8 days, three ultras

Is three ultras in 8 days a good idea? I suspect not but I think the photograph taken yesterday at Blairgowrie during the excellent Cateran Trail Ultra indicates that with good company, a good time can be had. That's Dave Catterick from Durham running his first ultra and we both had a great time.

Of course, having a great time didn't mean that any quarter was going to be given at the finish and in the end, I just beat him to the gate at the bottom of this hill and his fate was sealed. ;-)

To be honest, after the first 13 miles I was pretty sure I was going to DNF as I was struggling with groin pains (I've jiggered something down there, I know not what) but decided to push on to Alyth and then decide. Magically, after 20 miles the pain went and I really began to enjoy myself, particularly once I tagged up with Dave who had reccied the route which made life very easy for me. I had a bit of excitement following a heavy fall on to my chest, unfortunately with my fist between my chest and the ground so rather than falling with a "splat", it was more of a "crunch". Fortunately, the endorphins did a good job and it's only now decidedly ouchy. Pleased to finish in 11:35:08, about halfway down the field.



Huge thanks to Karen and all her cohort of helpers who have made this race what it is. Mustn't forget the Spittal of Glenshee hotel which fed, watered and accommodated us all at very reasonable prices.

A dirty weekend in Moffat

I'm just back from a great weekend in Moffat, running around the hills, lanes, forest roads, mountain tracks and bogs of rural Dumfries and Galloway. This was the Sandbaggers two day "Scottish Ultra", similar in format to some of their previous multiday ultras but slimmed down to just two days. Whilst longer event have always held a fascination for me practical difficulties about disappearing for a week to go racing had always stopped me from actually entering. A two day event however was eminently doable so as soon as I heard about it I entered, or rather I would have except it was on the same day as the Highland Fling race that I'd already entered. Oh well, a nice idea while it lasted but I dropped a line to the organiser explaining my quandary and the next thing I know it's been moved by two weeks. Woohoo! Game on! Having entered I then remembered that I'd also entered the Etape Caledonia, a cycling event the same weekend. Oops.;-) Fortunately I was able to defer my Etape entry for a year so alls well that ends well.

Anyway, after the usual restless night's sleep pre-race and getting up at 4:15 am, it was off to Moffat where we were met on the edge of town and ferried by car to our campsite, or rather "field" where were sorted ourselves out, put up tents, visited the camp loo and registered for the race. There didn't seem to be an awful lot of runners around and the pile of race numbers only went up to 24 but as it turned out, just 14 of us were running on the Saturday and just 8 hardy souls were doing both days. I recognised Andrew Murray and Donnie Campbell who formed the "elite" squad. I was also pleased to see Carol Martin and Carolyn both of who had run the Fling.

Maps and instructions were given at the briefing and I was a bit reassured to hear that no serious navigation would be required, not that I mind it too much but when it's a course I've not reccied, I'd rather just run and not have to worry about map reading too much. The course was indeed very well flagged and there was never really any time that I had any concerns about my whereabouts. At the briefing I confirmed that poles were allowed (I had already asked about this but didn't want to be at the receiving end of any glares from other runners for "cheating") and I decided that this would be a good opportunity to get some practice in with them. I have some lightweight folding poles that are very easy to carry and given the many long climbs on the route I thought they might be useful.

At 8:30 we were sent on our way and at 8:31, Andy and Donnie disappeared never to be seen again. Actually, we did see Donnie at the end but Andy "the quitter" Murray had flown off to London to attend some meeting about some sports event on down there this August and fled before the rest of us arrived back. They ran and finished together a bare 2 hours and 2 minutes ahead of me and I'm sure I could have clawed than back on day two if Andy had stayed for both days. ;-)

The route was a mixture of very minor roads, boggy trails, stony Landrover track over the hills and wider forest roads, and more bogs.

Apart from the two leaders, the women seemed to be setting the early pace but once we hit the hills I pulled away gradually and then gradually pulled away from the other men around me. I hadn't been paying attention to who had been around me at the start and fancifully believed that it might be possible that I was in third place, my highest position ever in a race! Still, I was only about 10 miles into the race at this point and still aware of folk not that distantly behind me so I couldn't let up.

About 18 miles in I found out from a marshal that I was actually in 4th position which rather burst my bubble but I was feeling good and enjoying the running. I had no aches or pains and my feet felt good. At 44km (about 27 miles) there was a checkpoint with a 4 pm cut-off but I needn't have worried as I was there by about 2:15. Hear I heard that the 3rd place man was 20 minutes ahead of me. :-(. Still, I had my bottle of Mountain Dew "rocket fuel" and this seemed like a good time to dip into it. The route turned on to a minor flat road at this point and I don't know whether it was the "rocket fuel" or a tail wind but I had a great run along this section before we climbed up and over a small hill to find ourselves at the top of a forest fire break with a rather incongruous "Scottish rights of way society" post at the top of it. Well I'm all for defending rights of way but I swear that the last person down there (apart from the course markers" was the man who put that post it. It was just a lovely trackless bog to squelch down. It was little bits like this that made you realise that the organisers "cared" and were determined to put a bit of "fun" into the route. ;-)

Anyhow, after my disappointment at hearing that I was 20 minutes behind the next man, my heart gave a little leap when I heard at the next checkpoint that I was just 10 minutes behind. This was doable! I could be on the podium with Andrew Murray and Donnie Campbell! I was on good forest roads now and none of the hills were steep and I took advantage of this to run up most of them as well as down and eventually I caught Colin Thornton who was struggling with his knee and walking. By way of showing my sympathy I increased my speed and hoofed it off down the road as fast as I could. ;-)

I mostly resisted the temptation to look back over my shoulder and pushed on all the way to the finish feeling elated. My elation was only dampened slightly when I found out that Andy had gone and my dream of a group photo of Andy, Donnie and myself wasn't going to be realised. Still, that was a very minor disappointment and it was only later that I found out that Colin was only doing the one day so technically, I was now in second position for the two days.

As soon as I stopped I commenced refuelling with chocolate milk, plain milk, a huge dish of veggy chilli and an avocado followed by dried fruit. I stayed up long enough to cheer in the rest but I was done in by 9 o'clock and headed to my sleeping bag.

End of Day 1.

I can't say I slept well that night but then I never do after an ultra but most notably, my legs weren't restless or aching which boded well for the next morning. I'd gone to bed in my skins tights. Whether these helped or not I don't know but I don't think they do any harm.

I got up at about 6:30 next morning for the 8 am start and had my breakfast of two pots of instant porridge and a big mug of coffee. I had time to to pack up and take my tent down before the start and at 8 o'clock, just 8 or us lined up for the start.

Donnie set off at a good lick with the rest of us easing into a slow jog across the field but within a few minutes I was easing away from the pack. The path started off on undulating forest roads before heading off through a small firebreak on to singletrack path. The whole of the second day route more or less followed the Southern Upland Way and consisted of a mix of paths, forest roads and a small (but long!) road. Because of the poor weather forecast the route had been cut short and the peak at the turnaround omitted due to the low cloud base. Fortunately the rain didn't start until later in the day but the wind which had been pushing us up the valley got stronger and really made us work on the return leg when any attempt to run up hills was alomost out of the question. Jogging on the level was hard enough!

Just after the turn around we were sent cross-country along a path that is marked on the OS map but in reality was pretty non-existent. This was the only part of the course that wasn't flagged but we had maps and it definitely added a bit of "interest" to the course, as well and the inevitable bog. ;-) Because of the loop at the top of the course I didn't see any other runners on the way back but there were plenty of marshals at critical points to keep us supplied with water and to keep our spirits up.

It felt like a very slow grind back along the road section as the valley had become a bit of a wind tunnel but eventually we hit a slightly more sheltered bit and I was able to pick up the speed a bit. All good things must come to an end however and I was lucky to get back before any significant rain. It had been pretty cold though and I had been very glad of my mittens. The finish was a bit "low key" but with only 8 runners I don't think we expected anything else. ;-) Donnie unfortunately had had to leave early so I didn't get to congratulate him on his run but I was able to relax in the Sandbaggers "yurt" tent whilst Dave Scott, the organiser, braved the wind and rain to brew tea and make bacon rolls for us all. Heavenly!

The final results for the two day runners were:

Name: First day time: Second day time: Total

Donnie Campbell 6.48.43 5.25.02 12.13.45 1st
Timothy Downie 8.50.11 6.57.20 15.47.31 2nd
Fred Hamond 9.43.08 7.32.03 17.15.11 3rd
Stephen Nisbet 9.30.22 8.21.03 17.51.29
Jo Kilkenny 9.54.02 7.59.52 17.53.54
Carol Martin 9.54.02 7.59.52 17.53.54
Paddy MacDonald 10.44.17 8.03.12 18.47.29
David Knox 11.02.26 DNF
Martin Myers DNF DNF

It was a shame to pack up and leave as it had been such a great weekend and I'd definitely try and do this again. The scenery had all been new to me and the course so well marked that one could relax and enjoy the running without having to worry about navigating. The organisation and support was top-notch apart from a slight hiccough which resulted in the medals and prizes getting left in Glasgow. ;-) I'd certainly recommend this event to anyone looking for fresh pastures.

Fling flung, but more to come...

Well this was my 5th Highland Fling race. One way or another I feel like I've been associated with this race forever. ;D Last year was the year of my nightmare race. My training had been interrupted by injury and whilst I was confident of finishing, it went much worse than expected. My report from that race is just below Murdo's report here. http://flingrace.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=336

This year I was feeling a lot better prepared. I'd mixed in a lot more cycling this year and changed to an 80% veggy diet which helped me to shift half a stone of excess blubber pre-race. I'd also run the D33 for the first time which was a very unfamiliar style of running for me (i.e. relentless with hardly any hills to have walking breaks on) and learned some useful lessons from that. The two day training run over the Fling route with John Duncan and friends was also a tremendous help. Lastly, a 100 mile cycle sportive two weeks before the Fling probably helped as well.

Anyhow, the race plan was to try to control my pace early on and to EAT REGULARLY AND OFTEN! That last can't be stressed enough in my opinion. I've often been guilty of not eating until I'm getting hungry or tiring but I'm convinced that by that time, it's too late to avoid a bit of a crash, usually after Balmaha.

The last four weeks before the Fling have been confusing from a training point of view though. Having done the two day run at the beginning of the month, I then had to start training in earnest for the Scottish Bike Show Sportive, a 100 mile event that started at Balloch, then around the Trossachs, up to Lochearnhead, around to Crianlarich, down Loch Lomond, over to Arrochar, down Loch Long, over the old Glen Fruin road and back to Balloch. There were some pretty serious hills in that lot! I survived it finishing in 7:14:30 which considering my training I was quite happy with. I did have to stop once to "admire the scenery" but I never resorted to pushing my bike. ;-)

The upshot of that was that little running got done in the two weeks up to that. Following that I was tapering and doing even less running. I always find motivation a problem during the taper but I felt pretty good and I was trying hard not to "dig up my tatties early to check on them" as Fiona Rennie put it in her blog (referring to runners' tendency to always go out and do one more hard run when they ought to be charging their batteries).

I started off with the 6:00 am group at what felt to be a comfortable pace and, as always, probably went a bit faster than intended, arriving at Drymen at 8:01 (after wasting 5 minutes on a toilet stop). I'm sure it pays dividends to go slower at the start but the miles were slipping past easily and I felt like I could run all day at that pace. Of course I couldn't but it was nice to dream! ;-)

Conic hill came and went with no dramas and I jogged into Balmaha feeling good. More to the point, I left Balmaha feeling good and enjoyed the run to Rowardennan without any deep energy dips that I'd suffered in previous years. I was in and out of Rowardennan quickly and heading on to Inversnaid still feeling good. As this point I was really glad that I had done the 2 day run over the HF route as I had really good memories of the run from Inversnaid to Tyndrum. Of course that was on relatively "fresh" legs and this time I'd have no overnight stop to recharge the batteries but it's amazing how much positive memories can help you along and it didn't seem long before Inversnaid came into view. When I arrived I had developed a deep craving for some coke and I hadn't put any in my drop bags. Fortunately, a bit of rummaging in the marshal's rubbish bag there produced some leftover flat warm coke and I didn't think twice about finishing it off.

I don't mind admitting that the next section really *didn't* match up with my memories, my legs were tiring and the stumbly section seemed so much more troublesome that it had done on fresher legs and it was hard to make good progress. Still, all good things come to an end and I arrived at Beinglas after about 8 and a half hours running (14:32).

I was probably paying for my early pace now as the final section took me 2:50 to complete but I felt good and was enjoying myself. Just after the second A82 crossing I caught Keith Hughs on his walk to Tyndrum who was just beginning to struggle a bit with his knee but as ever, he wasn't letting that get him down! Now I was onto the flat run in, a section that can feel like it goes on for ever if you're walking but one that seems to flit by if you've got running in your legs and that's how it was on the day. As I passed through Auchtertyre I spotted a runner in what looked like a Troon vest walking ahead of me. When I caught him I realised to my surprise that this was Bobby Miller, a very strong runner, from my club.

Well I *never* beat Bobby as a rule but I wasn't going to pass up this opportunity so rather than being a supportive club-mate and encouraging him along, I legged it! Bobby was immediately all over me like fleas on a dog and it took some determined pushes up the small hills to put some distance between us and even then, I was sure he was going to try and outsprint me for the finish so I couldn't let up.

In the end I opened up a gap of about 30 seconds and crossed the line after 11 hours and 22 minutes and 12 seconds, a vast improvement over last year's disastrous 13:48. Not as good as my 2008 time of 10:47 but it's a time that I'm not ashamed of.

Apart from the eating regularly business, I think the only thing that I'd change next year is to add in a bit more variety into my my snacks later on and include coke and crisps in my later drop bags. No matter how good something seems early on the in race, you can be pretty sure that you'll want something different later on. Oh, and next year, I really *will* try to go slower at the start. ;-)

Not long now to the full West Highland Way race but I've got the small problem of The Scottish Ultra this weekend (2x40 miles over two days) followed a week later by the Cateran Trail Ultra (55 miles), neither of which I've reccied! Training wise I've no idea if I'm training, recovering or tapering and I think the best plan is to just run these races "for fun" and to try and not injure myself. It's going to be an interesting couple of weeks. ;-)