Post race analysis

I hope you all like the new picture. I took it with my mobile phone whilst running the race. I shudder to think how much time I wasted taking photos and how easily it might have pushed me beyond 23 hours! Anyhow, I'm quite pleased with the result and I think it captures a little of the beauty that the bog cotton brought to Rannoch Moor.

Getting back to the race, firstly equipment (starting from the top).

Equipment
Head torch
I had to rush out and buy a new head torch the day before the race as I just couldn't lay my hands on my nice Princeton Apex head torch. It had served me very well during my mid-winter WHW run and I was in a panic about losing it. I went out to my local Blacks of Greenock and bought their most expensive Petzl tikka torch, the XP. This only uses 3 AAA batteries as opposed to the Princeton's 4 AA but I wasn't after a huge battery life, I just wanted a decent light. I had no chance to test it pre-race (as I kept hoping that my old one would turn up and I would be able to return the new one) but I needn't have worried, it was brilliant. Light and bright with a good "flood" diffuser. If I had a complaint, it would be that the two buttons are a little hard to work with cold fingers. I'd highly recommend it though. It provided plenty of light for running and navigating through the forest above Glen Nevis.

Contact lenses
I use soft daily disposables *very* occasionally. When I say "daily", that's what it says on the packet. I reuse the same pair many many times. ;-) Despite being only an occasional wearer, I had no trouble wearing my lenses for the full duration of the race and a few hours besides. Again, if you're a spectacle wearer and you've not tried them, I'd recommend giving them a go.

Neckwear
Gotta be a buff, hasn't it? ;-) So versatile and comforting when things get a bit cool. My buff had to become headwear after Rowadennan to stop the midges biting my ears. A real godsend.

Top
I bought a Salomon X-Static technical top that I wore throughout the race. I bought it because I has a high neckline (useful to reduce abrasion from hydration pack straps), short sleeves and a short zip. I found it really comfortable and the only change I made throughout the race was to put a long sleeve top on over the top of it towards the end. The best thing though was that I've usually suffered abrasions around my waist from my bottle belt on long runs but with this shirt material, I had no abrasions whatsoever. Of course the dry weather may have been a factor.

Hydration pack
A cheapie bought from Millets (a "Storm Shield" pack). It's sold with numerous different names but the basic pack is the same. The original bladder died on mine years ago and got replace with a Camelbac one. As a rucksack, it's been really comfortable and I see no need to change it.

Bottle belt
A Hilly Classic bottle belt. Mine came with a 400ml wide necked bottle that was easy to fill and more than adequate in size for a race where you're getting supplies along the way. The two pockets are just big enough for a very lightweight jacket and overtrousers. Again, wouldn't bother to change it next time.

Shorts (half tights)
I've been using Skins in training and the knee length ones have been very comfortable with no tendency to slip down at the crutch (unlike the full length ones). I wore the same pair throughout the race (although I changed my underwear in Kinlochleven) and was pleased to have no abrasions post race. None of the usual screaming in the shower.
;-) Whether it was down to better training (likely) or some help from the Skins (possible), my quads felt fine throughout the race. I had no problems running down the forest road at the end, a time when shot quads are usually screaming out.

Socks
Innov8 Smartwool Deris Socks. Just brilliant. No gravel in my shoes, comfortable throughout and not even a teeny blister. I was worried about the durability of the rubber bands that pass under the shoe but they held up well in several training runs. During the race, the first band broke at about Kings House, the second one after Kinlochleven. Despite this, they still functioned well at keeping the gravel out. Given that they weren't pristine pre-race, I can live with that. Better still, I phoned Innov8 and for the princely sum of £3.50, they posted out 3 new pairs of rubber bands. They're supposed to be available in the shops (for 50p a pair) but few shops seem to stock them. When the socks wear out, I'll just snip them off the gaiter and use ordinary socks so at £15 a pair, I reckon they're great value for what you get.

Shoes
I've been training in Innov8 Roclite 295s, not so much for their light weight but because the shape suits my foot much better that the 315s. I found them just fine in the Fling so was happy to wear them for the WHW. Again, up to Tyndrum and perhaps up to Kings House, I had no problem but my feet became increasingly tender after this and I felt I needed more cushioning. At KLL I changed into some old road shoes (my "old faithful" Asics Gel Landreth shoes) and my feet felt better for it. I'd probably use them again for the first half of the race but change inot road shoes at Tyndrum in future. I had no problems with my feet swelling and my sandals went unworn post-race.

Miscellany

Phone
I tried Vodaphone this year to see if the coverage was any better. As you might expect, I wasn't spending my time watching the signal strength so I don't know anything for sure. It *did* seem to have plenty of signal across Rannoch Moor which is where I've had trouble with Orange and O2. Still seemed poor above Crianlarich. Seems there's no one network that will work everywhere. What I did enjoy was (being an antisocial miserable bugger) the fact that only Dario, my wife and support runner knew my number. In the past I've come to really hate dealing with calls & texts when I'm running. I made sure that my support knew that I *didn't* want any unnecessary calls. Call me a miserable git if you like but I was a lot happier running without having to deal with calls and texts.

Anti-midge tactics.
Skin-so-soft may have an effect but I believe that it's anti-midge reputation was built on the "Woodland Fresh" scented variety, which isn't the one you see in most shops. I stuck with DEET. ;-) The other thing I did that really seemed to help when we visited the Everglades in Florida a few years ago, was to have Selenium tablets (which contain yeast) for a week pre-race. This doesn't stop you getting bitten but does seem to dramatically reduce the pain and itching. I had no visible bites post race.

Training
You know, I don't think I'd change anything very much. My 200 miles a month in 2008 seemed to work pretty well, concentrating on a lot of LSD and not too much speedwork. I think doing the odd hill race pre WHW helped quite a lot too, particularly the Carnethy 5 which really seemed to "kick start" my legs. I'd perhaps make more of an effort to do the full back to back long runs with JK et al as I think more miles on the trail can't hurt too much and would have given me more opportunity to fine tune my hydration and nutrition in as near race conditions as possible. I'd definitely do the Highland Fling race again (already entered for next year). I was worried before it that it might just be "too much" before the WHW race but I really enjoyed the race and my legs recovered well from it.
Still got some work to do on hydration and nutrition. I definitely felt that my pace suffered at times not from under-training but from swinging nutrition levels. I wasted too much time this year experimenting with "self sufficiency", which would be useful should I decide to run the WHW unsupported but not a good strategy when one has got a support crew. It definitely involves compromising you nutrition in favour of portability over quality.

Nutrition & Hydration
These two are, I think, absolutely key to doing well in this race and I know I've got some work to do. I thought I'd crave chocolate milk more than I and only drank one during the race. Small tubs of fruit salad were a hit and I knocked back quite a few of these. Had a couple of Muller Rices as well but I found during the race that I felt a bit intimidated by the size of them. "Little and often" seems to be the order of the day. I enjoyed half a baked potato at Auchtertyre and would have potato again. I might also experiment with John's baked beans. Maybe that's where all the wind came from after KLL? ;-) I think I'll have to work up to them though as I've never been wowed by the thought of cold beans. Still, if running like JK means eating like JK, I'm prepared to give it a go. ;-)

Fluidwise, I keep using a mix of water and probably Lucozade Sport with Caffeine boost. I don't know if it was *just* the Lucozade and caffeine that gave me the boost after KLL and it may just have been enough calories getting absorbed at the right time.

I did use some "Succeed" electrolyte capsules which I've had no trouble with. Unfortunately, the packaging is poor and my ziplock bag burst and then the capsules popped. :-(. Fortunately, I also had some Nuun tablets that you add to water. reasonably palatable but incline to leave a residual flavour in your water bottle which can be annoying. I think I'm going to harass the makers of "Succeed" into improving their packaging. They aim their product at runners and then only supply it on big bottles of capsules that you have to transfer to something else. Far better if they were in a bubble pack strip or in tablet form rather than capsule.

Golly, I think that's enough for now. ;-)....................

...............back again, now where was I?

Ah yes, SUPPORT! Where would we be without them?

I use a "one crew" support system. One car, one driver, one runner for the whole shebang.

I make a point of NOT stopping before Balmaha to give my crew a chance to rest and I'm really not sure why anyone would want to see their support crew sooner. I mean, if you can't run the 19 odd miles to Balmaha unsupported you shouldn't be starting! It really doesn't mean carrying much more. Being at night means that insensible losses tend to be low so you really don't need to carry much fluid for that distance (and there are always camelbac etc. if you want to carry a lot.

I try to phone ahead to give my crew some idea of what I want. I think it's a bit unfair to surprise them or expect them to be hopping from foot to foot in anticipation of your arrival. You're going to need them for a long time. No point in wearing them out with nervous exhaustion any more than necessary.

I was happy to have my support runner with me from Kingshouse onwards. I don't expect or want them to run in and out of checkpoints with me. I appreciate that it depends on a lot of factors but I feel having a support runner too early is not quite cricket. They're certainly not there to carry any of your kit! They're there for your safety, not to pace you to a faster time whether you're in the top 10 or the bottom 10. If you're injured or really struggling for other reasons, fair enough. I rather suspect that pacing and muling (carrying kit) happened on occasions is this year's race. Probably through ignorance rather than any intention to bend the rules.

Sorry, I digress. Getting on a hobby horse. ;-) Back to support.

I think something that my wife would do differently next year is keep more hot water in thermos flasks. We have a good stove but it still takes a little time and if I change my mind about wanting coffee and want a cupasoup instead, having hot water rather than coffee made up makes things simpler.

Another thing we found handy from the support point of view was for my wife to have two phones on different networks. At one point I couldn't contact her on O2 but could on Orange. If you have a spare handset it's easy enough to pick up a PAYG sim and you never know when it might come in useful. Of course it would have been handy if I'd had two phones but there are limits to how much clutter I'm prepared to carry. ;-)

Other than that, I don't think I'll change anything about my support for next year.