Miles Together

Geckowear Socks

Winter has definitely arrived over the last two weeks… we’ve had several days of sub-zero temperatures, 24 hours of slushy snow, and quite a bit of rain in between as it’s warmed up again. It’s that time of year when it’s time to dig into the winter running kit. My thicker baselayer, winter gloves, extra neck buff and warm hat have all been worn (in various combinations). One other invaluable item is my Geckowear waterproof socks. I say “my” but technically they are Julie’s – although as with a lot of her kit I tend to “borrow” things 🤣

Geckowear are are makes of “100% waterproof, breathable and insulated” running socks. The pairs we have are the Knee Length Ultimate Waterproof Sock – usually £39.99 a pair, but currently on Black Friday discount for £20. They also do various other options for length, compression and colour, but all of them are based on the “triple-layer” design which seems to be woven inner and outer with their “AirSkin” membrane in between, which is waterproof and breathable. These are the XL, equivalent to UK size 12-14 and they come up to just below my knees, which is perfect.

I’ve been wearing them mainly to keep my feet warm when out in freezing conditions, and they definitely do that! They are a little bit thicker (maybe 2mm?) than normal socks so if you wear particularly tight shoes you might notice but for me they work just fine in my normal shoes.

I wore these socks for one particular run last week where there was about 5cm of freezing, wet slush lying (see the video)! We only did about 3 miles around the village and though my feet were initially warm I found that they did get wet so the “100%” waterproof claim doesn’t quite hold up. Neverthless if I was in ordinary socks I my toes would have been freezing, so it was still worth wearing them!

I’m not really a big fan of waterproof socks for really long runs or ultras, on the basis that I think it’s better to accept your feet will get wet and let them drain dry! But I totally recommend these for short winter runs, especially if you know you will get a bit wet from a short boggy or flooded section. Just maybe not if your feet will be immersed in liquid the whole time. I’ll be packing them for upcoming work trips to Sweden and Finland!

I’d be interested to hear of other people’s experience with these or other brands of waterproof socks!

Backyard Ultra World Team Championship 2024

As we sit down to start writing this, we’ve now had two full night’s sleep and been home for over a couple of days, while three Belgians have only just finished setting a new World Record of 110 yards – inspiring stuff! In the end it took us another week to finish writing 😴 Even given a few days to chew over our own personal performances everything is still a big mixture of emotions. Hopefully it will all settle down over the next few days and weeks and we’ll be left with a sense of achievement and pride at having run for team UK but right now things are still feeling quite raw. Julie is of course delighted to have completed 48 yards, which has been one of her goals for some time now, but Iain DNF’ed without being able to extend his PB of 37 yards on what should have been an easier course. Perhaps the worst part which might not have been apparent to anyone else, was that our planned strategy of working together failed for the first time and that hurts. Nevertheless, there are lots of positives, learning experiences, and plain old funny stories from the race, so here’s how it all panned out from our point of view…

After a long and nailbiting wait we finally got confirmation in August that both of us had made it on to the UK Team for the 2024 Backyard Ultra World Team Championships, Iain by virtue of winning a Silver Ticket at Pig on the Hill and Julie via her 38 yards from Rasselbock earlier in the year. Of course we were honoured and excited to have been selected, and we quickly worked out a plan. Due to the October holidays and various other reasons our usual friends and family were unavailable but in the end we had a combination of Auntie Fiona and Uncle John, followed by Nanny Robertson looking after the kids at home, while Christine Caldwell travelled with us to support during the race as our crew. We (well Julie mainly) planned the logistics and packed enough food and gear to support us for 5 days of backyard racing and on Friday morning we set off for journey down to Suffolk, picking up Christine on the way. It was great to be able to fit everything in the van without needing to take a trailer! After a good day’s travel, stopping for dinner somewhere near Rugby, we stayed overnight in Brandon, a town right next to Thetford Forest, where the race was to be held.

The BYU Team championship consists of a single race taking place simultaneously in each country, all starting at midday UTC on 19th October. In the UK that translated to a very civilised 1pm start, so we had a good full night’s sleep on the Friday night, a full cooked breakfast at the hotel and plenty of time to make the short drive to Thetford Forest to set up for the race. Christine even had time for a bit of Parkrun tourism, taking in the local Brandon Country Park Parkrun between breakfast and camp setup!

The race was hosted at Forestry England’s High Lodge site in Thetford Forest – this is a new venue which is planned to be used for future runnings of the Suffolk Backyard Ultra, but Challenge Running RD Lindley (also UK team manager) was using this race as a bit of a test event prior to running a BYU with up to 500 runners on the course next year. The start/finish area is in the middle of a large open clearing – big enough to fit 500 runners and their tents, but with only 15 of us we used a small area marked out by temporary fencing containing the corral, gantry, timing tent, race HQ and space for the runners and support crews. We arrived around 10am and set up our gazebo in a good spot not more than 10m away from the corral. A few of the team were there already but most arrived over the next hour or so and we tried to say hello to everyone and figure out who was who! Many of the team we had never met, only exchanged messages with on social media, or recognised them only from their official team bios. The time passed quite quickly, and we had a short briefing from Lindley and received our official team kit (race shirts and hoodies). We got our gazebo well organised, prepped all of our supplies and made sure Christine knew where everything was and what we were likely to need. Before long it was time to get changed and join the team on the start line for the official photo-shoot. At 12:57pm the first of many three-whistle blows was made and at 1pm on Saturday we all set off (along with runners in 60 other countries), the 2024 Backyard Ultra Team World Championship race had begun!

A bit about the course – the new course was expected to be even “faster” than the original Suffolk course at Knettishall Heath, with less elevation and generally better terrain. Leaving the corral, the route cuts across the grassy meadow and joins the Accessible Heritage Trail which it follows gradually downhill for the first mile. This is a very smooth and runnable trail, but the surface is made of very fine gravel which inevitably gets into your shoes and had to be emptied regularly. The second mile started with a short run along a gravel road to reach the bottom of the only real climb on the route. Named “The Beast” by Lindley, it really wasn’t that beastly (even after many, many repeats) it was just a gentle rise of about 20m over a third of a mile on a grassy path. Reaching the top the rest of the second mile was good grassy/earth paths, with only a small knobbly / rooty section. The rest of the loop consisted of three sections of gravel road, broken up by grassy forest rides which were mainly dry and runnable. At the end of mile four you passed a statue of the Gruffalo’s Child (pretty much every Forestry park has one these days!), and back out into the meadow for a short run to the finish. Overall a very runnable course, plenty to keep you interested without having to concentrate on navigation. Being in the forest was very sheltered, we had a little bit of wind and rain over the weekend but it was never extremely wet, blowy or cold in the trees. The camp on the other hand was noticeably colder, with cold fog settling over it during the night and a chilly breeze blowing across at times. Basically, it was a pretty much ideal setup for anyone planning a long Backyard Run.

How did the race go? We’ll spare you a yard-by-yard account, firstly it’s really boring, and secondly they all blur into one and we really can’t remember it all that well 🤣 To begin with we settled in to our planned pace of 12:30 per mile, walking large parts of the course and taking it easy. That pace works out at 52-53 minutes for the whole loop, with about seven minutes rest before starting the next one. We were spending most of our time at the back of the pack along with Luke Carter who generally started out ahead of us and finished the loop a few minutes behind us. Although the majority were in front of us, the field was never very widely spread barring Mike Raffan and Andrew Jackson who were well below 50 minutes per loop. We got a few chats here and there with others as our paces converged briefly, and spent one entire yard with John Stocker which was nice as Iain had never met him before. As the afternoon went on we were both eating well, moving well and feeling good. There was a little bit of rain and wind around, but nothing to cause any issues. After a few yards of even splits, we decided to go a little faster on the downhill first mile, banking time for the second (uphill) mile which was naturally a bit slower.

With the relatively late start we had only completed five yards when it was time for head torches. We carried on into the night with the same plan and ticked the hours off one-by-one. We had agreed there should be no negative chat between us on the course, but at some point it became clear that we were both starting to feel it. Julie’s knees began to hurt around yard 13 (2am), and Iain was starting to get a bit dozy. The positive chat that had made the first afternoon fly by dried up and we did several loops mostly in silence. We still had the possibility to put on some music, but planned to keep that to the second night. Iain’s singing kept Julie (and everyone else within earshot) entertained. At 5am we both started on the paracetamol, which helped a bit and after 14 hours of darkness dawn broke and it was time to take head torches back off again for the 8am yard.

Morning was a nice boost as always, Iain’s stomach came back to life after the usual night done mainly on gels and energy drink, Julie had been eating well throughout. Luke dropped out after yard 19, but apart from that the day passed largely uneventfully. We stuck to our pacing, and before we knew it we were approaching nightfall again. The downside of having started on the paracetamol was that every 6 hours you’d have a cycle of the pain being dulled for a few hours, then gradually ramping up again until it was time to take some more. A few people had started to slow, including Karen Nicol, who was now running at the back of the pack with John Stocker for company.

Returning from a yard together (photo: Challenge Running)

As we started on the second night, Iain started to really struggle to stay awake. He hadn’t been able to sleep at all between loops during the first night and the sleep demons came back pretty much as soon as the sun went down. We put our headphones in and had a good lap, motivated by the music but unfortunately it didn’t last. Julie wasn’t enjoying feeling isolated – although we were running together we were in our own individual bubbles. We compromised on having one earphone in and the other out so that we could still talk to each other, but since Iain was by this point barely awake it wasn’t much of a help. Julie was taking more and more of the lead, deciding where and when to run, and for how long – basically managing the race for the both of us. Iain could still run at a decent pace, but every time we slowed to a walk he would stagger from side to side like a drunk, eyes shutting involuntarily. Pretty much his only contributions were describing some of the hallucinations which were starting to appear – an ornamental rockery (complete with water feature) in the middle of the path, a random giant Toblerone, big metal barriers across the path, and a large farm outbuilding that mysteriously appeared ahead!

On yard 34 he had a major wobble… just mentally beaten down and wanting nothing more than to lie down and sleep. Julie and Karen were keeping up a good stride ahead but he just kept dropping off the pace. At the top of the climb he decided he was done and planned to walk it back to the finish and time out. Julie of course was having none of this, but he wasn’t listening so she decided to rope in John Stocker to deal out a dose of advice, maybe he could “fix” Iain. She waited for him (he was starting the loop slowly as he had been doing for many hours) and left Iain to dawdle on but before the two of them could catch up something clicked in Iain’s head – if sleep was what was needed, the only way to get it was to run full pelt back to the finish and get 15 minutes of shut-eye! He started running flat out, finishing the last two miles at under 8 minutes per mile, arriving back at 43:30. The rest of the team were very confused (and worried there was an emergency) as he dashed past. Unfortunately, even with more than 16 minutes under a sleeping bag, sleep still eluded him. But on the plus side, he knew that he could still run!

We set out together again on yard 35 with a few more issues to contend with – the hard running meant that Iain was now being sick whenever he tried to eat and drink, and Julie’s knees were now being made worse by running down the first mile. We agreed to go a bit slower on the downhill, even walking sections of it, and accept that our overall time for the loop would be a bit slower. It was actually a good plan and did give her knees a respite, but it also meant putting more walk breaks into the runnable sections on the gravel roads in the second half of the loop. Overall we dropped a couple of minutes, finishing the yards in 54 minutes rather than 52. Still enough time to rest and refuel, so that was a worthwhile trade-off. Unfortunately it didn’t take long for the negative voices to creep back into Iain’s head and after a few yards of puking in the corral and “dead-man-walking” around the yard, he decided it was time for him to quit. At the end of loop 37, he rang the DNF bell and was out of the race.

Julie wasn’t ready to stop yet but was aware Iain stopping could have a negative affect on her race if she went into a negative mental spiral. With that in mind as she entered the corral for lap 38 she asked Andy Imms if she could tag along with him for the lap if she could keep to his pacings! It turned into a great lap enjoying the company of Andy (and also Damian and Wayne who Andy had been running with for several laps). It was great to hear how others were getting on and also made sure Julie wasn’t inside her own head too much! Knee pain was still a problem, the general fatigue of hours on the feet and it being night time.

Julie’s laps slowed over the next few hours to coming in with about 5 minutes to spare – still plenty of time but it was making Julie feel quite stressed. Daylight didn’t give much of a boost and laps were spent trying to stick to a pacing and chatting with different people that were running at similar pace. Julie discovered running up some of the one and only hill was a lovely relief on the legs and also banked some time as her walk up the hill was getting slower and slower. Thomas, Wayne, Damian and Andy (before he stopped) were all great company and helped pass some of the miles.

Each lap seemed to get harder and harder and Iain (who had had four hours sleep and was now wide awake again!) and Christine moved her chair and a box of food and gear down to the edge of the corral to save a bit of time between loops. On yard 46 she had a wobble of her own and came in looking distraught – not just by the amount of effort it was taking to get round the loop, but also by the possibility that she might fail just short of the 48 yard mark. Yard 47 was even slower, and it was an anxious wait at the finish, but with less than 90 seconds on the clock she made it over the line and we quickly turned her around for one more lap. This lap had been a massive mental challenge as 2 and a half miles in Julie’s pacing was slower than what was needed to get round in the hour. A good cry and talking to herself and Julie upped the running to just get back in the hour. She knew that the 48hours was doable and set out on the 48th loop with determined focus.

The 48th loop Julie went round the loop with Thomas and Wayne (thanks guys 🙏) but by this time she was not about to quit. In under 55 minutes, she completed her 200th mile, becoming one of only 8 people in the UK to do so 🎉 Having pushed so hard to reach a milestone, she was absolutely done, but Iain, Christine and various onlookers twisted her arm to get her back in the corral for yet one more lap! She made it about half a mile into the course before having another good cry and a sleep on a bench. After about half an hour she was found by a pair of dog walkers and brought back to the camp. Fortunately they were aware the race was on so weren’t too perturbed to find someone in running gear asleep on a bench in a forestry park! They were a lovely mum and daughter (the daughter is running Suffolk next year) and Julie enjoyed a great chat with them walking back to camp.

And with that our races were over. We stayed around for a few hours, Julie mainly sleeping while Iain packed up the gazebo and all the gear around her. It was mid afternoon by this point, so we made a last-minute booking at a some local accommodation (The Annexe, Mildenhall) and by 6pm we were showered and scoffing takeaway pizza while following the end of the race via the live stream like everyone else! We all slept for 11+ hours and then headed out for a much-needed breakfast at Angel’s Cafe – the breakfast burrito is highly recommended (and probably contains about 2000 calories). After a day on the road we were back in Scotland and back to the real world. The Belgians of course, were still running!

As we said at the outset, there are a huge mix of emotions still swirling around. Absolutely, it was a huge privilege to be invited to run for our national team, and spend a weekend in the company of some of the the best Backyard Ultra running in the UK. There were lots of positives to take from the race too:

Logistics, organisation and crewing was top notch (thanks Christine 🙏). We had everything we needed, and plenty of time between loops to do everything, including emptying lots and lots of gravel from our shoes!
Footcare was great – Julie pre-taped some of her toes and changed shoes at one point, and Iain just swapped socks but by the end of the race neither of us had any significant blisters, certainly none that would have stopped us continuing.
Food and hydration went pretty much to plan, we both had a good variety of food and managed to keep eating at roughly the right rate throughout the event. Later on, Julie took a race pack with some food and energy drink out on the course which worked well when the time between yards was getting tight.
Julie absolutely smashed her PB by 10 yards, and is in rarified company now having completed 200 miles in 48 hours, as well as finishing 10th woman worldwide in this year’s championship 🎉

But also lots of points of improvement:

Iain definitely felt that he underperformed – he matched his PB, but that was set on a more difficult course (God’s Own Backyard) and he had much higher goals for this one. The main cause of him quitting was sleep deprivation, and that is something that needs to be managed better in future but both of us struggled with the fact that the race felt a lot harder (and was a lot less fun) than we expected. Running a race with only 15 runners, all of whom are capable of huge distances is a very different experience to a normal backyard. Not only are there fewer people around to talk to to pass the time and provide a welcome distraction, you do not get the constant reinforcement from other people DNF’ing that you’re doing well!
Somehow, we didn’t manage to work that well together at this race. We both were struggling with either pain or tiredness but since we had agreed not to bring any negativity on to the course, that just meant that conversation almost dried up between us. When we put headphones in that made things even worse and we ended up with the worst of both worlds – running to each other’s pace but stuck inside our own little bubbles. Towards the end of the race Julie’s knees meant she couldn’t run for as long or as fast as Iain, and Iain couldn’t walk as fast (or in as straight a line!) as Julie. We definitely needed to have a more flexible strategy to allow us to work to our own strengths as the race went on.
Stomach issues affected Iain a bit towards the end of the race, caused by two things. Firstly was wearing a waist pack (to carry a phone and gels during the second night), which was uncomfortably tight. In the end he took it off and just carried a few gels. After the fast loop on yard 34 he started also being actually sick. Most likely that would not have been a reason to quit by itself but it certainly didn’t help.

In the end the UK race was won by Sarah Perry with a fantastic 59 yards, with Alex Sweet providing the assist – huge congratulations to them both 👏👏👏 As for us, it’s time to fully recover and get stuck back into a big winter training block to be ready to bring extra motivation, fitness and mental strength to Rasselbock BYU 2025 and see how far we can go! And Julie has already signed up for Suffolk BYU too, so we’ll be back at Thetford before too long 😵‍💫

Salomon Sense Ride 5

Julie uses all different kinds of shoes – Brooks, Scarpa, Salomon, Altra, Hoka (many different models) – and when she finds one she likes it inevitably gets discontinued. On the other hand I know what I like and stick to it. At the moment I have five different pairs of Salomon Sense Ride in my shoe rotation, plus another four pairs that are now retired!

Sense Ride 4 (Orange), 1067 miles – rarely used now except for short runs
Sense Ride 4 (Blue), 918 miles – occasional use
Sense Ride 5 (Red/Orange/Grey), 616 miles – general purpose shoes, used most days
Sense Ride 5 (Red/Black), 319 miles – backup race shoes (completed Pig on the Hill and Run the Borders)
Sense Ride 5 (Green flash), 69 miles – prime race shoes, run in a bit, ready for the BYU World Team Championships

5 pairs of Sense Ride – oldest on the left, newest on the right.

I’ve reviewed the Salomon Sense Ride 4 a few years ago so let’s have a look at the Sense Ride 5. The Sense Ride 5 has been out now for more than a year, so while there are still new colours being released you can find them at reasonable prices, well under £70 at places like SportsShoes.com or Amazon for specific size and colour combinations. You might even be lucky enough to find some Sense Ride 4’s still for sale at bargain prices.

So what’s been changed between the 4 and the 5? First up the outsole has been tweaked – it’s still Contagrip rubber with a “ProFeel film” but there are more lugs (6 per row), each being a bit smaller and shallower (3.5mm compared with 4mm). The grip is more-or-less the same – maybe not ideal for proper hill racing on grass and mud but excellent for most trails you’ll find in the UK at least. So far I’ve found them to be exactly as durable as the previous outsole, and expect to get roughly 1000 miles of usage out of them.

The midsole has been updated, it’s now Salomon’s new “Energy Foam” compound. I would say it’s a little bit more cushioned than the previous version, which is a nice-to-have, but since I ran 170 miles in one go in the Sense Ride 4 it was already more than adequate in my opinion. Inside, the construction is much the same, with the “Sensi-Fit” fabric linked to the tongue and combined with the quicklace system it definitely still holds your foot nicely in place. I used to occasionally get blisters caused by my feet moving around in shoes, or bashed toenails and I don’t get either of these in the Sense Ride 4 or 5. Please don’t mess with this system in future editions, Salomon!

The upper is very similar, mostly a very breathable, quick-draining mesh. This edition has removed a little bit of the plastic weld from around the front end, which improves the breathability at a cost of a little less splash-resistance. There have been a few changes around the heel, with the addition of a ‘tag’ at the back – pretty useless unless you like to hang your shoes up? The padding at the side of the heel has been extended all the way round the back which is probably a better fit if you don’t have very narrow heels like I do. As far as I can tell, the heel cup appears to be a little bit stiffer and I found it can become a bit uncomfortable on very long runs. However, it does appear to be a bit more durable than the Sense Ride 4, on which the heel lining has started to split – there’s no sign of that issue on the Sense Ride 5, so I suppose the issue is fixed!

The official weight from Salomon is up ever so slightly from 290g to 293g, but I doubt you’d even notice that. It’s still 8mm drop, although apparently 2.5mm shaved off front and back. I guess that’s 0.5mm off the lugs and the rest due to the midsole change – however, I simply don’t feel the difference and it looks and handles like the same shoe. Overall, the Sense Ride 5 is pretty much the same as the previous edition, certainly similar enough to keep me as a happy customer. Sense Ride will remain my go-to “do-everything” shoe for the foreseeable future and I recommend you try them out if you haven’t already!

Borders Abbeys Way – Run The Borders 2024

This was always a bad idea from the very beginning… when Breaking Strain (organisers of Run The Blades) announced they were putting on a race on the Borders Abbeys Way I signed up almost immediately. As the only one of Scotland’s Great Trails to pass through my home town of Selkirk, it had been on my to-do list for some time. In fact Julie and I had made an abortive attempt at it last summer, so this was a chance to come back and finish it. The route is an approximately 109k/68mi loop, passing the four major Borders Abbeys of Melrose, Dryburgh, Kelso and Jedburgh, as well as the towns of Hawick and Selkirk – there is no defined start/finish point, and the race would start in Melrose. It’s mostly on trails, with a few short road sections, and is moderately hilly, with around 6000ft of elevation gain. Never mind the fact that I would have run Pig on the Hill Backyard Ultra 2024 only 3 weeks before or that I hadn’t done anything like the training that is really required to make a good attempt at a 100k race. 🙈 Anyway, with Julie’s Race Across Scotland in between, I had a week of recovery, a moderate 30 mile week to convince myself everything was going to be OK (or at least OK enough I should run!), and a week to taper for the race. No major issues after Pig on the Hill fortunately, so on Friday night I headed down to Selkirk with a bag full of race kit to stay at my parents’ house the night before the race. Julie had (we thought) some of the kids activities to manage during the day on Saturday, so we planned for her to come down and see me in Selkirk (the final major checkpoint) and at the finish. For the first 58 miles of the race I planned to be self-sufficient.

Up at 4am for a quick breakfast before heading over to Melrose to register at 5am (thanks Dad for the early morning lift 🙏). Race number and tracker collected and plenty of time to have a last cup of tea before the 6am start. Was nice to see some familiar faces including Ryan Small (who ran The Ochil 100 with me last year), and Kristian Dela Cour from GB Ultras (who I had largely managed to miss during RAS as he was mainly volunteering at CPs behind us on the route). Last minute start line photo and we headed off into a cool morning, perfect for running!

Melrose – Kelso (17 miles)

Having run this section last year with Julie I knew that after the first half mile through the streets of Melrose, there is a narrow path section with gates which could become a bottleneck. I went out near the front, just behind a leading group of 4 or 5 people and made it through without any holdups. My local knowledge came in handy as they nearly missed the turn onto the path directly after Melrose Abbey 😆 I settled into what I though would be a decent pace, aiming to average about 9 minutes per mile for the whole section. I was working to a schedule that came in at 12 hours 45 minutes for the whole course – conveniently just under the current FKT, but also quite similar to the pace I completed the St. Cuthbert’s Way 100k race a few years ago. Although it is shorter that the Borders Abbeys Way, it also has more climbing, so seemed like a reasonable benchmark.

Beyond the village of Newstead is the first small climb up a farm track to join the old road to Newtown St. Boswells. I stopped to faff a bit with my shoes (more on that later) and yoyo-ed a bit with several runners as I was walking the hills, and then catching people on the downs. As well as the 24 runners doing the full course, there were also 2 relay teams and nearly 100 runners doing a 50k version, so it was not surprising that many were starting a bit faster than I wanted to go.

The run down through Newtown St. Boswells was easy and I settled in to a good pace and before long we were through the first little trail section by the river and crossing the Tweed on the chain bridge at Dryburgh. The first water station was just outside the Abbey, and I downed a cup of water and headed off again, about 1 minute up on my planned schedule. So far, so good!

The next section is mainly good grassy trail alongside the river, with a few short road sections mixed in for good measure. There will still plenty of runners around, and the sun had come up but there was still plenty of cloud around so not too warm. Somewhere around 10 miles in, I started to feel a bit of fatigue, mainly in my quads. Guess I hadn’t recovered quite as well as I thought… it was going to be a long day! I was still eating and drinking well and otherwise feeling good. The last mile up to the next water station at Manorhill farm is along a long straight track with dense hedges and walls either side. Unfortunately, there were also some flooded sections – ankle deep, far too long to jump, fully across the track with no option to skirt around – so there was no avoiding getting wet feet 🤷‍♂️ Once again, a quick drink at the checkpoint and push on. Now about 3 minutes up on my schedule – still going to plan. I was carrying 2L of KMC ISO Mix in my pack, but since I was aiming to be self-sufficient for nearly 60 miles, I was making sure to make full use of the water stations and checkpoints.

The next 6 miles towards Kelso starts on quiet country roads before making a short cross-country detour through some fields before reaching the race course on the outskirts of Kelso. I could still occasionally see a few runners behind or ahead of me, but the race felt surprisingly strung out already. I arrived at the first major checkpoint and aid station at Kelso Ice Rink in good shape, nearly 10 minutes up on my schedule, which was perfect as I made a loo stop and picked up some food to munch as I headed off through the town. Already, my stomach wasn’t too keen on accepting solid food, but I managed to down some watermelon, a sandwich and some flapjack, and took a bag of Haribo with me to eat on the next section.

Kelso – Jedburgh (15 miles)

Down through Kelso town centre I was now past the point where Julie and I had stopped last year, so I was into new territory. After passing the Abbey (third one of the day!) and crossing the Tweed on the road bridge, a short section of pavement lead past the Border Union showground (which appeared to have some kind of dog show ongoing) and over a second bridge across the River Teviot. Here the path left the road and for a couple of miles skirted along the bank of the river. Fortunately, the long grass appeared to have been recently strimmed to create a runnable strip, but underfoot it was uneven and slippery, and in places the river was so high it lapped over onto the path. It was tough going and my pace slowed a bit but it was fortunately only a couple of miles until reaching the village of Roxburgh and a brief respite on the road. After passing under the dramatic Roxburgh viaduct, we were treated to more riverside path! Only a mile of it this time but I was developing a bad attitude to the terrain… and looking forward to getting on to the old railway path.

Finally I arrived at a short set of steps up on to the nice flat gravel bed of the old railway, and could look forward to 3 easy miles towards Nisbet and the next water station… or so I thought. Perhaps because of the relatively fast first 20 miles, or the last 5 miles of nasty river path, or more likely a combination of both, I just couldn’t get my legs moving and was starting to drop behind my planned pacing.

From the water station I knew I had about 5 miles to go until Jedburgh. Crossing the river, the route cuts across some fields and I started taking walk breaks on what was flat, runnable terrain and for the first time in the race, people were starting to catch and pass me. The wheels were coming off both physically (although in hindsight I was only a minute or so per mile slower than planned), and mentally. Crossing the main road at Mounthooly, the route briefly joins the old Roman road Dere Street (also part of St. Cuthbert’s Way) and made a short climb. Here I phoned Julie to have a good old moan and for the first time vocalised the thoughts that had been going round in my head for the last half an hour that I might quit. She of course was having none of it, and gave me a well needed dose of tough love – exactly what I needed. It didn’t make running any easier, but I was now committed to finishing and there was only a few miles to go to the next checkpoint at Jedburgh. I didn’t have any headphones with me, but I put running playlist on my phone and turned the rest of the day into a mobile disco!

On the way in to Jedburgh I had a chat with Ryan (having foot troubles) and Tommy Yeomans from Selkirk, and ground out a bit of a run to a soundtrack of Meat Loaf and Weird Al Yankovic. The last half mile in to the town was along a stretch of road which I had run once before (in the other direction) during my first ever Half Marathon in 2016! Once in the town, the route follows a footpath along the banks of the river which was only a mile long but seemed much longer. Eventually I reached Jedburgh Abbey (the fourth and final Abbey of the route) and a short stretch of street to to Jedburgh town hall and the checkpoint!

This was the most well-supplied of all the checkpoints, and I took the time to have a bit of a refuel and settle myself down for the next (more than) half of the race. I hadn’t felt much like eating while on the move but now I was stationary I managed some coke, banana, watermelon and a very welcome cup of tea. I had meant to neck some paracetamol too but forgot! Several other runners were also taking a break at the checkpoint, including Kristian who had been running near the front for most of the way, and Ryan, who was attempting (unsuccessfully) to patch up his blistered feet with electrical tape. In total I was there only 10 minutes but that was enough to reset and get ready for the next section, which I was looking forward to as there was finally going to be some proper climbs and I could use my hiking legs!

Jedburgh – Hawick (13 miles)

Straight out of the checkpoint, the route goes up past the Jedburgh Castle Jail and then a couple of miles of farm tracks and field paths, largely up-hill. I remembered mid-way up to take the paracetamol – whether it made any difference or not I don’t know – but as I had expected it was nice just to get stuck into some good big climbs. It was also the half way point of the route, which was a good morale boost.

For most of the next section I yoyo-ed with Kristian, catching and passing him on the climbs and being caught again on the more runnable sections. After topping out, there was an enjoyable run down through bracken and woodland towards Bedrule, before another short climb over and down again via some very muddy farm tracks to the village of Denholm, where they was a mid-section water station. On the edge of the village I had the nice surprise of seeing my aunt Sheila (and dog Zak) who had come out to support me. To reach the checkpoint required running round three sides of the village square, and the official Borders Abbey Way straight-lined the other side. At least one runner seemed to have missed it entirely!

The water station was actually indoors at the village hall, and although tea and coffee were on offer I just filled up with water. To start with I had a soft flask of KMC gel, but now I had finished that, I washed it out and refilled it with water to supplement the KMC NRG I had made up in the bladder in my pack. Kristian stopped here for a bit longer than I did to have a cup of tea, and that was the last I saw of him (he eventually finished about 90 minutes behind me).

Leaving Denholm, the next couple of miles were on road as a section of the Borders Abbey Way was closed. I reached a bit of a compromise with my legs here – they agreed they would run without too much complaint, as long as I didn’t expect them to run too fast. I even managed a sub-10-minute mile – the first one for more than 20 miles! Leaving the road near Hassendeanburn, there were only a few miles of riverside path standing between me and the next major checkpoint at Hawick. Julie had driven down from home and would also be meeting me here, so that was something to look forward to. The path was much better than the one after Kelso, more dirt and roots than grassy and tussocky. I kept up a decent pace and soon picked up the road on the outskirts of Hawick. The checkpoint was supposed to be at the rugby club but there were several buildings and I couldn’t see anything that looked like a checkpoint! By the time I ran into Julie I was pretty much at Hawick swimming pool and concluded that I had missed the checkpoint entirely. She had brought some goodies including a bottle of IRN-BRU and to be honest it was just good to see her 😍 At this point I wasn’t particularly in “race mode” but she told me there were a couple of people not far in front – so I had someone to chase! I left her with instructions to find the checkpoint, tell them I was OK, and apologise for not checking in.

Hawick – Selkirk (13 miles)

Leaving Hawick, I knew that the next section had two big climbs. The first one was mainly on roads and I got a good stride in and caught up with one of the runners who was being met by his crew after also missing the checkpoint! After a brief rain shower on the way out of Hawick, it had turned into a warm afternoon, and I was still enjoying the mobile disco. John Denver’s “Take me home, country roads” (dance version) was particulary appropriate as I was now headed towards Selkirk!

I enjoyed the climb, but what I had hoped would be a nice run down into Ashkirk was actually more of an undulating trail and after being within a few minutes of my planned schedule at the water station near the top of Drinkstone Hill, I was losing time on the descent. My hiking pace was still good, my running pace not so much! After reaching the next water station at Salenside, it wasn’t far to the next big climb up the Wollrig to the highest point of the whole route. I was still moving well, particularly when hiking, but I was struggling to eat anything. I chewed on some Haribo, just trying to get a few more calories in but just before the top of the hill my stomach gave up and I puked the entire contents of my guts into a ditch! Tommy passed me at this point and looked a bit worried. As usual, I felt a bit better after a good spew. Over the next few miles I managed to get a bit more KMC drink and a few gels down, keeping myself hydrated and avoiding bonking through lack of calories.

There was a water station at the top of the hill, and a couple of walkers timed it perfectly to hold the gate open for me as I turned in to the Hartwoodmyres plantation. Only 4.5 miles to go to Selkirk where I knew I would see the whole family, a couple of miles of runnable downhill forest trail before some cross-country and then I would be back on familiar territory again. One of my shoes was starting to rub a bit as the insole was slipping up my heel, so I messaged Julie to have a change ready for me. It wasn’t long before sighting the Haining Loch and passing the ruined Doocot, out down the Haining Drive and onto the streets of Selkirk. It was great to see everyone as I walked up the steep slope of West Port and Lang Dykes to the checkpoint.

I must only have been at the checkpoint a few minutes, as my well-drilled “pit crew” sorted me out with a change of socks and shoes (a second pair of Salomon Sense Ride 5), and most importantly filled up my soft flask with IRN-BRU! My stomach was still not great, but I managed a cup of tea and a few haribo before setting off again for the final push to the finish.

Selkirk checkpoint (just about) in sight…

Selkirk – Melrose (10 miles)

I was looking forward to the last section, partly because it was only 10 miles to go but I was also back on familiar terrain having run here many times when we lived in (and later when visiting) Selkirk. My feet also felt great in the new shoes. After leaving the car park containing the checkpoint, there is an immediate climb for about half a mile up and out of the town. My dad was waiting with his camera at the ready on the Kirk Wynd, and fortunately I made it past him before puking again – so much for that cup of tea! Heading on up The Loan, I was met by some friends who had come out to cheer me on which was a nice boost and took my mind off my digestive issues.

Once out of the town, there was an enjoyable few miles alongside the golf course and across farmland and I was making good progress again. I spotted one person maybe half a mile ahead at one point but apart from that never saw anyone other runners until the finish. A short stretch of road leads out onto open hillside near “Half Crown Corner” and before long the view down towards Melrose, the Eildon Hills and the Tweed stretched out in front of me and I knew the last major climb of the route was over.

After passing Cauldshiels loch, I reached the final water station. I think I took a little bit more liquid on board here just to see me to the end (the IRN-BRU was long since finished), and took my last remaining gel. Less than 5 miles to the finish! About the first half of that is on mostly downhill country roads, before getting back on to paths along side the River Tweed at Abbotsford. I could definitely “smell the barn” now and I ran the last few miles without any walk breaks. I wanted to push a bit to make sure I finished in under 13:30 but at the same time I realised I was dangerously close to bonking from lack of calories and was treading a bit of a tightrope! I couldn’t tolerate any solid food, and had already finished all of my liquid calories and gels. Fortunately, I managed to keep it together (just) and after what felt like a long couple of miles, reached the final turn off the river path and up to the finish line at Melrose Parish Church.

After 13 hours and 19 minutes of running, I accepted my finishers medal and a nice memento for 3rd male (5th overall). It was great to celebrate with Julie and the kids there, but in truth I was just glad to be finished, sit down and not move! Even after getting changed into some warm layers and gradually starting to get some food back into me, I started shaking uncontrollably… I guess I was closer to running on empty than I had thought. Fortunately Julie was there to drive me home, and after a couple of hours in the car I had managed to eat a bit and felt much better.

It’s been over two years since I last ran a 100k. It’s definitely a difficult distance to get right and I’m not sure I’ve got it figured out yet. Here’s some thoughts (in no particular order) and things I can learn from in future:

Shoes – normally I try to run the whole race in a single pair of shoes, basically “if it’s not broke don’t fix it”, but changing into a fresh pair for the last 10 miles felt great. I’d do it again, and with a good crew it doesn’t even take much time!
Calories – this was a bit of a disaster. I had a reasonable amount of solid food, but due to (I assume) the pace/level of effort, and later in the day the heat, I couldn’t really eat much of it. I hadn’t packed enough gels and KMC NRG to make up for it and arrived at the finish “running on fumes”. Definitely an area for improvement! In hindsight, I could have done with double the number of gels and taken some more KMC to make up at one of the midway checkpoints.
Pacing – this felt much worse than it actually was! My splits for the four quarters of the race (by distance) were: 2h40, 3h23, 3h36, 3h41 but the vast majority of the climbing is in the second half of the race. Like a bit of a noob, I just went out too fast for my current level of fitness/training/recovery and suffered during the second quarter of the race. On the plus side, my hiking pace in the second half of the race was great, even faster than I had planned.
Crew – Not seeing any crew until 45 miles wasn’t an insurmountable challenge although seeing Julie during the second half of the race was a big boost. I should probably have either taken more supplies for the first half, or maybe sent a drop-bag to the Kelso checkpoint.
Music – just like at Pig on the Hill I used my tunes to get me moving when I was in a low spell, and it worked. Maybe just remember to take some headphones next time, so as not to annoy the other competitors 🤣

Overall, this was a great fun day out and I’m really glad to have finally knocked off the Borders Abbeys Way. It was always going to be a tall order to produce a great race effort only 3 weeks after Pig on the Hill. I definitely was under-prepared both physically and in terms of planning, and it showed! This is another race I can happily recommend to anyone, even the 50k or relay option if you don’t fancy the full 109k. I don’t think I’ll be back in a hurry, but that’s no reflection on the race, the route, or the organisers, it’s just because I’ve ticked this particular box and have plenty of races planned for 2025 already 😬

Pig on the Hill Backyard Ultra 2024

What an epic race that was! But to properly tell the story we need to go back more than a year to June 2023 and as it was then called, the Lionsgate Backyard Ultra. I had gone there as part of Team Scotland, with high expectations after winning God’s Own Backyard Ultra 2022 and made an early exit with my tail firmly between my legs. Yes it was (very) hot, yes I had a spot of tibial tendonitis but ultimately I didn’t manage myself properly and quit after 10 yards. I didn’t even hang around long enough to support the rest of the team, or eventual winner Mike Raffan (sorry Mike)! Before I even got home I knew I would have to come back for a crack at redemption.

Fast-forward to the start of 2024 and I was planning to secure my place on the UK national Backyard Team with a big run at the Cowshed in April. The weather washed out that event and I was sidelined by a torn labrum (that’s the cartilege in your hip socket, in case you were wondering) for nearly 3 months. As the spring went on, I watched as the fitness from my Spring training block slipped away and gradually I dropped down off the bottom of the UK “at large” list as my 37 yards from GOBYU 2022 was surpassed (including by Julie at Rasselbock BYU). Fortunately, a plan came together in my head to make a last ditch attempt to qualify at Pig on the Hill BYU, the final Silver Ticket race. With a course record of “only” 27 yards, it seemed unlikely that the event would go on long enough to reach the 39 yards needed to qualify for the team, so it was simply a case of win or bust! The only question was – could I do it?

After missing several months of training and two planned races I had at least managed to string together a couple of 50 mile weeks followed by two weeks on holiday in Spain – good for heat acclimatision, even if there was more sitting around a pool eating and drinking than there was running 🤣 At least I would make it to the race well rested! Unfortunately the longest run I had been able to do since February was 15 miles, so even though my hip seemed to be almost completely recovered I really had no idea how it would hold up to anything like the 100+ miles that would likely be needed. Some nervous study of the start list also revealed there were two other people competing with higher Backyard PBs than me, as well as several others with plenty of experience, not to mention some good ultra runners taking part in their first Backyard. I would say I had high hopes for the race, but was managing my own expectations, I just planned to turn up, run sensibly and see what my body was capable of on the day.

Originally we had planned to go down to the Wales for the race as a family and have Julie crew me throughout. Unfortunately we discovered late on that no dogs were allowed as the race is based on a working farm, so at the last minute plans changed to a solo mission! Fortunately Julie kept me organised and I had all my clothing, food and gear sorted, bagged and packed into easy to access boxes. Combined with new gazebo, I was as well prepared as possible, and planned to be self-sufficient although I had offers of help from both Vic Owens (and crew) and Darren Clarkson if needed.

I took Friday off work, with the intention of getting to the site by mid-afternoon to get a good camp spot near the corral. As it turned out, the traffic was horrendous all the way from the M6, along the M56 and all the way to Pwllheli and by the time I arrived in early evening I had to settle for a spot maybe 50m away from the start line. It was a rainy and misty evening, so I was grateful for Andy Imms taking pity on me and helping me get the gazebo up 🙏 I registered, got off to bed early and slept well in the back of the van with my alarm set for 5am ready for the race to start at 7am.

Sadly, Backyard Ultras are a bit boring to write about, so let’s take a brief diversion with a description of the route – hopefully it will give you some idea of what to expect if you fancy giving it a shot in future!

Mile 1: Starting from the corral in the camping field, you head out of the bottom corner of the field and turn sharp right onto a gravel lane. The lane gradually improves into a tarmac road, heading uphill past a farm for roughly half a mile. Cows can been seen at milking in the morning, evening (and morning again!) Turning sharp right again, the road levels out and passes several more cottages before petering out into a grassy lane, headed downhill towards a junction with the Wales Coast Path. Turning left through the gate (a bottleneck on the first few loops), the mile finishes with on a wide, level grassy meadow facing heading towards the sea. Wild ponies can be found in this area!

In the corral at the start of the 3rd yard.

Mile 2: This section is largely an out-and-back along the coast path, with a small turnaround loop around a ruined cottage. While there are no big climbs like miles 1 and 3, the route is constantly undulating and often hard to run on. The path is mostly a mix of grassy and sandy rutted path, but there are many rocks and off-camber sections. There are a few small climbs that are short and sharp! The start and end of the mile passes through wide swathes of purple flowering heather and yellow gorse, while the turnaround passes through thick bracken – head-high in places and disguising lots of rocks and very easy to trip up!

Mile 3: The first third of a mile takes you back to the gate you passed through earlier. This time, turn left and head further down the grassy lane, through another gate, past a small water treatment plant (watch out for concrete trip hazards here) and through another gate onto the open hillside of the Mynydd Penarfynydd. The second big climb of the course is here. Shorter and steeper than the road climb, this one takes a narrow path through a gorse thicket – impossible to avoid getting scratched! Before too long you pass another gate and are rewarded with views back down to the camp, a long way below. The trig point marks the highest point of the course and the start of a long gentle downhill towards the headland. Mostly wide and grassy but with a few narrow rutted parts between the heather, with rocks to keep you on your toes.

Mile 4 (and .167): Shortly after completing mile 3, the coast path makes a double-back to the right, and you continue straight on for a short out-and-back to see the pig! This section was another definite bottleneck near the start of the race, but it also makes it easy to judge where you are relative to others. After rounding the pig and heading back along to join the coast path, the route makes a short climb before another long, runnable descent down to the farm. The wild ponies made an appearance here too, fortunately they were willing to be moved on as there is no real way around them. Through, there is a steep grassy bank down into the farmyard before rejoining the lane you started on at the beginning of the loop. Still a little way to go though, as the route passes by the first entrance into the camping field and enters instead at the far corner. Turn right into the field and make a clockwise half-circuit to finish back where you started… hopefully ready to go again!

Mr Pig himself. He marshalled the turnaround point for the whole event!

Strava link to the route is at the bottom of the post (no spoilers 😉). Hopefully the photos gave you a good idea what to expect. Check out this video from Andy Imms (4x speed, so just under 15 mins for the whole loop):

Right, now you have a good picture of the course, let’s get back to the story! The first few yards were really busy, lots of tailbacks and the gates and congo trains through the narrow parts. My legs were feeling fresh so able to walk almost the whole loop, and it was just great to be back racing again after so long. Had a few chats with various people and took a few photos. By yard 4 I had figured out how to avoid the worst of the traffic jams and settled in to “my pace”. As the sun came overhead it got hotter and I switched into a vest and sunglasses and just kept knocking out consistent yards. Through the afternoon the field started to thin out a bit. Darren Clarkson dropped after coming in with a few seconds to spare on yard 5, so now I had a crew (although I was still planning to be self-sufficient). All afternoon I was just in my groove, lap after lap, drinking plenty and eating well. I was very pleased when it got to 7pm and as well passing the 50 mile mark, it was starting to cool down again. I changed back into a short for the evening and only a few hours later it was head-torch time!

The heat of the day and the difficulty of the course were taking their toll and I counted 14 runners left in on the 14th yard. There was still a long way to go but I was feeling good, still keeping to my pace and just starting to think I could go all the way… although most of the people I’d spotted as pre-race favourites were still in.

Once it got truly dark the difficulty stepped up a notch as I simply had to go a bit slower on the toughest parts, which meant less walking and more running overall. I think everyone was finding the same though and as the night wore on runners continued to drop. As usual my stomach decided it didn’t want to accept any more solid food and from 9pm onwards I was running solely on gels and KMC NRG drink. At 11pm my stomach rebelled entirely and I had a bit of a chunder outside my gazebo between yards… as usual felt much better afterwards 🤣 By 1am I was still moving fine but starting to develop a bit of a sense-of-humour failure about the whole thing. The hours between midnight and dawn are always the worst for me. This time I wasn’t particularly sleepy, just suffering a motivational low, so I decided to put my music on for the next lap. This gave me a huge boost and knocked a 30s off the first climb 😮 I had a specially selected playlist (Spotify link) with backyard-specific tracks including “The one and only” by Chesney Hawks and Bon Jovi’s “Last Man Standing” as well as a good mix of general hype tracks and some chosen by Julie which I knew would give me motiviation. I was singing quite a bit out loud too, so apologies to the guy who was just behind me when I did my best Fred Durst “Your best bet is to stay away motherf**cker, it’s just one of those days” 🤘

Powered on by the tunes I stuck to my pace as others (including George Parkin and Vic Owens) dropped and eventually there were four left by yard 21. On the way round Andy Imms announced he was stopping, and another runner was already on his last lap too. Finally we were down to the final two and the fight for the win was on!

It didn’t start too well for me as at the start of yard 23 I immediately puked on the way out of the corral! Paul Fenn, who was the other remaining runner told me afterwards that he put in a fast lap to try and discourage me into quitting, but it would take more that a little sick to stop me! On the 24th yard (100 miles) I pushed a bit harder and came in well ahead of him. I had spoken to Paul earlier in the race and while he had done several ultras he was not as used to trails and elevation, so I hoped this would prove the difference between us. At the start of each yard he would run up the first hill (I was calling him Kate Bush in my head) and would be a minute or more ahead of me, but somewhere in mile two I would usually catch him and end up finishing the loop two or three minutes in front.

In total we ran 5 yards (I think) just the two of us. I was just starting to think we were in for a very long day, and working of getting some more solid food in to me, when Paul shook hands in the corral and RTC’d on the 28th yard. In the end he said that while he had one or two more yards in him, he could see I had more than that. Obviously I was relieved that our suffering would end early and headed out solo on to the 28th yard. I left a voice message for Julie to tell her the news and then just started running! In the end I finished the loop in about 45 mins, by far my fastest loop of the whole race. It was a great feeling just to be able to empty the tanks and not to have to keep saving energy for an unknown number more loops.

Running round the field it just felt such a relief that firstly I’d been able to run at all, second that I had been able to pace myself and not do any further injury, and to finally secure the Silver Ticket and the place on Team UK I had been chasing for the last two years, and a new Course Record of 28 yards was just icing on the cake. Job well done 👍

It was also very cool to pick up the triple whammy of the 100 mile buckle (Paul also earned one) as well as a model pig and a huge axe! Definitely the best prize I’ve ever won. Huge thanks go to Huw and his team for putting on such an outrageous but stunning event. It really fits the “beautifully brutal” tagline! I totally encourage everyone to give it a shot, especially as I do not plan to come back ever again if I can avoid it 🤣 Even if you don’t plan to run 100+ miles, where else can you get a weekend’s camping for £36 quid?

Of course, a huge thanks go to Julie for allowing me to go and do crazy things like run in circles chasing my goals. Even though she couldn’t come in person, she was with me throughout the whole race, sending messages of support and of course via the music in my headphones too!

Looking back after a week’s recovery there is not much I can pick up on that went wrong, and a lot that went right 😁

Pacing. I stuck to 13 mins per mile throughout, even splits for each mile and it worked really well. Generally I finished with roughly 6 minutes left and because the last mile is the easiest, I was able to push a bit harder if I needed an extra minute to go to the loo etc. That was plenty of time, and with only one night of racing, I didn’t need to sleep at all.
Walking lots! Lots of people commented during the race, especially early on about my walking pace. It’s something I picked up on from Julie and have practiced… in fact on easier terrain I can walk and entire yard in under an hour. To begin with I was walking maybe 80-90% of the loop and it just kept my legs fresh for later when I really needed them. As more running was needed during the night and later in the race, according to Strava’s cadence analysis, overall I walked 60% of the distance and ran 40%
Organised kit. Another one that is thanks to Julie. I had all my food, gear etc. bagged and sorted. Even though in the end I had Darren to crew me for most of the race, I didn’t need him except to make up extra bottles of KMC – and that was a nice-to-have, if I’d been completely uncrewed I’d still have had time to do it.
Stomach. I think I managed to eat and hydrate well in the hot weather. A couple of vomit stops was unfortunate but not a showstopper. Something to try for next time is having some small portions of food bagged so I can carry them and nibble on the lap if my stomach is going South?
Music. I haven’t run with music for years, but I was struck by Eleanor Gallon’s comment at GOBYU that putting music on was so good it felt like cheating. I thought I would try it if the going got tough – and she was right! The only issue was that after getting through the night I stuck with the headphones on until the end. Worth trying going a few laps without music again and seeing if the boost is repeatable, or if you get “withdrawal symptoms” when you turn it off.

Anyway, that’s all for now! Not too shabby for a guy with a knackered hip 🤣 Hope you enjoyed reading it and I can’t wait to tell everyone all about the World Team Championship race in October 🤩

Interview: Burton & Dixon

Due to injury, I unfortunately had to defer my Cape Wrath Ultra entry to 2025. However, with the time already booked off work and inlaws visiting to help with child care, I was fortunate enough to be able to volunteer on the event team for a second time. While it was obviously a shame not to be racing myself, many of last year’s event team were tackling the race for themselves and it was great to see them again! Right from registration day, I bumped into Burton & Dixon Holmes, brothers who had flown over from the USA to take part and both of them eventually made it all the way to the Cape Wrath lighthouse via the Explorer Course. Now back home, I caught up with them to talk a bit more about their Cape Wrath journey.

Welcome Burton & Dixon to the Miles Together blog! Congratulations on completing the Cape Wrath Ultra and hope you have both recovered well. Lets start by introducing yourselves to our audience…

Burton: I grew up in Northern California where I ran track, the mile distance, in Jr. High and High School – more out of obligation than a love of running. In tenth grade I ran one lap shy of eight miles and that was the longest distance I ran until thirty years later when I started training for an Ironman in 2018. That was how I really got into running. Dixon challenged me to complete the Santa Rosa Ironman with him in 2018. At the time I was only into road cycling. I’d never done a marathon and didn’t know how to swim. Over the course of the next eight months I learned to swim, trained up and completed my first Ironman, which was also my first triathlon, marathon and a life changing experience. After that I keep training and the next year Dixon and I ran the Utah Valley Marathon.

Dixon: I am 57 years old and have been married for 36 years this August. We have five children and five grandchildren, but not all the kids are producing as of yet. I was born in California and lived there for 19 years and the rest of that time has mostly been in Utah. I am retired from local government. Seems like I have always run. In Junior High School I ran the mile – fastest time was 5:41 – so I am not a fast runner. Iain: Faster than me though 😁 At 6’2.5” and 210 lbs, I am not a sports car, more of diesel truck with a lift kit – but not much of show boat. I started serious running, which means I no longer “jog”, in 2004 with a few buddies from work. In 2005 I ran my first two marathons, and have since done 20 marathons, 6 in the summer of 2006. I have also completed two Ironman competitions in under 15 hours. I did my first ultra marathon in March of 2023 – 37 miles and another in March of 2024 – 50 miles in 13 hours.

So how did you hear about the Cape Wrath Ultra and what was your inspiration to take part? Had you ever been to Scotland before?

Dixon: My brother, my favorite running partner, even though we live 722 miles apart, were looking for something a bit out of ordinary.

Burton: Not long after finishing the Utah Valley Marathon in 2019, Dixon found out about the Cape Wrath Ultra. I remember the email and subsequent conversation; the idea was intriguing and it scared me to death! At some level the thought of it was very appealing (in a bizarre way), but didn’t necessarily seem like something that I could actually do. After talking about it with Dixon for many more months we decided on 2024 as the year we would attempt the Cape Wrath Ultra. After that, it became a bit of an obsession to be honest. We trained for other long distance events, completing several single day ultras as well as several back-to-back three day long runs. In 2022 we were aware of the possibility of volunteering at the event and found out that not only could we be on the event team but by doing so we earn credit toward the future event. That really resonated with us the idea that we could both experience some small part of what the event would be like see the landscape and the train and then also earn credit for the year that we wanted to do it.

Dixon: Six years ago, Burton and I and 18 other family members – parents, siblings, spouses and grand kids did a 2500 mile tour of Scotland and England. My fifth great grandfather was born in Mouswald, Dumfrieshire, Scotland and I own 6 kilts. You could say I have an affinity for Scotland – something draws me to Scotland – my sirens? Must be something about the Highlands, the castles, the lochs and the wonderful people who live there. But we first heard about Cape Wrath about 5 years ago and we were hooked. We volunteered in 2023, I did dishes for a week and got dishpan hands. We met some wonderful people who are now dear friends.

Burton: I had been to Scotland previously in 2001 as well as in 2018. In both of those visits, I spent several days in the Highlands driving through areas such as Inverness and Aberdeen area specifically remember stopping and viewing Ben Nevis as we journey around Scotland. I also had a memory of walking out onto a bog at that point not really knowing what it was, but the idea that the ground looked firm was squishy and rose and fell with each step was bizarre to me.

I’m sure you got very familiar with bogs during the race! Shane Ohly likes to talk about the circular economy of the Ourea Event Team, with many participants coming back after a previous year on the event team. Event credit sure doesn’t hurt, either 😉 What was your experience of Cape Wrath Ultra like in 2023 from the point of view of a volunteer?

Burton: Volunteering for the event in 2023 was fantastic. It was really hard work, but I learned so much about camp life and got a bit of a taste of what day-to-day race would be like. Although to be quite honest, nothing really could’ve prepared me for the event like day two of the actual Cape Wrath Ultra! My role was on the camp team, setting up the barricades and banners working in the tea tent, setting up tents and basically whatever was needed me to do. For me the highlights of the week were interacting with the participants and the other members of the Event Team. I feel like I formed a number of friendships and those have continued from that time a year ago.

Dixon: Volunteering in 2023 was awesome. It really gave us a flavour of the behind the scenes of an organized “three ring circus” that moves every morning. It’s amazing the organizational skills that the full time event staff possess. The highlight was the amazing people who finished each day whether it be the full race or the Explorer. Now having done it, the Explorer, I have so much more respect for those who make it to the lighthouse.

I totally agree that getting a preview of the event helps in your preparation, but I’ll take your word for it there is nothing like taking part! Were there any specific things you learned from volunteering that helped you during the race?

Burton: Absolutely! As I mentioned earlier, just the details of camp life and camp admin are a huge benefit. I’ve camped all my life, but it’s a very different experience having all your gear in one or two rucksacks and breaking down camp and setting it back up again each each night. Being a part of the camp staff was definitely a huge advantage to knowing what to expect from day-to-day during the actual event.

Dixon: Frankly, I dont think I learned enough. We certainly more informed about the food, the weather, the midges, the daily movement and about two miles of each route day of the start and finish. What I had no clue about was the bogs. Oh the bogs, the real terrain, were way above my pay grade! Where we are from, we have mountains, big mountains, but they are nothing compared to the hills and valleys with bogs. Its enough to make a grown man cry – I cried a little when I transitioned from the full monty down to the Explorer, but it was the right move for me. It was hard emotionally, dropping down, but physically, it was like oh yeah, this is way better for me.

Just to explain to the readers, at Cape Wrath Ultra you have the option to do the “Explorer” Course, which usually is the first or second half of each day’s stage. Some participants do the Explorer from the start but most switch onto it either after they miss a cut-off on a stage, or after a few days of struggling on the full course.

Now that we’re talking about the 2024 race, what were your goals and expectations, and how did you prepare for the event?

Dixon: I literally had every expectation to make it to the lighthouse and to do the full event. That is what I was expecting and felt like I had trained for. I felt like I had put in adequate or more hill work and miles. My longest week was 84 miles and did many double digit back to back to back days. But training in the desert in the Southwest of the USA is the not the same as doing Scottish Highland bogs. I am no pro, but I think the only way to train for the bogs is to run in bogs. Frankly river crossings were refreshing – the water was clear and not too deep. Bogs are a different animal. The up hills were hard but manageable. But downhill and cross lateral hills with bogs are a real challenge and you cannot move fast as if you were on a uneven road surface. Not to discourage anyone from doing the Cape Wrath Ultra, but its a whole new level of course work, that frankly I was not prepared for!

Burton: I have to say without a doubt my goal going in to the race was to complete it. In my mind that meant running the whole 400 km distance over the eight days. Looking back now a few weeks past the event that goal and expectation maybe was a little naïve, even though I’d heard Shane’s speech many times about what an adventure was and that part of an adventure was not knowing the end from the beginning in my naivety I still thought “yeah but I’m sure I’ll still finish”.

And in the end, we did reach the lighthouse and in my mind I count that really as a huge win; even though I didn’t get to, or wasn’t able to run the whole distance every day. Again, looking back I don’t think my expectations were very realistic, given the challenging nature of the terrain, and the overall fatigue that occurs after days and days of running. Mentally I thought about what that would be like and as I mentioned earlier, I had done three day long run practices where I ran 20 to 30 miles over three days. While my body was up to that challenge, it was the fourth and the fifth and the sixth and the seventh days that really took a toll. Getting sick at the end of day four certainly didn’t help either. In my mind, I still don’t know if I would’ve been able to complete the entire event, had I not gotten sick. I certainly have my doubts about that and that will always be an unknown.

Concerning my preparation leading up to the race, I feel like physically I was in as good as shape as I could’ve been. However, the terrain that I trained on was so vastly different from the terrain of the Cape Wrath Ultra. Yes, there were hills and mountains and rocky paths that I was able to run on. But there is nothing in Arizona that even remotely resembles a trackless bog. And the fatigue of going day after day after day on only a few hours of sleep is hard to replicate.

You are not the only people I’ve heard say that the terrain is killer if you aren’t used to it. Did you plan to run the race together, or go at your own pace?

Burton: We had always said that we wanted to run the entire event together. We trained together and we both run at a very similar pace, plus we really wanted to stay together the whole time if possible. And while acknowledging that that might not be possible due to injury or some other factors, that was always our goal.

And I’m happy to say that with a few exceptions, we were able to stay together the whole time out on the course.

Dixon: We pretty much stuck together the whole time, expect for the two days I did the Explorer and Burton did the whole days. Once I transitioned to the Explorer, it become the “Country Club Vacation Run”, which was awesome. The stress and pressure was gone – it was awesome.

Glad to hear that you had such a positive experience on the Explorer course in the end. At what point did you make the switch after starting on the full course?

Dixon: It was day three for me. I made the first advisory check point of day three, which was about 12 miles in four hours. There was pretty big hill to climb and then it was boggy coming down. I have had feet issues in the past. I think I have some bone spurs, so often my feet feel like they are on fire. I actually brought four pair of shoes to run in, hoping I could make that work but sadly it did not. I came into the first check point and my feet were on fire, felt like hot daggers were being poked into the bottom of the pinky area of my feet. I could not wrap my head around doing another 31 miles that day with my feet the way they were. I cried a little, to myself. I called my wife, it was like 3 am (in the US) and she thought there had been a terrible accident. Then I got really philosophical about the whole thing. Nothing to be ashamed of, or really even cry. My heavens, 70 of my closest friends did the same thing at one point or another – the explorer. My hats off to the 57 who made the whole thing! But getting to the light house was amazing and I felt like and still do feel like the Explorer is very legit. I got 133 miles in 8 days, I am proud of that.

Burton: For me, it became obvious that would be necessary when I got sick at the end of day four. Coming into camp and puking due to the norovirus, that was what did it for me. As I said earlier, I may have ended up going to the Explorer at some point later in the race but finishing day four and looking forward to day five, I feel I would’ve been able to complete day five in its entirety had I not gotten sick. Then day six becomes a little less certain. I don’t know if I could’ve finished the full day even if my health had remained good. Hard to say.

Nothing to be ashamed of completing the Explorer course! I know it must be hard to boil down an eight day adventure into one or two moments, but what were your highlands and low points from the race?

Burton: In many ways day three was both a high point and low point. Low when Dixon stopped at checkpoint one, which was really hard mentally and emotionally for both of us. And then going on to finish day three alone also very emotional and in many ways a small victory. After day four, being able to continue on the course despite injury and sickness, I feel like really was a huge victory too. Being able to continue on with Dixon and Sam (Psota – also from Arizona) meant a lot to me, and despite not completing the full course from that point still felt very rewarding and a huge accomplishment.

Dixon: The whole week was amazing. The transition from full course to Explorer was hard for like five minutes… you rip the bandage off and then you move on. I am not one to sulk or “woe is me”. I am happy, positive person by nature, so I pivoted and moved on. Plan B all the way.

You said earlier that even volunteering didn’t fully prepare you for the race. Now that you have completed it, do you have any advice for others (like me 😁) planning to tackle the race in future?

Burton: Possibly my one and only piece of advice would be to go and recce the course prior to the event. I didn’t do that and while I was able to get a taste of what the trail was like as a volunteer the year before running the beginning or in sections of different days, I never really got a full sense of the terrain. Things like running through pathless bogs, finding your way through boulder fields over grown by plants and shrubs that were also a bog on the side of the hill. You really can’t describe that well enough, or get a sense of what it’s like without just experiencing it for yourself in real life. Again, would that have made of difference and enable me to finish the course? I can’t answer that but it certainly would’ve helped me mentally to better prepare for that aspect of the event.

Dixon: Run in some bogs and if dont have any, make your own. Learn to move efficiently down hill, wet or dry. Pick uneven surfaces to traverse. Use good shoes that support in lateral hill crossings. Keep your kit simple and your camp administration sharp. Take a minimalist approach. I brought way too much stuff I thought I would need. It’s not a weight issue, it’s time sorting through stuff you dont need. You are going to be smelling, so get used to it. Body glide silicon is awesome to avoid flaming red monkey butt.

Speaking of butts, it was awesome that both of you arrived at registration and ran the whole race wearing kilts. How did that idea come about, and did you get any funny comments from others?

Burton: As Dixon was ready to tell anyone, should they ask, and I quote “our fifth great grandfather was Scottish”. At some point prior to the event I had the idea that I wanted to run it in a kilt. Probably not the most practical idea, but it seemed like one way to pay respect to our Scottish heritage. Clearly not the typical attire for running the Cape Wrath Ultra. But honestly, I would do it again. That is to say running with a kilt was incredibly comfortable and (other than the midge bites up on my hind parts), it really was a great piece of kit.

Dixon: I owned five kilts going into this race but it was really Burton’s idea to run in kilts. So he got his first and went with a traditional tartan. I then joined with an all black sport utility kilt made of spandex and lycra for quick drying, but no tartan. Yes, I did get funny comments. A guy asked which tartan I was sporting, being all black, then he says, “Is that the tartan of Meat Loaf?”, and so it stuck, my kilt became known as the tartan of Meat Loaf.

That’s hilarious! Hopefully it helped you run “like a bat out of hell” 🤘 It’s hard to top Cape Wrath, but what is the next adventure? And dare I ask, would you ever come back to run the race again?

Burton: The next big event actually will be with Dixon again and his 15 year old son. We’re participating in a 200 mile single day bike ride from Logan, Utah to Jackson Hole, Wyoming with 9000 feet of elevation gain

Dixon: And then another Ironman in 2026, also with Burton. Cape Wrath is an awesome event, but events are done and over, at least this type. I may be back to do a two or three day event in the future.

Burton: The last question is a tough one and one that I’ve been asked multiple times both by people at the event and Scotland and here at home, and the honest answer is that I probably won’t do the event again. I like to complete what I’ve started and it was hard to drop down to the Explorer. I feel like I accomplished what I went to do which was to reach the lighthouse together with my brother and Sam. If I lived in Scotland, would I do it again? That’s another question and certainly would be much more appealing. The different aspects of the event from logistics of getting there, to the time differences, the difference in terrain compared to what I train with in Arizona – so many different factors – make it more than just a question about what I like to go back and do Cape Wrath Ultra again.

Any final thoughts before we finish our conversation?

Burton: Even with the disappointment of not being able to complete the entire Cape Wrath Ultra I have to say that I feel incredibly proud of what we did accomplish. I learned so much about myself and gained so much from the experience that I absolutely wouldn’t trade that for anything. I’m glad that I trained for it. I’m glad that I did it and I don’t know that I would attempt to do it again. I know that there are hard things in my life participating in the Cape Wrath Ultra has prepared me to be successful at in the future.

Let’s leave it there then. Thanks Burton and Dixon for sharing your story with us, and all the best!

I hope you enjoyed hearing a bit more about the Cape Wrath Ultra! With a bit of luck next year I’ll be able to share my own race report. Fingers firmly crossed until then 🤞

Mapledurham BYU 2024 – A Crew’s Eye View

Going to Mapledurham was a bit of a last-minute plan, but we’re glad we did! After the Cow Shed Backyard Ultra was cancelled due to short notice, Julie had a bit of a gap in her schedule before her next race in June and was still looking to find a few extra yards to secure her place on the UK team after having posted 38 at Rasselbock BYU in March. Held on the May bank holiday and looking like a not too difficult course, Mapledurham was the obvious choice. Handily, they offered a discount to runners transferring from the cancelled Cow Shed race too, which was nice! This would be the first edition of the race (in fact the first ever event run by CG Trails) so besides the race info pack which was emailed out we didn’t know exactly what to expect.

We packed up the new van with all of our camping gear, Julie’s running gear and enough food to feed a crew of four (Iain plus three kids) and a hungry runner for 48 hours! It was nice not to need either a roof-box or trailer, and still have more room inside than our old car. After picking up the kids from school, we set of on the long road trip down to Reading. Mapledurham is just a little to the North of Reading itself, on the other side of the Thames. The journey took about 8 hours, so we eventually arrived and checked in to the local Travelodge at around 1am. After a short but decent night’s sleep (plus Julie had a bit of a sleep in the car on the journey too), we set off again early in the morning to arrive at Mapledurham at 7am when the site opened.

The venue is in the grounds of Mapledurham House, with the corral on the lawn directly in front of the house. We were able to pitch our tent in a great spot just a few metres from the start line and the runners’ aid tent (with hot water supply). Motivated by the prospect of breakfast, we had the tent up in no time and by 8am had bacon frying on the stove. For the rest of the morning Julie was able to rest and get ready for the start, while we had lots of time to chat to other runners as they arrived and set up camp. We also got to meet Chris and Georgia (the C and G of CG Trails), who were really friendly and helpful. If they were feeling the pressure of their first even race day, they didn’t show it! In total there were 40 runners on the start line, including our friends the Parkins, Eleanor Gallon and Vic Owens. Eric and Jonathan from Rasselbock Running were also there to provide a live stream of the event (as well as running the first few yards) so it was nice to catch up with all of them.

Just before 11am the runners gathered in the corral and after the customary 3,2 and 1 minute whistles they were off on the first yard! And time for the first hour of waiting for the runners to return for those of us crewing on the camp site. Iain was quickly in to the hourly routine of tidying up our tent, hanging around for half an hour, then preparing whatever food and drink Julie was likely to want, before watching the runners come in from about quarter to the hour. The last half mile or so of the course is visible from the finish line, so we had a good view of the runners approaching from the distance.

As is customary for events when Julie is running, the weather was excellent throughout and Iain even had his shorts on for the first time this year! Throughout the day runners gradually dropped out, but many of them were first time BYU runners so it was great to see most people matching or exceeding their goals – even Eric, who completed one yard and was the first runner to DNF when he returned during the second. Getting to speak to almost all the runners at some point is one of the best parts of a BYU as a crew member. Generally the runners might have a few chats here and there with each other, or even team up for a few yards, but often after someone has DNF’ed they may well have packed up and gone home by the end of the next yard, never to be seen again by the other runners!

The first day went by uneventfully for us. Julie had a couple of toe blisters that needed taping (fairly common for her), and wasn’t enjoying the heat, but nothing much too worry about and was consistently lapping around 52 minutes, coming in with a smile on her face.

As we got in to the night, the clear skies meant that the temperature dropped sharply, from around 24C in the afternoon heat down to 3 or 4C by the early hours of the morning. Rhona is a capable crew deputy in her own right, so once it got dark she did the 9pm-1am shift, and Iain got several hours of solid sleep. It was definitely cold by the time he took over at 2am, and it got worse through the night as a cold, thick fog settled and the grass got damp with dew. Fortunately, the first light of dawn appeared well before 5am and within a few hours the fog had burned off leaving another bright morning. As usual, the night thinned the field out significantly, with only 12 runners continuing beyond midnight, and only 6 making it all the way through to midday and the 24 hour, 100 mile mark! Surprisingly, George Parkin had dropped at 1am (13 yards, well short of his PB of 30) but the other ‘favourites’ Eleanor, Allan and Vic were still in, along with Benjamin and Peter who were both running their first Backyard. Julie had enjoyed the night as she always does, especially compared to the heat of the day. She slowed down a little bit just so she could go a bit more carefully on some of the trickier trail sections in the dark, but was still moving well although had quite sore lower legs for no apparent reason. Application of the magic “freeze spray” became a regular part of our between-yards routine.

Things moved rather quickly on the Sunday afternoon! Benjamin opted not to continue after reaching 24 yards, and Eleanor timed out on the 25th yard due to a combination of issues. Vic pulled out after completing the 26th yard with what looked like excruciating IT band issues, leaving Allan, Peter and Julie left as the final three! They all completed several more laps, but Peter was looking distinctly wobbly at times, and Allan was struggling with severe stomach issues. After completing 30 laps (a great effort for his first Backyard), Peter decided to stop leaving Allan and Julie out on yard 31. It was 4pm and Julie had wanted some proper food at the end of the yard, so Iain had just gone back in to the tent and started cooking pasta when Allan was spotted returning to the corral (via the portaloo, sadly)! Julie had been ahead of them but she had no idea that she was now the last one standing. Everyone gathered round the finish line at about 4.45pm and soon we could see her in the distance (and on the zoom lens of the live stream camera we could see she was still looking behind her to see where Allan was). With about half a mile to go, a passer-by who was following the event broke the news that he had DNF’ed, and all she had to do was complete the yard and take the win! If it hadn’t been for that I think she might have been a bit confused about all the shouting and whooping from us at the finish 🤣

Oops, the clock recycled after 24 hours 🤦‍♂️

Although we said this blog was a “crew’s eye view” here’s a few notes from Julie about the course itself:

This is a lovely route and although I was disappointed to not get a few more yards on my PB the route itself is great and as always I was able to have some nice chats with friends old and new. The course is ideal for a backyard as nearly all the climbing is in the first miles which makes pacing much easier. The only downside was a “kissing gate” at the bottom of the hill which caused a bit of a bottleneck and then it was hard to get past people on the hill. This meant there were a lot of early laps where I just had to accept I would be going at the pace of everyone around me rather than choosing my own pace – I tend to walk uphill faster than a lot of people! Midway up the hill was a short runnable section before the rest of the climb. The climb is through a lovely woods and as you near the top there was a beautiful patch of bluebells to enjoy on the right of the path. You then leave the trees behind to cross a field to the second kissing gate on the route which opens up on a farm road and the end of the first mile. Because of the big climb I found this mile came in at a 14-15mins which is slower than I would usually aim for on a backyard but with the other 3 miles downhill or flat it was easy to make up the time to average out at just over 12min/mile. The next 2 miles are mainly single undulating track with the odd section of farm road. With a mix of views it is a route that has plenty to keep you interested. A few low hanging branches meant I had to pay attention at night and nettles close to the edge of the path woke you up if you veered to close! There is one short section of steeper down hill in mile 3 before a long flat run back to Mapledurham house. This flat section starts in trees and had the only really muddy section of the course. The final mile is on farm road and did begin to drag as the yards passed by. It also runs past a farmers yard and barns where it was fun to say hello to the dairy cows but they really did stink! The roads are unusual as they are all slab concrete which several people were finding tough on the legs. All in all a lovely little route with plenty of interest, I would recommend it to backyarders old and new.

One of the strangest things if you make it to the end of a Backyard is the everyone else has usually gone home! Once Julie had finished the final yard, received her memento, posed for a few photos and eaten some food it was time to pack up and go. Chris, Georgia and team were packing up the race HQ, Eric and Jonathan were packing up the live stream kit and we got our stuff packed up pretty darn quick too. In the end I think only George and Allan were left on the campsite on Sunday night.

Despite a pretty decent amount of sleep, driving all the way home (leaving at 7pm, arriving home about 3am) wasn’t a good plan so we stopped off for a welcome sleep in a real bed plus an all-you-can-eat breakfast at the Birmingham airport Travelodge before eventually making it home early afternoon on Monday!

All in all a great weekend. Although she was very happy to come away with the win, no-one else was able to go far enough for Julie to extend her current PB of 38 yards. The Portland Pig BYU was taking place the same weekend (starting on the Friday), and the top two runners there reached 38 and 39 yards respectively, meaning that Julie was now (at least until Suffolk BYU) occupying the final spot on the UK national team list and Iain was off the bottom! Hopefully we’ll get a chance to change that before the end of the qualifying period in August 😬

Thanks again to Chris and Georgia for putting on a fantastic event at Mapledurham – we’d definitely recommend it to anyone, if you’re run a Backyard or not. It sounds like they are aiming to grow the event a bit more for next year, but we hope it doesn’t lose the relaxed and personal charm along the way.

One final takeaway from this year’s event (for Iain) is not to let the kids charge their phones off the car battery! And special thanks to Peter Johnston’s family for lending a pair of jump leads to get us out of that particular spot of difficulty 🤣

Training for Ultramarathons

It’s something that both Julie and I get asked quite a lot, so I thought it would be worth taking the time to write a proper blog post explaining what sort of training I do, but also why as well as some thoughts on how to construct a training plan. A few caveats before we dive right in. First, I’ve been running for more than ten years now and completed more than 30 ultras but I have never been formally coached or been trained as a coach so everything in this post is based on my own experience, what I’ve learned from others, and what I’ve read and researched. Second, what works for me might not work for you – so don’t try to copy my approach exactly, but feel free to pick, choose and adapt it for your own needs. Finally, I have several years of conditioning myself to moderate to high volume (40-50 miles per week) training. If you’re trying to put together a training plan for your first half-marathon, or even your first ultra this is probably not the way to start! With that in mind, grab a cup of something and read on… this could be a long one!

Building Blocks

Easy Runs – Also known as recovery runs, these should make up the majority of your weekly mileage, they give the body time to recover and adapt after harder training sessions. There are various definitions such as being in heartrate “Zone 2” (60-70% of your max heart rate), being under the “first ventilatory threshold (VT1)“, or simply being at a pace where you can hold a conversation comfortably. For me, this usually translates into around 8:30-9:00 minutes per mile pace, and a heart rate of 120-130 bpm. Mostly I run ‘to feel’, with my watch turned to show time of day only. If it’s a flat run I might be slightly faster and in the low 120s, if it’s a hillier or tougher underfoot route then I’ll likely be slower, and maybe around or above 130. The main point is to avoid drifting into the “moderate pace” zone where you are working hard enough to tire and inhibit recovery, but not hard enough to promote positive adaptations! Typically, I’ll go for 45-90 minutes and clock up 6-10 miles at a time.

Intervals – A hard session containing multiple shorter sections at a high or very high intensity. A typical interval session for me would be a mile warm-up at easy pace, either quarter, half or whole mile intervals, with an easy pace recovery in between, and a mile or more’s cool-down at the end. Usually I’ll aim for 4 or 5 miles in total of intervals e.g. 16 x 1/4 mile intervals, 8x 1/2 mile intervals, 4 or 5 1 mile intervals. The target pace is adjusted depending on the length of the interval, aiming for a pace which I can sustain for the whole workout. For example 5:30 min/mile for 1/4 miles, 5:45 for 1/2 miles and 6:00 for 1 mile intervals. The first few reps it should be easy to hit the target pace, then percieved effort will increase throughout the workout, and usually I’ll go ‘flat out’ for the final rep (or I might just be hanging on to stick the pace)! Usual sessions last about 60-75 minutes. At the moment I use a 1.5 mile tarmac loop around a local park, but in the past I have done there-and-back repetitions along a straight road – anything where you can avoid road crossings or anything else where you might have to slow down.

Here’s a screenshot (and Strava link) of a recent session – 2 sets of 5 reps of 1/2 mile at 5:45 min/mile pace, with 1/4 mile recovery between reps and a whole mile recovery between sets:

Tempo Runs – a run done at a faster pace than “easy” but easier than a race or interval level of effort. For me this means aiming for a pace that I can maintain for the distance while maintaining good form, consistent breathing and without feeling like I am “blowing up”. Typically this might be around 7 min / mile pace or a little bit faster for a 6-10 mile effort. Tempo runs are a lot of fun!

Long Runs – As the name suggests, just go for a long run! Conventional wisdom seems to be that your long run should be about 20-25% of your total weekly mileage. For me, the long run is usually around the 15 mile mark, sometimes up to 20. Usually I try to mix in a good amount of trail and hills into this run, and run it at easy pace.

Hill Intervals – This workout specifically adapts the body for running faster up hills. I like to find a hill of roughly half a mile long, as steep as I can reasonably run up (maybe 300-400 ft of climb). Run to the base of the hill at easy pace as a warm-up, do several climbs at a hard but sustainable pace, and easy jog back down to recover, then run back again at easy pace as a cool-down. The main point is to focus on climbing form with a high cadence and good knee drive/lift, so the pace should be maintainable. Of course, not all hills are the same gradient all the way up but avoid sprinting off and then shuffling up the rest!

Races – Personally, I like to mix in some (short) races in with my training. Typically these would be ~10k or less, usually trail or hill races. They give me a little bit of extra motivation to push to the absolute maximum level of effort that I can’t replicate in training, but are short enough that I can recover from them in a day or so and they can be slotted in alongside regular training runs.

Of course, it’s OK just to “go for a run” too, not every single run has to fit into one of these categories. Sometimes I’ll mix things up like running an easy pace up a hill, and tempo pace on the way back again. Or I might pick a Strava segment or two to aim at, throwing a couple of race pace efforts into an easy run. If I’m doing a big day out in the hills, I might well walk parts (especially uphills), and run the flats and the downhills. Occasionally I’ll do a Tempo Long Run, which is a proper hard workout to improve my pace endurance!

Strength Training – building in some simple strength exercises is a good way to “injury-proof” your body. Since I started including a twice-weekly 30 minute strength session into my training in mid 2023 I’ve definitely had less niggles or injuries that would cause me to take a break from regular training. I have a set of dumbbells and a step and do a variety of exercises that mainly target the legs and core, including single-leg squats, bridges, heel raises, deadlifts and the like. Usually I’ll stick with the same programme for 2 or 3 months, then swap out some of the exercises for some variety and to work on different muscles. I’ve been fortunate enough to have access to a Physical Trainer through my work’s staff benefits scheme who helped me design the programme, but you can find plenty of example workouts on YouTube or coaching websites.

I don’t do any other regular cross-training, but I do aim to do a 10-15 minute stretch / flexibility / mobilisation routine every day – again there are lots of routines that you can easily find on YouTube like this one from Trail Running Scotland.

Planning

Macro planning – The first step for me in building a training plan is to set decide on my weekly mileage. Using the principle of periodisation (essentially, giving the body a rest every so often to allow for recovery and avoid overtraining), I tend to gradually increase my mileage over a period of 2-3 weeks, then have an easy week with a reduced mileage. Over the whole year I try to aim for about 50 miles per week, so a 4 week block of training might be 50, 60, then 70 miles, followed by a week of approx 30-35 miles. Between my last big race of the year (usually November), and first big race of the year (usually March or April), I try to fit in 3 or 4 of these blocks. Planning recovery, training and tapering between races is a topic for another post, maybe!

Micro planning – Adaptations (a.k.a. getting stronger or faster) never happen from a single training session, but after repeated workouts (with recovery in between) which over time the body responds to. So when building a weekly training schedule, I try to include the following key elements each week. Usually one or two hard workouts (one interval session, plus a tempo, hill run, or short race), one long run, and the rest of the weekly mileage target made up of easy runs. For lower mileage weeks I’ll include one or even two rest days with no running, but even on high mileage weeks have a day with only a short run (maybe 30 mins / 4 miles). For a typical 50 mile week this might look like:

Monday: Strength session + 9 miles easy
Tuesday: 10 miles intervals
Wednesday: 4 miles easy
Thursday: Strength session + 9 miles hillier route at easy pace
Friday: 6 mile tempo run
Saturday: rest day
Sunday: 12 mile easy (long run)

Generally, I don’t plan to this level of detail (although many people do). I know roughly what sessions I plan to do in a given week and the mileage target I’m aiming for but for me it’s helpful to have the flexibility to adapt the week’s training plan on-the-fly (more on that later) while still hitting an overall mileage goal.

Specificity – So far, I’ve described training which is pretty generic – it will generally improve my overall speed and conditioning but is not targetted at a specific performance goal such as improving my time in a 10k or marathon, or a 100 mile ultra. I do include typically around 50% of my running off road (mainly trail, some pathless hills too), with roughly 3000-5000 feet of climbing, as represents the terrain I will mainly race on! However, another important element that I build in to my training is adapting to the upcoming demands of a specific race.

For example, when preparing for a particularly hilly race, I will deliberately include more hills into my weekly running, and usually set an elevation goal of maybe 8000 feet per week, and put in a long day in the mountains instead of a normal long run. In the run-up to a Backyard Ultra, I’ll do some sessions where I do a significant amount of walking at “race pace” (<15 min/mile) to make sure my legs are well conditioned. In preparation for a race like Cape Wrath Ultra (less than 2 months away now!), I’ve started taking a weighed backpack on most of my medium and long runs to get used to carrying it and getting use to the extra effort for a given pace.

Executing the Plan

It’s said that no plan survives first contact with the enemy… so how do I go about executing the plan week by week, in and around family responsibilities, holidays, and the random curve-balls that inevitably crop up! Firstly, it’s worth saying that I have an incredibly supportive and accommodating spouse 😍 and obviously it helps that she understands why I want to run for ~10 hours per week (and she does too). I work from home, so usually I will do my strength training sessions during my lunch break, and occasionally a short run. Julie typically runs early in the morning most weekdays, so I get most of my running in the evenings. At least 3 days per week one or other of the kids has an activity or sports club, so typically I’ll take them there and fit in a 60-90 minute run before bringing them home again. I often find that easier than heading out of the door for a run as it doesn’t require any real motivation – I just do it!

I really like to have a lot of variation in where I run and I don’t enjoy taking the same route again and again. Usually during the day I’ll have a think about the session I have planned for the evening and come up with a route which is approximately the right length. Usually I will try to fit in a good mixture of road, trail and hill (sometimes all in the same run!) and I often use Strava’s Route planner to find paths I haven’t been down before. That’s getting harder and harder as I have covered almost everywhere reachable within 90 minutes from all my common start points! On the plus side, I do know pretty much all the local routes, so I can adapt my route on-the-fly, adding a little extra loop if I know I have the time left in a session.

More rarely, I have a few “no-brainer” routes that I can just do without any planning if I have had a busy day, or just don’t want to spend the effort of planning a route. The main exception to the above is for interval sessions, where I have one or two go-to locations which are flat tarmac loops and I don’t have to think about navigation at all – just run!

Most weeks, unless I am doing a particularly high mileage, I will take one complete rest day. I’m flexible about which day depending on how I am feeling and what I have been doing beforehand. Commonly, if I have done a hard race, or a very long run on the Sunday, I might take Monday as a rest day. If we have something planned as a family on Saturday, I might plan to have my rest day then. As I said earlier – I just try to keep flexible while making sure I’m roughly on track for my mileage goal. That said, the length of Sunday’s run often ends up being whatever distance I have left to do 😆

Strength training days are typically Monday and Thursday (alongside either an easy run, or a rest day) with intervals typically done on a Tuesday, but I’ll move any of these depending on what is in the diary for the week – especially if I have lunchtime meetings I’ll often move the strength session to a Tuesday or Friday.

Sometimes if I’m aiming for a high mileage week e.g. 70 miles, I will double-up with two runs in the day. At least one of them will be short and easy, to allow me a bit of recovery time. Often that would be a morning run with Julie at the weekend, or a lunchtime run during the week, then another session in the afternoon or evening.

It might seem a bit haphazard, but it works for me!

In Practice

That all sounds good in theory, but how does it work in practice? I’ve extracted the last 8 weeks from my Strava Training Log and added some comments. All in all, I think I stuck pretty well to the plan!

So there you have it – that’s how I train to run ultras! Hope you found it interesting and it gave you some ideas you can incorporate into your own training. I’m always on the lookout for new ideas and ways to keep my training fresh, so if you do something completely different I’d love to hear about it. As I said at the start I’m not a trained coach, but if you have any questions or want some help creating your own training plan, just get in touch and I’ll be happy to help out!

Rasselbock Backyard Ultra 2024

Well it’s two weeks since Rasselbock Backyard Ultra and I am still trying to get over the disappointment of stopping at 38 yards 😭. That’s the thing about Backyard Ultras that makes them so hard but at the same time makes you want to go back for more. I was determined to go into this race to time out or win however hard it was and yet at 38 yards (2am on the second night) I was 100% happy with my decision to stop and not risk injuring my already swollen knees. I still finished the yard with plenty of time to spare (in roughly 55mins) but didn’t go back out – my mind had played tricks on me and in that moment I was completely happy with what I had done. It wasn’t until after a few hours sleep that the regret and disappointment kicked in and after a couple of days when the knee swelling had gone down and there was no real injury the regret got even worse. But what is done can’t be changed and can only be used to go into the next race stronger. Bring on the Cow Shed Backyard Ultra in 4 weeks!

As a silver ticket event with some big names attending the build up to Rasselbock felt quite intense and by race day I was feeling the pressure of my own expectation and others! I always knew I was going to have to go down without a crew as Iain needed to look after the kids and work, and I knew this would make it harder. Also with limited time off work myself I decided the train was the best option there and back as I could then head back straight after the race finished rather than have to catch up on sleep before it was safe to drive. However a train strike was announced for the Friday so I messaged Mike Raffan who was driving to see if I could get a lift. He kindly agreed and picked me up on the Friday morning for the journey down. I still had to travel light as I needed to be able to carry everything back home again on the train. In the end I ended up with one large holdall containing all of my camping stuff, race clothes, shoes and electronics and then had two bags for life that contained all my food and drink and finally a folding chair for between laps. After a good journey down we arrived mid afternoon on the Friday and were able to get set up and settled in before it got dark. Mike got his camper and gazebo set up and I found my spot in the aid station marquee where there was plenty of tables and space for solo runners. I then pitched up my bivvy bag where I would be sleeping for the night (it soon got described as the body bag by the other runners!).

The early evening crawled by with runners and crews arriving and getting set up. I had a chat with folk and hung around in the marquee making sure I stayed warm. Eric had organised a Domino’s order for the Friday evening and I was very much ready for it when it arrived at 8pm. The size of the gluten free pizza was as always disappointing compared to everyone else’s pizza but it tasted good and had over a thousand calories. I crawled into my bivvy bag about 9.30pm fully clothed (I even kept my coat on) as the temperature was round about freezing 🥶 and I had a surprisingly good night’s sleep. I did wake early but didn’t mind as I had slept well. I crawled out of my bag and got breakfast sorted (porridge pots, fruit and a much needed cup of tea) and hung around as people began to wake up and arrive. The solo runner area soon had a buzz about it but it still felt like a long wait until midday – I don’t like midday starts as it feels like you waste half of the day. It didn’t take long to register and get my bib number (140) and timing tag. I borrowed an empty gazebo to get changed in (I had been told I could the night before!) and then hung around trying to relax and use as little energy as possible (and keep warm)!

Eric gave a quick race briefing in the marquee (it was raining!) and then we had about 20 minutes until race start. I was unsure if to wear waterproof trousers for the first lap as some of the rain showers were heavy but in the end decided to risk it and it was the correct decision as the rain eased up and then stopped completely. At 11.57 the three minute whistles went off and we were finally about to start. At 12 the bell rang and we were on our way. With 130 runners it felt busy and it was hard to find a rhythm at the start. Once we started along the forest track it became easier. The route is mainly on wide forest roads (some more muddy than others) with just two sections of technical single track. There was no option but to go at everyone else’s pace through these as they were busy! They were also muddy and only got muddier throughout the afternoon! They also had hidden stones and tree roots to keep an eye out for – I didn’t like these sections and it highlighted to me how I need to improve my running in mud as others were making it look a lot easier and were much more confident than I was. I was also deliberately taking it easy as I didn’t want to slip and twist anything or trip over a hidden obstacle, as there was a long way to go! I was soon heading up past the Go Ape on the final section to the camp and the start/finish line. I was surprised to find that my watch pinged four miles as I crossed the line – everyone’s were measuring short because of the tree cover and the twisty path for the single track sections. This meant my first yard was faster than I intended – I planned on 52 minute loops but was in at 49 minutes for the first loop. I mentally readjusted my pacings and after that my loops were much more consistent at around 52 minutes.

The time between loops went quickly with sorting out food and drinks and any other jobs that needed doing. The three whistles would soon sound and it would be time to get ready to head back to the corral after the two minute whistles. The afternoon loops all passed in much the same way with some chat with other runners on each loop and then a focus on eating/drinking and using the portaloo between loops. It was great to chat with other runners and find out what their goals were. I would see the same faces each loop as I was surrounded by those runners with a similar pacing to me. Before long it was time for head torches and night. That’s the problem with a midday start – it’s night before you know it! It was also cold as the sun set but I had a good system of zip tops and a pair of gloves that I was able to take on and off to regulate my temperature overnight. I am happy to run with the tops round my waist so this worked really well as a system. I also wore a cap during the day for the first time and this worked well. I took it off for the night loops with the head torch and in fact didn’t need a hat at all (I find my head gets warm with a head torch on). There were 13 loops where a head torch was mandatory from 6pm to the 7am loop. As I expected the course was much trickier at night with the mud and I think some people found the cold tough.

It was still busy this first night and I was finding it frustrating through the single track sections as everyone running at my pace was running them faster than I wanted to – I preferred to run more of the forest roads and then go slower on the single track (everyone else was the opposite). It meant I spent the whole of the single track sections very aware of runners behind me and kept stopping to let them past. Apart from that and a few other muddy sections to be avoided it was just a case of getting the laps done. Everything felt surprisingly good which I was really pleased about and I wasn’t even too tired. The numbers did thin out through the night so the single track sections gradually became easier. After a long night it gradually came light and suddenly the track was so much easier again. A porridge pot, banana and cup of tea and I was good for the day. I had had to tape up one toe (a blister at the nail bed) and was getting annoyed at having to keep emptying dirt out of my left shoe (I would consider gaiters in future) but otherwise was feeling pretty good and looking forward to 24 yards at midday. 😁

Yard 24 finally arrived with 35 runners still in the corral. This was fantastic to be a part of, but there was still many more yards to go! There were still plenty of people to chat to which was great and it was making the laps pass more quickly. I was finding it trickier keeping everything organised in between laps but was managing to get everything done. On yard 28 I noticed my knees aching and when I looked down I noticed some swelling around them which I was very concerned about but it didn’t hurt to run or walk on them so I used a deep freeze spray and some paracetamol and carried on. I mentioned them to Sarah Perry during the loop and she pointed out it may be the compression socks that I was wearing so when I got back I swapped into ankle socks for the rest of the afternoon. The swelling didn’t go down but also didn’t get any worse which was good. The number of runners dropped quite quickly after 24 yards and there was only a few of us that started the second evening of dark loops with head torches. I had swapped into leggings for the night now I no longer had my long socks on but otherwise planned the same approach as I had the night before.

I guess this is where it all started to go wrong as in the back of my mind I was worried about my knees and didn’t want to cause a serious injury. Without a crew it is hard to keep things in perspective. Yes, my knees had some swelling and ached but they weren’t causing me any bother to run on and I had certainly finished previous races with worse! I enjoyed quite a few miles chatting with other runners, including Vic Owens (“The Happy Runner”) which was great and certainly helped the laps pass, it also distracted me from my knees! I think chatting with other runners also had a big downside in that I had become quite dependent on the company. We made it to loop 36 which would be a new UK women’s Backyard record and there were still three women running which was fantastic and very cool to be a part of. This was Vic Owens’ final lap. She had met her goal and was falling asleep on her feet. Suddenly on lap 37 with only 5 runners left I was on my own and I hadn’t mentally prepared for this. Even listening to music my focus was on my aching knees and I couldn’t distract myself from this. I also fell into the trap on some level of thinking others looked stronger or in better shape than me – I really do struggle to believe in myself! I guess I must have spent a lot of the lap with my brain convincing me that after 38 laps when I was above Iain on the UK At-large list, that was a sensible time to stop (we have a healthy level of competition in our marriage!). So when I went out on lap 38 I had decided to pace to finish in about 59 minutes so Iain wasn’t disappointed in me for not going back out (it’s funny how the brain works). I didn’t think to give him a call and talk it all through I was 100% confident in the decisions I was making – big mistake! On the final loop I cut out a lot of my runs and speed walked instead and still made it round in 55 minutes. A chat with Eric at the finish line and I crossed the finish line for the final time happy with what I had achieved. I stood at the side while the final 3 runners headed out on lap 39 and then I gave Iain a call. I don’t think he really knew what to say as he hadn’t been expecting me to just stop! After a quick chat I headed to my bivvy bag to try and sleep (I managed a bit). When I woke up after a few hours I was already feeling disappointed especially when I found everyone had stopped pretty soon after. Mike Raffan won the race on 42 yards with Sarah Perry as the assist on 41 yards and a new UK women’s Backyard record. Andy Day finished 1 lap after me to finish in 3rd (I know everyone DNFs but the winner but these guys did amazing).

Keeping warm, the morning before the start.

The biggest thing I learnt from this race is that I need a crew (ideally Iain as he knows how to keep me going during a race) to meet my full potential. I just don’t believe in myself enough (yet!) and let the doubts creep in or convince myself I am heading towards a serious injury – I was fine in a couple of days! Also managing everything in the short breaks at a Backyard on your own in tough – hats off to Sarah Perry and Mike Raffan who both made it look easy.

I also came away determined to run more trails in training (it’s going well so far and I had forgotten how much I love it). I fall into the habit of road miles as it is easier and I am more confident on the roads but for my long term growth as a runner (and my own enjoyment) more trails between races is definitely the way to go. Bring on the mud!

Nutrition went well at the race, although finding more ‘meals’ for between laps would be useful – I think pasta may be the way to go. Also sleep deprivation wasn’t a big problem during the race and I never felt like I was about to fall asleep which has boosted my confidence. I also managed my temperature well in cold conditions and was never shivering in the corral at the start of a lap which was great.

Overall I did OK, finishing 4th on 38 yards, the second furthest women’s UK Backyard distance and a place on the UK team (at the moment) for the world team championships in October and I need to keep reminding myself of this and use my disappointment to focus me for my training and next race. Iain is running as well and I am really hoping that this time I will be able to time out (or win) – who would have thought it would be so hard!

Since finishing I am really not sure 38 yards will be enough to make the UK team, I’ll have to wait and see (or go further at Cow Shed). There are so many strong runners in the UK and with many more Backyard Ultras in the UK it is difficult to predict what will happen over the next few months but I am kicking myself for not going a few extra yards and making my position more secure. Hindsight Is a wonderful thing!

Rasselbock Backyard Ultra is a fantastically well run event. Eric puts a lot of effort into all runners having a great experience and it really pays off. His family are lovely and also make you feel incredibly welcome and Eric’s mums cakes are amazing (and his dad makes a great cup of tea!). It really was a brilliant event, the main camp area is well set up and there is plenty of space both for crewed and solo runners. With some of the poraloos being female only this really improves the race experience for ladies and I don’t think it is too detrimental to male runners (although I never asked)! Anyone considering having a go at Backyard Ultras I would really recommend it (although they do mess with your head!) and I would recommend Rasselbock Backyard Ultra specifically as well.

Finally, a big thanks to everyone that donated to Beth’s fundraising page to raise money to volunteer for a year with the charity Project Trust in Malawi. I will also be supporting her fundraising when running The Cow Shed Backyard Ultra in April. If anyone would like to donate even a small amount the link to her Just Giving page with more information is: https://www.justgiving.com/page/beth-mclean-foreman-1700424340081

Enjoy you running everyone and all of your outdoor adventures!

Ultra Scotland 100 2023

Over 6 months after the race I am finally sitting down to write the race report. This one has been a hard one to write! It is the race I came closest to DNFing, I completely fell apart and somehow managed to pull myself back together mid-race to finally finish first female and fourth overall. I like to keep my in-race struggles to myself but didn’t manage this time… It is a race where I learnt a lot about the power of the mind to nearly ruin a race and then to overcome the challenges and push on. Iain’s race report from 2022 has a great description of the route which I won’t go over again as he remembers far more of the terrain details than I ever do!

The run up to the race went well, I allowed myself a couple of recovery weeks from Thames Ring 250 (no running for a week and then gradually increasing the mileage), fitted in a couple of 50ish mile weeks and then a couple of weeks taper before race day. The only thing I didn’t manage was very much hill running before the race, I was really hoping my overall fitness would mean this wouldn’t cause too many problems! I was feeling good for race day. My main concern was we were forecast a really hot weekend and I don’t like running in the heat! It ended up being 29C on the Saturday.

We made the same plan for race day as the previous year when Iain raced, dropping 3 of the 4 kids with Iain’s parents on the Friday night before heading to St John’s Town of Dalry to camp for the night before an early start (race registration and then race start at 6am). Iain and Rhona were going to crew me to Moffat (the half way check point) and then Iain was going to drop Rhona back at his parents before getting a lift to the check point at Ettrick where he would meet me and run the rest of the route with me. He is a star 😁

We were up at 4am on the Saturday to have plenty of time to register, have breakfast and get ready! Just before 6am all the runners for the 50 and 100 mile races were ready to start. I was nearer the front than I usually choose to go but knowing that there is a bottleneck at the foot bridge just after the start meant I needed to be nearer the front so as not to get held up for too long. The midges came out to see us off and at 6am we headed off to the sound of bagpipes. It is a lovely start with a great atmosphere. After a quick walk up the hill out of the village you are soon on farm track and then hill land. It is a beautiful start with amazing views and I was really enjoying myself. I was running with poles for the first time as I figured the extra weight was worth it for the benefit on all of the uphill climbs – I was glad I did.

As usual I kept to myself and my own race pacing with a few brief chats with runners around me. It is a busy start with everyone finding their own space and placing but this doesn’t detract from the beauty and peacefulness of the location. It is nice undulating start with nothing too steep and I was soon at check point 1, which is a no crew check point (although there were an awful lot of vehicles there 🤔). A quick stop at the check point to let them know I had passed and to grab a quick bite to eat. GB ultras check points are always well stocked and have amazing volunteers but I wasn’t planning to stop and was keen to head on to the next check point at Sanquhar where I would meet Iain and Rhona.

This next section is usually a wet and boggy path but this year was completely dry! It meant my feet stayed dry but the temperature had already climbed and it was hotter than I would have liked. This section also has the first big climb up Benbrack. I was happy with the pace I was managing, as I had a good walking pace up the hills and a reasonable running pace. My main concern was the heat and managing fluids and electrolyte levels as there is very little shade on a lot of the course. Once over Benbrack it was a nice run all the way to Sanquhar and the next check point. I was really looking forward to seeing Rhona and Iain after what felt like a long stretch. The final section of the run into Sanquhar was unpleasant as the heat increased dramatically as we ran into the valley, I was looking forward to being up in the hills again (hot but not as hot!). It was lovely to see Sara Fabien who was volunteering and was at one of the road turnings just before the village. An ever ready smile and cheer was a great boost in the heat.

Iain and Rhona were all set up and ready for me at the check point and I was soon stocked up and ready to go again for the next shorter section to the check point at Wanlockhead. The heat was really unpleasant over this section and I was really beginning to feel my temperature rise, all I could do was keep going at a sensible pace and make sure I was drinking and eating plenty. There were still plenty of runners around on this section and a few looking like the heat was really taking its toll. Another cheery volunteer was out on the road before Wanlockhead showing people where to go and I was soon at the check point and ready to see Iain and Rhona who had an ice cream which was just amazing. It was great to get inside for a short stop and cool down, although my legs did start to stiffen up (that lack of hill training was beginning to catch up with me)!

I was soon on my way again with a steep climb up Lowther Hill and over to the next check point at the A702. Iain had warned me that the section after Lowther Hill was actually really tough with a steep descent and equally steep climb back up before the descent to the road. I still seriously underestimated this section and in hindsight in the heat pushed too hard. The climb up Lowther Hill is steep but not difficult – it is the section after that really tests you. I don’t know why but I was determined to keep pushing hard and in the heat it was a mistake, I was exhausted, my legs hurt and I was beginning to really feel the heat. I arrived at the next check point beginning to question if I had it in me to finish but rather than having a proper break I had a short pit stop and quickly pushed on. At least one female runner passed me while I was at the check point and I let this bother me, it also played a part in my quick stop. I had gone into this race wanting to finish first female and beat Iain’s time from last year and it felt like it was all falling apart.

This is where things began to go really wrong. In hindsight I think I should have had a proper stop and lie down at this check point and then I would have had more energy and drive for the next section. I also let other people’s races affect how I was feeling about my own and the doubts really began to creep in. I quickly left the check point for what should be a really runnable section to Daer Reservoir. Instead I walked along feeling sorry for myself. I tried the odd run but just couldn’t find it in me. I was too hot, my legs were really sore and I wasn’t even half way etc. etc. The doubts and reasons to stop went round and round in my mind as I plodded along. Loads of people from both the 50 and 100 mile races started passing and I felt rubbish. By the time I got to the extra water point at the dam (put on because of the heat), I was not happy and did what I always try not to do – I started moaning to other runners and the volunteers. I always try to have a smile for volunteers and a positive word for other runners so I am really sorry to anyone who had to listen to me moaning about the heat. I also started to voice that I was going to stop at Moffat.

Then I noticed all the cars and families at the reservoir enjoying the gloriously hot day and decided to phone Iain and get him to collect me from the reservoir. I gave him a call and asked to be picked up. He wasn’t keen and said I should get to Moffat before making a decision, particularly as it was now past the hottest part of the day and would soon start to cool down. I wasn’t happy and threw all my toys out the pram having a good cry and strop. Poor Iain, I’m sorry! I then saw Assistant Race Director Laura at the water point before the climb up from Daer Reservoir and I again had a good moan, but thankfully didn’t hand my tracker in then and there! I headed up the hill feeling very sorry for myself and in a real state, still convinced I was going to stop when I next saw Iain. He had agreed to come up and meet me at the forestry carpark just before Beattock and a few miles from Moffat but it still felt a long way away in the heat.

This section lasted forever, it should again have been very runnable, and plenty of people were, but I had given up and was just doing what I needed to do to get to the car! As I had said to Iain I didn’t want to just finish I had wanted to finish first female and now that wasn’t even a possibility I didn’t see the point of carrying on (not a good mindset for a race). I finally got through the forestry section and saw Iain, Rhona and the car. They had put the bed roll out in the shade and I lay down and shut my eyes. It was great to be off my feet and feel a little cooler. I was still trying to talk myself out of the race but there was also a little stubborn fire inside that wanted to carry on… that desire won and after a 10 min lie down and some food and drink I headed on down the road. I made myself start running (it was after all down hill and tarmac all the way to Moffat) and found I was enjoying myself again and my determination and spark gradually came back as I ran to Moffat. By the time I arrived I was back in the game and determined to carry on and finish.

At Moffat I had another lie down and some more food and drink and then said goodbye to Rhona who I wouldn’t see again until after the race and headed off up the road for the next section. I felt like a new person, I had cooled down a lot and was looking forward to the night. I love night running. After a couple of miles there is a woodland section and then I was soon up in the forestry plantation. The weather was OK so we were able to take the high route of the Southern Upland Way (although it was still quite windy on the top) and I was soon walking as quickly as I could up the steep paths. I soon had to stop to get my head torch out as in the trees it was now pretty dark. I finally reached the summit of Gateshaw Rig in the dark and then had the most amazing run along the narrow path in the heather in the dark. It was amazing and the best bit of the whole run. There was a strong breeze which was cooling me down and being somewhere so remote on my own I really felt alive. I could see a couple of head torches in the distance but otherwise it was just wilderness. Once at Croft Head the path zig zags down steeply and I took my time to be careful in the dark. I soon reached a slightly easier path and around here passed another runner which was exciting. I can’t find the words to express how amazing this section was and how alive it made me feel. It was just what I needed at that point after the low of the afternoon.

The run into the next check point in Ettrick village feels like it goes on for ever. It starts as forestry track and then turns into single track road and then goes on for miles and miles. I was still managing to keep up a good pace but beginning to feel tired again but then I saw a head torch heading up the road towards me and there was Iain ready to run the rest of the race with me. It was lovely to see him and a real boost. We headed on down the road together, catching up on chat and just enjoying running with the odd walk break added in. It was nice to know Iain could take over the navigation having run the race the year before and having the route on his watch. We were soon at Ettrick for a quick stop. I had a lie down and stretch and enjoyed the food provided. Iain had to make do with what he carried as as a support runner wasn’t allowed to use the aid station food. After a quick stop we were soon on our way heading back the way we had come back onto the Southern Upland Way. Iain was amazed with how well I was moving considering the mess I had been in in the afternoon!

I enjoyed this next climb up and over to St Mary’s Loch and we passed a few more runners which felt good. We did catch up with another runner and their support runner who were very confused about the route. I didn’t want to stop or slow down as I really had the bit between my teeth, so after we had reassured them they were in fact on the correct path and offered that they could run with us but it would need to be at our pace so we headed on our way and they followed behind. I was slightly concerned that Iain was going to slow me down as he had his usual struggle to stay awake in the early hours, but once we reached St Mary’s Loch and the sky began to lighten he picked back up again and was raring to go! I am not sure when but at some point over night I discovered I was first female as several runners had dropped out, second place female wasn’t too far behind so it was a real motivator to keep moving as quickly as possible and thankfully the legs were now working again! It started to rain as we ran along the bank of St Mary’s Loch and we did have to stop and put rain coats on. I was still warm from the temperatures the day before but didn’t want to get soaked so decided the rain coat was the best option.

After St Mary’s Loch it is a steep climb on a very unclear path and then a lovely run in remote hill land before running down the road to Traquair. We were soon at Traquair, although this year the check point wasn’t in the village hall and was a gazebo in a field! Iain and I enjoyed a good reminisce about his hallucinations in the Traquair Village Hall loos as we headed on our way. I now had very tired legs and feet but was determined to keep a reasonable pace to stay first female and it was nice to know the finish wasn’t too far off. I was also looking forward to the next section having run parts on the Tweed Valley Ultra and shorter hill races. This next section is more stoney underfoot which I was really noticing but the views, good company and generally feeling so much better than the day before meant I was having fun. My only small annoyance was my watch battery died – I had thought it would have plenty of life for this race but hadn’t factored in using navigation in the dark and how much battery this would use. It was annoying that I wouldn’t have the last 10 miles of the race recorded but Iain had the map on his watch so navigation would not be a problem!

Good enough light for a photo between St. Mary’s Loch and Traquair.

We were soon at Fairnilee and the final checkpoint, another quick stop and we were on our way again for the final section through Galashiels to the finish at Langlee. I was still running as much as I could not wanting to risk anyone catching up and actually I was still having fun. I was ready for the finish but still enjoying the morning. We had an amusing few chats with runners out for their Sunday morning runs and soon we were on the last short climb up to the finish at Langlee community centre. I didn’t manage to beat Iain’s time from last year (he was relieved) but did finish first female and fourth overall.

Coming over Yair Bridge to the final checkpoint at Fairnilee.

This race highlighted to me how important it is to base your goals on your own timings/pacing and not worry about placings until the later stages of a long ultra. As this race highlighted things can change really quickly. I also learned the importance of a positive mental outlook – when I was planning to quit I saw everything in that light. As soon as I decided I was finishing the race everything became easier. Legs were still tired and feet were sore but I had decided I was running the race and so everything became more enjoyable and therefore easier. Having that desire and drive to finish and keeping that flame alive makes all the difference in a race.

I have been left feeling I didn’t give this race my best but rather than run it again I have signed up for Race Across Scotland this year. I am sure the whole of the Southern Upland Way will have more lessons to teach me. And I can’t wait to get back and enjoy the amazing views!