were ready for the final push!

Lundavra God Knows What Time Sun 24th June 88 ish miles

Now the climb out of KLL was hellish. I remember saying it was like a mountain of rubble. It was still dark and it was very wet and midgie infested. Was better when we got to the Lairig Mor section. Although I was getting so hacked off by then it wasn't pretty. One low point was coming to a gate with a stile that must've been 2 foot off the ground, it was agony to climb over. Then Sue Walker strolled up to the gate and opened it... I was fuming with Iain, why didn't he open the gate for me? Was quite pissed off but tired as well. Sue came to everyone's rescue with pro plus caffeine tablets. Iain forced them down my gob and I perked up :-). Sue meanwhile waltzed passed looking great and smiling away! Where the hell was Lundavra? Where was the lovely bonfire and the blokes from the Wilderness Support Team? I could see orange lights in the distance and it turned out to be some of those nice guys but not Lundavra yet. I was desperate for the loo again which was also making me miserable, and it makes it hard to walk fast, don't know if you've ever tried it? Of course they've only gone and cut the trees down just to annoy me ;-). I waited ages for one and eventually did it outside (which I absolutely hate) and I couldn't even do it right as I peed on my trousers and the poop did not come :-( :-(. Cue lots of crying and shouting, asking for it all to END NOW!!! Rhona looked upset. Thankfully Lundavra came and she saw Graeme and made a swift exit ;-). Bonfire was a bit puny when I got there but I couldn't see very well for the tears. Sniff sniff ;-)

Fort William 08:06 Sun 24th June 95 miles - 31 hours 6 mins 55 secs later

Finally at the finish in FW Leisure Centre

Final, final push just me and Iain now, him almost dragging me at times. I didn't want him to let go of my hand. I was hallucinating that the stones had writing on them. It wasn't saying anything, just a mixture of letters and numbers. Finally managed to poop but there were no trees and I saw folk in the disance but I had to go :-(. Felt better after that :-). The folk in the distance were Minty and Jonathan and I asked later if they saw me and they said no but they might just be being kind! I remember telling Iain I was just going to lie down in the woods and have a sleep. He didn't let me and he also remembered he had more pro plus tabs so he gave me some and I perked up again. Turned a corner and saw Fort William and burst in to tears! Then Iain burst in to tears and he wouldn't stop crying! Now I had switched back to being in control and took his arm and we slowly walked the last three miles down the hill to Fort William. Minty and Jonathan overtook us along the way. The about fifteen minutes later they overtook us again?! Turned out they'd taken a wrong turn off. Saw Nick Dunk and Susan Gallagher near the finish :-). I felt like a sprint finish but Iain was not feeling up to it, he said his feet were sore and he was still all emotional. After what seemed like an age we saw Rhona and Graeme and held hands and made our way to the Leisure Centre door to be met by Ian Beattie. Huge smile from me, I did it!!!!!!! Thank goodness that it was over!!!!

Aftermath

Rhona, Graeme, Me, and Iain with the goblet

The folk at the Leisure Centre were stars and brought us tea and toast and cake. Sean the medic thought Iain was looking a bit pale and thought he should have a lie down so he ended up under a foil blanket for 45 mins :-(. It turns out he had let his body temp drop and he was going in to shock and that's why he was crying. I felt really guilty as he hadn't meant to walk over 40 miles with me but I really needed him. After getting his pulse taken a lot and having tea and toast he felt better. We all got showers and changed and saw a few more folk coming in. Then it was time for the awards ceremony at the Nevis Centre. There were many hugs and much clapping :-)

The crystal goblet and the race garment

It was all very emotional. I loved seeing everyone get their goblets, everyone did so well, especially with the terrible weather conditions. I couldn't believe that the course record had been broken too! Mike came 8th with a huge PB and so many friends finished for the first time :-). I have been saying it was my first and last time and I am taking a break from ultramarathons. At least til next year anyway! The after-effects were not too bad, my feet and ankles have been swollen but I can walk fine and the ITB is not too sore now. I'm looking forward to another massage then I will take it easy for a wee while. This race was the toughest thing I've done in my life, it was more painful than childbirth and lasted longer than all three labours added together! But I'm glad I did it.
Thanks to Rhona, Carolyn, and Karin McKendrick for the photos

A Retrospective Round-Up of Running (and other things) in May

As usual, recovery and tapering between the Fling and the Cateran Trail race meant that May's miles were lower than previous months but I still managed over 100 miles. Looking back, I would say it's been a pretty good month, with the following highlights.

Orienteering

Two Friday evening sprints plus a Wednesday evening summer series event. Lachlan joined me for the two more local ones, so it was never going to be fast (not that I was that fast on the one I did myself either) but nice to have a bit of a jog round the forests after work and get some map/compass practise in.

Improvers Cup

Our club's monthly timed 5k (ish) race returned to Thursday this summer so I was able to take part in the first one. Very pleased with 22:59 (for ~2.95miles) despite a slightly tight hamstring, and especially pleased with the final mile where I was able to pick up the pace slightly and overtake Elaine.

Durris Mast Race Recce

Like last year, I decided not to run the race because a) it was two days before the Cateran Trail race and b) someone has to look after the kids. I did however go on the recce the week before the race and it was, as usual, much fun splashing through the mud, slogging up the ups and flying down the downs. Sometimes I think these club runs often end up being more fun than the races themselves as they tend to be more sociable and less lung-busting, although they miss that competitive edge which brings its own excitement.

The Great Drumtochty Challenge

I think I heard about this mountain bike orienteering event a couple of years ago and had thought it sounded like fun, especially as they had a parent + offspring category to encourage family participation. I ended up teaming up with Lachlan (for someone who isn't normally thought of as an outdoors active type, he's done a fair bit recently and seems keen to do more - really chuffed!) and, after a bacon roll at registration, we set off into the woods with the basic plan of just seeing how it went. And it was good fun - we had a bit of good luck when we passed a control point that I had somehow not marked on the map, and some bad luck when I got a puncture and lost some time changing the tube in the cold drizzle. We ended up finishing with 25minutes to spare and a respectable points total so felt pretty pleased and I reckon we'd have picked up one or two extra controls if hadn't been for the puncture. Very keen to do this again next year.

Cateran Trail Ultramarathon

The Cat probably deserves a blog post all to itself, but it's not getting one, so hopefully I can keep this bit reasonably short and sweet. Basically, we had a lovely weekend up at the Spittal of Glenshee - having the race start and finish at a hotel who do a great deal for the weekend creates a really nice atmosphere, and Karen and her team do a great job of organising the race. Great RD, great marshals, great scenery, great race.
I ran a lot of the early part of the race with Minty and Alan, chatting so much we missed a turning which added about .3 mile onto the route and allowed Jonathon to catch up with us and run with us for a bit. Minty felt he was struggling a bit further on, at about the same time as J found some extra speed, so I ended up on my own for a long stretch. It was lovely to get to Alyth, as I'd been looking forward to seeing Vikki and her team for a few miles, but I didn't want to linger too long at any of the checkpoints and pressed on reasonably quickly towards Blairgowrie where Sandra was acting as a lollipop lady and dishing out big hugs in the middle of the road. I was feeling some tightness in my hamstrings by this point and felt like I was starting to slow down a bit as I headed for Bridge of Cally and on from there towards Kirkmichael. A few other runners caught me up over this section which was a bad sign but I managed to tag along with Jo, Debz, and Rob for a while which helped keep me going. A couple of miles from Kirkmichael, a runner joined us from the woods on the left - I thought it must have been someone who'd stopped for a call of nature, but then realised it was mags who I would have expected to be way way ahead of me. She'd taken a wrong turning thanks to a broken sign and added about six miles to her race - she was also in a bit of pain at this point so we continued together at a fairly slow pace into Kirkmichael where Vikki, flip, Anna and Lorna were keeping an eye on things. Alan caught us up at Enochdhu and the three of us set off up the last big climb. It was nice to actually see where we were going this year after last years low cloud and rain and it made for a fairly pleasant walk up into the hills. By the time we passed the lunch hut and started the last wee climb, my legs were feeling quite a bit better and I was starting to look forward to the final descent. The sight of another two figures behind gave me further impetus to keep moving. It was good to see Neil who had come up from the hotel and then we were at the gate and could see the roof of the hotel. There's a sign there that says "Glenshee 20 minutes" but I'm pretty sure I made it down a lot quicker than that - felt great running down, brilliant to see Minty on the hill and to hear the cheers from everyone at the finish. Hugs and handshakes all round as I crossed the line, just magic.
Vikki tried to shepherd me towards a warm shower but I wanted to wait a bit and see Alan and mags cross the line first. And then, time for a shower, but first a quick chat with Jonathon, Leanne and Minty, and a drink seems like a good idea, and maybe some food first, then a shower. But then Ray was finishing to a huge ovation and before I knew it, it was time for the presentations to the finishers so I ended up receiving my quaich still in my running gear and probably starting to smell a bit. Then it was finally time to go get a shower (well, after the penalty shoot-out of course) and put on some fresh clothes before returning to the bar for drinks and chat and singing (by Conor, not me, you'll be thankful to learn if you've ever heard me sing).
Thanks to Karen for organising such a great race, to all the marshals who give up their time to allow the race to go ahead and are so supportive and helpful to the runners, and to all the staff at the hotel who make everyone so welcome for the weekend.

Thirsty Thursday

The month ended with an interesting club training session with some steep ascents and descents, a bit of beach running and some fence climbing (electric and barbed). It was great fun and followed by the traditional trip to the pub. Just about the perfect way to end the month if you ask me.

Looking Forward

June is going to be a busy month, in many ways the climax of the year as far as running goes.
This weekend I'm off to... well, actually I don't know where, for the LAMM which promises to be another challenging but fun event. We find out where we're going tomorrow lunchtime.
Then it's a trip to Ellon for the Ythan Challenge which ought to be good fun.
And then the West Highland Way race, 95 miles of gruelling trail running. For Vikki. I'll be driving around, drinking cups of tea, eating cake, and chatting to lots of lovely people. Should be a ball.

"You're Better Than You Think You Are"

That was Lintie's pre-race pep talk to me - words that came back to me several times over the following 13 and a bit hours as I made my way up the first half of the West Highland Way from Milngavie to Tyndrum in the 2012 Hoka Highland Fling. Inspirational words from someone who I think has always had more faith in my ability as a runner than I have myself (and I don't think she's the only one). Strangely enough, my other inspiration came from a book I haven't even read, but just the title of "Relentless Forward Progress" popped into my head a few times and kept me putting one foot in front of the other until I was across the finish line.
Overall, the race was a pretty good one. I started comfortably, running for short periods with Joopsy, mamemeister and Tommy, jonmackintosh, and for a lot of the time with Dave K. I love the views in the first section where you can see all the way up towards Conic and Ben Lomond and it's like the hills are inviting you Northwards. We reached Drymen in 2hr07 - possibly expecting to see my friends Jackie and Jane but they were still having breakfast I think - which was perhaps a little fast, but I'm not convinced that me taking it any slower to that point would have made a difference later on.

As I was enjoying the lovely views from the path through (the heavily de-forested) Garabhan forest, the leading runners (Ludo and Terry I think) went past at what seemed like an incredible speed. They were soon followed by Scott Bradley and so started a trend I was to get used to and had to be careful not to get disheartened by - quicker runners appearing from nowhere and overtaking me. The views from the top of Conic were as stunning as ever and I was careful to take my time on the descent rather than do my thighs in or risk falling with a quick descent. It was nice to arrive at Balmaha and know I was feeling so much better than last year, and to see a few familiar faces including Donna and Carolyn. Also spoke to Lapsed Athlete (who we'd had a very enjoyable dinner with on Friday) here and soon after passed Centu-Ray McCurdy, on his way to complete his 100th ultra. I also got hailed by the Top Dogs relay team as they passed in a car - thankfully I was jogging at that point and so avoided a ribbing for taking it easy. My next encounter with the relay team was a bit further on where the trail runs along the road (after Cashel I think?). This time it was 2nd leg runner, Rob, who ran past me almost as if I was standing still - good to see our lads in the lead, a position they would hold to the end. A little further on, I was making my way slowly up one of the steep climbs before Rowardennan and I was overtaken by the Under Dogs' Kyle who bounded up the hill like it was nothing. We exchanged greetings before he sped off, cheerily informing me that he possibly needed to visit the lavatory. As far as I can tell, he actually set the fastest time over that leg in Fling history - despite taking a short stop to study the flora just off the trail somewhere!
Shortly after, I trotted past two guys who told me to watch out as there was a fallen runner ahead. I expected to maybe see someone sitting at the side of the trail, so it was a shock to see a runner under a silver blanket with shoes sticking out - and the same type of shoes that mrs s wears - and with santababy and a couple of medics looking after her. Of course my first thought was that it was mrs s, so then relief when it wasn't, and then I felt awful for Ellen, and then even worse because of feeling relieved - it's probably what everyone goes through if they think something's happened to a close loved one, but it just felt so selfish. There was nothing I could do to help so just plodded on feeling somewhat selfish and helpless as I approached Rowardennan. I'm pleased to have since heard that Ellen is recovering well despite breaking her shoulder.
As I ran through Rowardennan car park, I was well aware that that's where last year's adventure had finally ended for me, so it was good to look at my watch, know that I was making good time, and that I was feeling pretty good, considering. IanS and LorraineS were there waiting for JammyLu to hand over the relay baton so I stopped for a few minutes to chat, try and find out how other runners were doing, and to make sure some food went down. As I was preparing to set off, Dave K came in and I considered waiting for him, but guessed (correctly) that he'd catch me up on the climb and set off with my crisps in hand. In fact, Dave K was far from the only person to catch me up on the next section. It seemed like a lot of the 8am starters, and a large number of runners from the mixed and female relay teams overtook us which had certain benefits - I mean of course the chance to say hi to a few different people. Unfortunately for me, as we descended back down to loch side, Dave was running much more strongly than I was, and I dropped off his pace - I didn't see him again until the finish so I was mainly running on my own, although there were still runners passing me at various intervals to break up the run. As expected, the technical section before and after Inversnaid was very slow going - even slower as my legs started to feel a bit sore and I couldn't descend easily because my toes were hurting. It took me at least half an hour to realise that the sore toes were at least partly because my feet were sliding forward and maybe I should tighten my laces a bit. Duh! I'd also forgotten just how tricky the terrain North of Inversnaid is, not having been on that section for at least a couple of years, but didn't get frustrated - I knew it would be slow going but also that I had time and just had to keep going and I'd get there in the end. That said, I was pleased to get out to the grassier bits, and even more pleased to see Dario's post (the first time for me since it had been put there) and a number of supporters who had come up from Bein Glas to see their runners which meant it wasn't far to go to the next checkpoint. Ju1ia and Alison were there so I stopped and had a quick chat to them before heading off again, briefly stopping to say hello to Robin and Ann on the way. I checked my watch here and knew I had over 4 hours to get to the finish which was just as well, as there wasn't much more running going on. My legs were getting sore and heavy but I knew that I just had to keep going - walk if needed and try and run a few steps every so often when I felt up to it.
I really get the feeling that farmers round this bit don't like having the WHW going past their farms and have even less desire to see runners using the way. Why else would they put feeders right on the trail so that you have to warily pass huge beasts whilst stepping through what cows are well known for. There's a section of the path marked by a plaque noting that it was renovated thanks to money raised by the Caledonian Challenge (or something) - what it doesn't say is that after that, the farmer fed and watered all his cattle rounded them up in this narrow stretch and scared them senseless so that they would empty their bowels to maximum effect. It's generally known as Cow Shit Alley to many of the runners.
Anyone, relentless forward progress and all that - up past Bogle Glen to Hendo's bench where I finally decided to do something about the small stones that had been rubbing inside my shoe for the last couple of miles (note to self - sort things out straight away before they get worse) and then on into Ewich Forest with fantastic views to the snow capped Ben More and it's less easily remembered neighbours. Much as I was, I'm sure you'll be relieved to know we're getting near the end now, and just as well as the clouds are threatening rain so I put on my windshirt for extra protection just as I'm passed by a guy with no shirt on. I recognised him from a previous race as he has form for this sort of exhibitionism. And after just a bit more trudging, I'm past the old lead mine, and soon after within earshot of the piper. I decided to make a bit of an effort to run in the last wee bit and it was great to see first Jackie, then the crowds at the finish who were all cheering and applauding and one or two even calling out my name as I stumbled across the line to get my medal and several hugs from so many very special friends - Dave K and Carolyn, jonathon, the relay guys (Steve, Rob, Neil and Kevin), santababy, Lapsed Athlete and others who I will no doubt remember about later and feel awful for not mentioning now. Huge hugs from mrs s of course, and Liliaicha and from Lintie (thanks for all the encouragement) and from Dod who was handing out the beer - seemed like a particularly appropriate job for him. It was also great to see Angus - his race hadn't gone well thanks to a sore foot, but he was still there cheering people on and handing out crisps.
It was already pretty late by the time we got to the pub, and although it was good to have a wee blether with Wee Rhino and Jo and dave_m and Al and Tommy as well as many of the aforementioned people, I was shattered and needed to get to bed after just a couple of beers.
It was a really good day, and I was pleased to finish - my time was 13:22ish which wasn't particularly important except that it was under the 14 hour cut off - and to have had a good day on the trails in the company of many lovely people. I'll be looking forward to some more of those in the future, hopefully at races and maybe just on training runs or mini-adventures if schedules allow.
I know most of the people who will read this blog, and so I know that Lintie's words apply to most of you guys as well. With a little training and the right attitude, YOU can run further, faster, more fluidly than you probably realise.

We are all better than we think we are!

:-)