WHW run 29/3/08 postscript

I can never remember everything I want to mention at the time of blogging so I thought I'd add a few more thoughts now before I forget them again.

Both Thomas and Marco commented on the "self sufficient" nature of my run yesterday, not relying on a back-up team. Part of this self sufficiency is just down to bad organisation, part though is down to a desire to do the whole WHW one day as an unsupported run. The WHW is a nicely defined "unit" with a clear start and finish and the thought of doing it all, non-stop, unsupported has a strong appeal for me. I'm not agin doing it with company however so if anyone out there shares similar ambitions, feel free to get in touch. I'm not however planning on doing it in the winter though, once was enough. ;-).

I think the hardest part of running unsupported will be finding the right gear to wear that will remain comfortable for the full distance and getting the nutrition right. Of course I can make up any rules I like but I'd prefer to carry all my provisions for the full distance. Buying stuff en-route would feel a bit like cheating. Coffee deprivation might be a big problem as I've always consumed copious quantities of it during my runs along the WHW. Yesterday's run however showed me that what I'm currently doing works well for distances up to 37 miles. Fingers crossed that I can build on it and stetch it out for the full unsupported 95 miles one day.

Regarding yesterday's run, I mentioned my "Mike Mason moment". For those not in the know, Mike Mason (a WHW runner) was caught "in flagrante cr*ppo" during last year's race. The talk on the WHW forum since then has been of little else. ;-)

I forgot the mention meeting Pete Duggin on my descent down to Kinlochleven yesterday. It was the only point in the route where I'd slightly regretted wearing road shoes as there was a bit of slushy snow at the top but it was a shortlived problem and for the rest of the run, I had no regrets.

It was probably a good thing to reacquaint myself with that stetch of the WHW as it was much longer than I remembered. Curiously, the section from KLL to Fort William was also much longer. I've a sneaky suspicion that the WHW has been lengthened to at least 100 miles since I last ran it. ;-)

After yesterday's run I jogged along to Morrison's in FW to get some milk, some orange juice and to use their toilets to get changed into my dry clothes. Well, I managed the first two without mishap but things went awry on the last stage. Now you would thing that all supermarket toilets were the same. I've been in the toilets in Morrison's in Ayr and think I'm pretty clued up on how they should be. In Fort William however they do things differently. As I staggered into the toilets, rank with sweat & mud and in my shorts, I was struck by the relative spaciousness. After that, the number of cubicles and wash basins struck me as slightly excessive. The absence of urinals and the very effeminate looking long haired bloke by one of the sinks was that last clue that something was not quite right.

I rather lamely enquired if one of us wasn't in the wrong loo as by now, I was begining to doubt my choice of convenience. Sure enough, I was in the ladies. Fortunately, no screaming ensued, no security guards were called and no arrests made. A bit disappointing really. ;-)

Having made my escape and visited the other gents toilet (honsetly, you'd think they could make the signs a bit less confusing to an addled WHW runner) and got changed, I wolfed down a plate of macaroni cheese & chips. It may only have been supermarket cafe fare but it felt like ambrosia of the gods at that moment.

After that, all I had to do was get back to Bridge of Orchy which is easier said than done by public transport in FW. Having looked at the options I decided to hitchhike. I toyed with the idea of staying in my smelly shorts (working on the principle that the more exposed flesh the better for getting a lift) but the smell was pretty bad and having got changed in to leggings I hoped that a lycra-clad leg would be sufficient for hitchhiking purposes. I jogged down to the south side of FW and within 5 minutes I was en-route for BoO. It's nice to know that one can still hitchhike in Scotland and there are still a few psychos prepared to pick up total strangers. ;-)