Miles Together

Salomon Sense Ride and Sense Escape

It’s been a while since I did a gear review on the blog, but the ones that we have done are some of the most popular posts we’ve got… so time for another. This time, what’s more important to runners than what’s on your feet? For me, that means a pair of Salomons – I’ve run pretty much exclusively in their shoes for the last 6+ years and at the moment I have four pairs on the go in my rotation – two pairs of Sense Escape with 870 and 423 miles usage on each of them, and two pairs of Sense Ride with 266 and 423 miles.

Top left: old Sense Escape, top right: New Sense Escape
Bottom left: old Sense Ride 4, bottom right: new Sense Ride 4

Both models are something of a crossover shoe, much less grippy than a full off-road/fell shoe like the Speedcross, but also more durable and comfier for for hard trails and road. The Sense Escape are my go-to for running on roads or tarmac or gravel paths – basically running around town – and the Sense Ride for anything primarily on trails or hills. The newest pair get used for races, the older Sense Ride for everything else trail-y and the Sense Escape for mainly road runs. I tend to wear my shoes up to about 1000 miles before they get consigned to non-running use – at the moment an old pair of Sense Ride 2 are my everyday (non-running) shoes and a very old pair of Sense Escape are used for gardening in!

Like all Salomon shoes, these both tend to fit people with narrower feet (although they do now offer wide-fit versions of many of their shoes) but that suits me just fine. The few times I’ve had an issue with their shoes e.g. holes in uppers / failed welded panels after less than 200 miles, they have been very good at issuing a warranty replacement, even if the original purchase was from a channel retailer like SportsShoes.com or Amazon.

You’ll see Salomon sponsored runners all wearing the latest S/Lab shoes, but don’t be fooled – the Sense range are a good budget alternative and you can certainly find them at good discount of you shop around. On with the detailed reviews!

Salomon Sense Ride

“A versatile trail shoe that does it all, the Sense Ride 5 is equally in its element on short, fast trail runs as on ultra distances. A super comfortable overachiever that easily adapts to a variety of terrains, with a balanced midsole for cushioning, response and an engineered mesh upper with Sensifit for just the right amount of comfortable hold.”

That’s how Salomon describe the Sense Ride – the two pairs I am currently using are the Sense Ride 4, but I have worn multiple pairs of both Sense Ride 2 and Sense Ride 3 and since they ironed out a few design issues with the second edition the 3rd and 4th are very similar and the latest edition looks much the same. With an 8mm drop and 3.5mm tread depth they have a good amount of grip – I feel very comfortable in them on loose gravel, grass, and rock. While they are obviously far from zero-drop they are also noticeably more stable than the Speedcross. They feature the Quicklace system which is a single pull-and-lock system, with a “lace garage” a.k.a. a pocket in the top of the tongue to keep the end out of the way. The lace tension seems to hold really well and I rarely have to adjust them, even on very long runs. The upper is nice and breathable but there is a good rim of welded rubber all the way round which keeps your toes dry through grass and small puddles. They also do a Gore-Tex variant which I’ve used in the past and is great keeping dry through long grass, mud and deep puddles but not so much if your feel are going to get soaking – in which case just embrace it and let them drain dry!

400+ miles of use and no major wear on the uppers.

Pros: A good balance between cushioning, protection and responsiveness – you can feel the ground but my feet were still OK after running >150 miles at one stretch in these. If you like a lot of cushioning (looking at you, Hoka wearer 😉) something like the Ultra Glide might be better. They are also reasonably grippy and aggressive enough for short trail and hill races. The cushioning doesn’t seem to wear out either, even up to ~1000 miles, the outsole will wear out first. Great value too – often available in the ~£70 range if you don’t need the latest colour / model.

Cons: The outsole tends to wear quite quickly and unevenly (at least for my pronation pattern), although this does mean there will still be plenty of grip left somewhere! Not much to complain about though – if I had to run in just one shoe it would be these ones!

Sense Escape

“The perfect shoe for discovering the joy and freedom of trail running. Sense Escape is comfortable as a traditional running shoe, but also provides the extra protection and grip needed on paths and uneven terrain.”

Sitting somewhere between a road shoe and light trail shoe, these do very well for runs which are mostly on road/pavement with a little bit of trail or grass. They have a 10mm drop, but I never found them to feel unstable, perhaps because the midsole is not too thick, meaning the overall stack height is still quite low, even at the heel. Not sure of the exact tread depth, but maybe 2.5mm (a bit less than the Sense Ride) however the outsole is made of the much more durable Contagrip MD compound, so every pair I’ve had of these the upper has worn through before the sole! They also come in a Gore-Tex variant, as well as the reflective “Nocturne” which is what I have at the moment. Lacing is a standard flat lace, but I have found these to grip my foot a bit too tightly and always swap them out for some 3rd-party stretchy laces which allow for a little bit of flex.

850+ miles on the left-hand pair, 400+ on the right-hand ones. Still plenty of tread, apart from on the outside of the heel

Pros: a bit more cushioned than the Sense Ride, perfect for road interval sessions! Almost indestructible outsoles mean these shoes can last well over 1000 miles if you take care of the uppers.

Cons: No longer in production, which makes them very hard to come by but if you get lucky and find some in your size they are typically quite cheap. Let me know if you find any UK 10.5 – I bought the last two pairs I could find online earlier this year 🙏 Maybe I should take a look at something like the Aero Volt?

I hope you found these reviews useful – let me know if you have any questions by leaving a comment below 👇 To read more of our gear reviews, just browse the “Gear Review” category!

Loch Ness 24 2023

This race was simultaneously the worst and the best thing I have ever done – I’m still buzzing from it 4 days later as I write this 😁 So many challenges along the way, but I managed them all and came away with a result that I still can’t quite wrap my head around! But more of that later, let’s go back to the beginning…

After Julie ran Loch Ness 24 last year, I was keen to give it a shot. It sounded like a course that I would enjoy, and the winning distance of 26 loops (112 miles) meant that if I had a good race I should be in the mix for the podium places. It fitted well in the gap between BWOG at the start of July and the Ochil 100 at the end of September… at least until I tried to cram in another failed attempt at Ramsay’s Round at the start of August 🤦‍♂️ Once again aggravating the tendonitis that has been bothering me since May and having blistered the entire skin off the end of one of my toes meant I had a couple of weeks of mostly rest, before a 40 mile week, then a few days taper!

Last year we enjoyed the festival atmosphere of camping at Loch Ness 24, but with the weather forecast looking decidedly wetter we changed plans at the last minute and opted to drive up early on the Saturday morning rather than face pitching the tent in the rain. This was a good call as the rain continued into Saturday morning and the camping field was decidedly boggy in places. Julie wonders why whenever she crews me it rains and when I crew her the weather is hot 🤷‍♂️ Anyway, we had plenty of time to get the tent up, get registered and ready for the 10 am start, in between hiding from the rain so it was a good decision.

Checking out the start line at registration time.

With the rain set in for the day I set off with a jacket on. However, with persistent heavy (torrential at time) showers I was soaked through and opted to ditch the jacket by the end of lap two – at least it wasn’t cold or windy. There were a few minor course changes from last year, with a bit more gravel path and less gnarly rooty bits, but any advantage was cancelled out by the muddy sections which were just next-level ankle-deep bog! I had worn Julie’s gaiters which worked well for a few laps until the elastic straps snapped and I ended up rolling them up my mid-afternoon. At least they kept my feet clean-ish for a few hours. I enjoyed the course a lot – the hills weren’t as steep as I had thought, and even the shingle beach was not too bad – mainly due to the amount of mud everyone stamped into it, turning it into a well-bedded-down path! So of course I hared off like a total noob, believing I could hold to a 40-minute lap pace – way faster than the 45-50 I had planned on 🙈

Of course this came back to bite me and by laps 7 and 8 I was struggling to keep up a pace, letting myself think about the 16 more laps I needed to do to get to 24, and generally having a hard time of it. There were a range of motivational slogans hung in the trees by the marshals near the bottom of the last big hill, and one of them stuck with me “The warrior says – I am the storm” (check out this version on Youtube… gives me goosebumps) and every time I passed it I was like “I am the fricking STORM, baby”! It got me out of my rut, stopped me feeling sorry for myself and back focussing on what I was doing (and should have been doing from the start). I was in the top 10 by this point, but not out of touch with the leaders only about 10 mins ahead of me but it was time to stop getting carried away with ‘racing’ and focus on finishing the race. I added in a couple of extra short walking sections on gradual uphills and let my pace slow down to 50 minutes per lap.

I had top-notch (as always) support from Julie, who had set up a little aid-station for me just 50m on from the start/finish area where I was stopping every lap to drink and eat. I had been managing a good amount and variety of solid food up to lap 10, when without much warning I puked everything up just over the top of the first hill (fortunately out of sight of the camp!). Fortunately I was carrying an emergency gel in my back pocket so was able to eat that half way round the lap to avoid having to run the full lap on an empty stomach. It was now about 7pm in the evening, so (a bit earlier than planned), I switched to my night plan of one gel per lap, plus KMC Isomix drink, and just got on with it.

From here on in, it was like a switch had flicked in my head and I kept focusing on hitting my run/walk markers, no micro-quitting, running with good style (head up, strong core), walking with pace and purpose and I banged out lap after lap at ~52 minute pace right through the night. By 10pm, the half-way point there were supposed to be fireworks, but unfortunately these were cancelled as there were two lost dogs on the campsite (eventually found by the morning). I had completed 15 laps and from nowhere I came up with a new goal – if I could complete 23-and-a-bit laps (100 miles) before 6:30 in the morning I had a chance to beat by 100 mile PB! And what’s more it would be done on a hilly, muddy, traily course (about 7800 ft in 100 miles) compared to my previous PB which was set on Leeds & Liverpool Canal! I really had the bit between my teeth now and Julie commented at the time that I looked like I was on a mission. Around midnight, the leader Rosie Doull had a couple of slower laps (I think she may have stopped in camp for 5 or 10 mins) and without realising it I found that I was actually in the lead – how things had turned around from the afternoon 😲 I put in a faster lap to try and make sure no-one behind me would have me in sight again.

LN24 logo lit up at night – so were the marshal points on the course.

I hit my 100 mile goal about quarter past 5 in the morning, just before the dawn started to break – a new PB by well over an hour 🎉 As the sun rose and I could finally ditch the head torch I found a bit more speed as I was caught and passed by another solo runner – you could easily spot the fast pairs/team runners as they had green bib numbers, whereas the solo had blue. From talking to him it seemed he might only be a lap behind me and with 4+ hours left I was running scared! I found a couple more minutes per lap and actually got progressively faster from loop 24 to the end as I knew at this point I didn’t have to hold anything else back.

As morning came, I was starting to feel hungry again so I though I should try to re-introduce some solid food for ‘breakfast’ – I tried a few bites of watermelon and was violently sick again… so back to gels! I was getting fed up with them by now as I’d eaten nothing else for 15 hours, but they were doing their job I guess. By now my feet were beginning to get a bit painful. I’d had a couple of paracetamol earlier as my achilles tendinitis was becoming noticeable, but now I could feel my feet were on the verge of blistering, I had a few bits of grit in my shoes, and the soles of my feet were not liking the hard packed gravel paths. Even the nice soft mud was now mostly dried out! But with only a few hours to go I just gritted my teeth and stuck at it.

I completed my 28th lap at about 9.30am – it wasn’t until this lap when Julie told me that the first placed lady had stopped after 24 laps and the fast-moving guy who was now in second place was still “only” on lap 26 that I finally believed I was about to win the race! I headed out on my 29th and final loop knowing I would finish after 10am, but I really wanted to enjoy this one 😁 It was great knowing that every section I passed I would not have to do it again. I was able to thank the marshals (especially the last marshal point, whose motivational quotes kept me going early in the race), congratulate other runners who were finishing their own races and then run, whooping, past the campsite and in to the crowd, down the finish funnel and across the line!

Round the final bend, hanging on to the post to stop falling over.

To have come into the race with relatively poor preparation (although my base fitness this year is clearly good 😳), screw up my pacing for the first third of the race, push through soaking rain and mud to come away with a win and push the course record up to 29 loops (125 miles), I’m just absolutely blown away. Three things that I think have really helped (same ones as at BWOG, really) are:

The best crew support ever 🤩 Julie put up with camping (or hiding in the car) in a sodden, rainy field with 4 kids and still was there every lap with food, drink, and just exactly the right things I needed to hear. Couldn’t have done it without you – and I know at some point it’s going to rain when I’m crewing for you 🤣
Fast walking – keeping my pace at faster than 15 min/mile for the walk sections allows a good bit of recovery while not actually hurting my lap times much at all.
Strength training – I’ve now been keeping up a twice-weekly, 30 minute strength training programme for about 3 months and I think it’s paying off. I felt I could keep up good running form with a strong core and was able to trust my single-leg and ankle stability on the rooty and muddy sections which seemed to slow a lot of people down.

What’s next – another month of rest (although being stuck standing-room-only on a train from Edinburgh to Leeds on Monday was not a great start to that 😱), short recovery runs, then getting ready for the Ochil 100 in 5 weeks time. Looking forward to that now… even if it goes half as well it will still be great!

By Way of the Glen

Some time last year I heard that Rocket Events were putting on an extension to their annual Great Glen Way Ultra, adding (just!) the whole West Highland Way beforehand to make a 170 mile + 21,500 ft of climb continuous route all the way from Glasgow to Inverness via Fort William. It sounded just like my kind of thing and I was the first to sign up on the day that entries opened! In the end there were only three of us bold (or foolish) enough to attempt it. Read on to find out how I got on… and count the toilet euphemisms along the way 💩💩💩

After an abject 10-loop capitulation at the Lionsgate Backyard Ultra at the start of June and still carrying a bit of tendonitis picked up while at Cape Wrath Ultra my preparation was unconventional, to say the least. To give the ankle some recovery I’d done barely any running (barring buddy running with Julie for the last 50 miles of Ultra Scotland 🙈) and concentrated on fast hiking, including a great 5+ hour walk around the Pentland Skyline route. I’d also started on a bi-weekly strength training programme, so while my running mileage was way down on my usual, I was probably in pretty good shape as it turned out.

One unusual feature of the race was the 9pm start on Thursday – designed so that we would arrive in Fort William at around the time the Great Glen Way set off and so pass through the same checkpoints for the second half of ‘our’ race. With the end of term/start of summer holidays, things had been pretty busy and even though I took Thursday afternoon off work, I hadn’t managed to get any extra sleep before I took the bus and train to Milngavie for the start. Julie and the kids would be crewing for me, but with no crew access along Loch Lomond, and little point in having them make the trip just to see me pass through Drymen and Balmaha in the early stages of the race I was effectively running the first 50 miles unsupported and they would see me first at Dalrigh (near Tyndrum) on Friday morning.

I carbed up with a classic pizza crunch supper on the way through Glasgow, and had plenty of time for a cup of tea and loaded ice cream in a cafe in Milngavie before the start. It had been 20 years since I had last been here, when I hiked the West Highland Way as a student, so it was good to remind myself how to get out of Milngavie and onto the WHW – avoiding the potential of embarrasing navigational errors right at the start. With about a half an hour to go, the other two runners – Kev Craig and Calum Anderson (with their crews) – and the race organisers and some of the marshals who would staff the early checkpoints all arrived. We got our trackers, dropped off drop bags and then had a nice moment with Keith Hughes, who is the only known completer of the WHW+GGW double in a time of 49h02m back in 2009. The race was planned with a cut-off of 50 hours (although I put together a 46 hour schedule which I thought was achievable), and Keith by his own admission reckoned his time was beatable. He had brought a bottle of whisky and offered some from his finishers’ goblet, although none of us fancied it at that point – maybe at the finish line it would have been a different story! A few photos were taken and soon the time ticked round to 9pm and without much ceremony we were on our way.

Milngavie – CP1 Drymen (12 miles)

It was quite a strange feeling to start a race with only three participants – we all set off together through the underpass from the station into Milngavie and then onto the route. We chatted a bit, but it felt to me that the pace was a little bit too fast, and I was mainly planning to run my own race so I soon made my apologies and dropped to a walk, letting Calum and Kev run ahead. Before we split I did manage to save them both from missing a turn 3/4 of a mile in 😂

Before too long I had got into a good run/walk pace and caught back up to them as we dropped down towards the old railway path near Dumgoyne. I made a bit of an effort to push on into the lead, but they seemed to keep pace with me so I dropped back again. I was already moving faster than my planned 12:30/mile pace so was happy to let them go. Legs were feeling good, I was able to eat and drink well and with such a long way to go there was no need to worry about ‘racing’ at this early stage. My focus was on moving efficiently, keeping to my planned pace with the aim of being in a good shape to run when we hit the canal at the start of the GGW. At about 11pm it was time to put headtorches on – it would be quite a short night since we were only a week past the summer solstice. As it happens, I caught up to them again as we rejoined the road on the way in to Drymen and we all arrived at CP1 together, about 12 minutes ahead of schedule. So far, so good!

CP1 Dryman – CP2 Balmaha (7 miles)

This section is a little bit shorter, but contains the first major climb of the route – Conic Hill. Right from the CP at Drymen, the route leaves the road and climbs towards and then through the Garadhban forestry plantation. I put in a bit of an effort on the climb and gradually managed to eke out a few minutes lead over Calum and Kev, who were still running together. Fast hiking is one of the skills I have been learning from Julie (hope she doesn’t mind me sharing one of the secrets of her success 🤫) and it was paying off. However, as the track levelled out and became runnable again before too long they caught me up again and passed. I was feeling a bit churny for the first time so I took a few minutes to “take care of business” in the woods before heading on.

The climb up Conic Hill was not nearly as bad as I had expected, especially as the trail follows the North shoulder of the hill, rather than going all the way to the top. I was able to see the two head lamps not too far ahead and like the first few miles of this section I was moving faster on the non-runnable parts! I had forgotten (or maybe it had been added in the last 20 years) about the hundreds of stone steps on the descent and while it wasn’t much fun, I was able to catch right up Calum and Kev just as we came in to the car park at Balmaha, now about 20 mins up on my planned pace. They had their first chance to see their crews, but I was fully supplied to take me through the night so once again, we all headed out together onto the side of Loch Lomond.

CP2 Balmaha – CP3 Rowardennan (7.5 miles)

Out of Balmaha, the WHW winds its way through the woods between the road and the lochside and while it was nice to run with the others for a while, I quickly decided the running pace was faster than I wanted to go, so dropped back again. I also realised that the terrain, while fairly flat overall, had a lot of small ups and downs and I was not going to be able to keep up with my 12:30/mile planned pace! At least I had a little bit of time in the bank, so I wasn’t unduly worried about it. It was now getting on for 2am, and for the first time I started to struggle a bit. I think physically I was OK, but I was getting tired and for the first time, strayed into a dark place mentally. At one point I remember having a conversation in my head wondering how if I couldn’t manage to work hard enough to keep up my pace only 20 miles in to a 170 mile race, what was the point continuing? I thought long and hard about bailing out, cancelling all my future race bookings, binning my running shoes and having a nice weekend with the family… funny how the mind works!

At the same time, I was aware enough to try to get myself out of this rut – I necked my first caffiene gel, but it didn’t have much effect. I was still eating and drinking well, but couldn’t stop myself micro-napping while still upright! It seemed to take forever to arrive at the checkpoint at Rowardennan, although I was actually still 5 mins ahead of plan. I had an idea (another one taken straight out of Julie’s playbook from TR250) – I was going to have a sleep, and try to reboot my brain. The checkpoint was just a guy (Big Kev) with a van in the car park, and when I got there the others had just left. I didn’t need any water but took my pack off and announced I was going to sleep on the ground for 10 mins. Even better, Big Kev had a bed made up in the back of the van and offered use of it – I didn’t even need to take my shoes off! I got my head down and was out like a light.

CP3 Rowardnennan – CP4 Inversnaid (7.5 miles)

Big Kev woke me up after what seemed like a few seconds – my 10 minutes was up and it was time to move. Amazingly, I felt great like I’d just had 8 hours solid sleep 🤷‍♂️ From the car park there is a good few miles of runnable trail before the WHW splits into the high (easy) and the low (hard) path. Guess which one we were taking?

I had vague memories from 20 years ago of the ‘path’ here being a bit ‘interesting’ – in fact it’s a tangled mess of rocks and roots, and again although on a map it appears flat, there is very little that is runnable for more than a few steps. At least I was wide awake and moving! I was losing lots of time on my (unrealistic) schedule, but keeping pace with Calum and Kev who were about 15 minutes ahead. Eventually, it started to get light again and I was able to stow my headtorch. Perhaps the most surreal moment of the whole race occurred at this point – there was a steep flight of maybe 15 wooden steps, almost ladder-steep, and standing at the top was a menacing-looking goat. I hadn’t been troubled by hallucinations during the night, but I did make the point of taking a picture to convince myself it was real! Fortunately the goat decided I was not worth the fight and stepped off the path (not very far, though 😬) and I was able to pass safely.

Nice, flat, runnable trail alongside Loch Lomond 🤯

The whole night had been dry, which was lucky considering the forecast for the race had been ‘mixed’ at best, but for the first time there were a few spots of rain. It wasn’t cold, though, so I stopped and swapped out my base layer and shirt combo for shirt and jacket. Of course, then the rain stopped again – I would need the jacket again before too long though. Shortly I crossed the bridge over the cascading burn which signalled that Inversnaid hotel was just ahead and popped out into the car park, where Bill was waiting with his campervan. In all, I was now about 15 mins behind schedule. Not too bad considering the unplanned sleep and still moving well and very much still in the race!

CP4 Inversnaid – CP5 Beinglas (7 miles)

Bill had a camping chair so I took a moment to sit down, refill my water for the first time and drop off some rubbish. I didn’t hang around for too long though as the sun was coming up and it was time to be moving on. The next section up to the head of Loch Lomond starts with a similar mixture of runnable trail and unrunnable rocky bits, but fortunately they gradually became less frequent and the trail improved as I climbed up to the bothy at Doune and past the opposite site of the Ardlui ferry. I even saw a few early morning hikers out – probably making the most of the still dry conditions to get wherever they were going.

A couple of miles further on I arrived at Beinglas campsite – I was happy to find that the toilet block was left unlocked so sneaked in to “make use of the facilities” (it was morning, after all 😂). Once past the campsite the trail widens out into a good, undulating gravel road so I made good progress up Glen Falloch and eventually crested a hill to find the CP ahead. There was a thick cloud of midges hanging around, so I didn’t – just a quick drink of water and off again.

Doune bothy, looking North along Loch Lomond.

CP5 Beinglas – CP6 Dalrigh (7.5 miles)

It was now properly morning, I was wide awake and on good runnable trails, and looking forward to seeing Julie for my first crewed CP of the race. Shortly after leaving the checkpoint I was lucky enough to see not just a train, but the Caledonian Sleeper, chugging up the incline towards Crianlarich on the far side of the glen – I have been reduced to tears by the sight of a train before, but this one just gave me a boost! It also helped that for the first time since Balmaha, I caught sight of Calum and Kev ahead. I reckoned they were about 10 minutes ahead, and I worked hard to gradually reel them in. The miles passed quite quickly and soon I reached the track junction above Crianlarich and headed down the hill again towards Strathfillan.

This was a nice little milestone as I was now 50 miles in to the race, and as it happened was where I had wild-camped when walking the route 20 years ago! More good farm tracks and even some tarmac led past the wigwam site, under the A82, and up to the checkpoint. I was greeted a couple of hundred metres along the road by Julie and a very excited Spud – it was a real boost to see them.

I found that Kev and Craig were also at the checkpoint with their crews when I arrived but I had plenty to get done. Julie and Rhona were a well-drilled ‘pit crew’ and refilled my pack with food and fluids while I tucked in to a pan full of sausage and beans and let my feet air for a few minutes before changing into a fresh pair of socks. Usually on ultras I can’t face any solid food so it was good to find my stomach was behaving itself this time and I scoffed almost all of it. No hanging around though – 10 minutes in total and I was back on my way, headed for Tyndrum!

CP6 Dalrigh – CP7 Bridge of Orchy (10.5 miles)

The car park at Dalrigh is slightly off the WHW and we had been instructed to follow the new cycle path all the way in to rejoin the main WHW path just before Tyndrum. As I made my way along, a police car pulled up on the road, hooting and flashing lights – I hoped there wasn’t going to be any road closures for Julie to worry about! Crossing the river into Tyndrum, Julie and all the kids had got there before me, and it was great to see them all again (even only after 20 mins). I decided again since the opportunity was there I should make the short detour to “spend a penny” at the Green Welly Stop, and after a quick stop I was on my way again (a few kg lighter 💩💩💩). Turning back onto the WHW I found the police car had stopped and the two officers were standing by the trail. I wondered what was going on, but in the end it turned out they were a couple of Kev’s ex-colleagues who had stopped off to cheer him on! As it happened I had been quicker through the CP than Kev and had left before him, but he passed me again while I was in Tyndrum and he motored on to catch up with Calum while I took it easy up the hill.

Feeling relaxed on arrival to Bridge of Orchy.

Once at the top of the short climb, there is about 6 miles of gradual downhill on a good wide track (old military road), and I just took it easy, enjoyed spotting a few trains as they ran parallel to the path, and still made up over half an hour on my schedule, arriving at Bridge of Orchy only 40 minutes behind plan and feeling good. Time seemed to fly by on this section 🤷‍♂️ and soon I was running down to the the bridge where Julie had parked the car at the CP. A much shorter stop here, although I did sit down, eat some tinned potatoes (another first for me on a race) and some watermelon (more to be said about that later). I was figuring that since my body doesn’t generally tolerate solid food, especially at night, I should carb up while I could.

CP7 Bridge of Orchy – CP8 Glencoe (11 miles)

On leaving the CP, I came across a bunch of portaloos, presumably placed to discourage WHW users from “leaving their mark on the landscape”. Not just any old portaloos but top quality Honey Wagon loos – readers who were at Cape Wrath Ultra will appreciate the distinction!

Right from Bridge of Orchy, the WHW turns uphill on a loose, rocky path. It was not fun to go up, and not even great to descend although there were good views over Loch Tulla at the top to make it (kind of) worthwhile. Passing the Inveroran Hotel there is even a mile of “the dreaded black stuff” (tarmac) which seemed to go on for ages, even though I was keeping a decent pace. Then the path starts to climb more gradually up into the Black Mount, the first real taste of remote highland landscape of the route. The rain started again here and I was paid my first daytime visit by the ‘sleep monster’ as I walked. Once again, I kept micro-sleeping as I walked and it made for an unpleasant half an hour, until the path levelled out near Bà Bridge and I was able to run again and keep myself awake.

A short distance further on I made my only real navigation error of the race – there is a junction where the WHW goes straight ahead on a good stony track, but a smaller trail heads off left. There are no WHW markers anywhere in sight (in fact there were few on this whole section), but a cairn marks the junction – which to me is a message “don’t miss this turn”. Sure enough my watch had me following the lesser path, and since I was out of phone signal and not carrying a paper map (oops!) I had nothing else to go on so I headed left. The path rose and quickly became a proper boggy mess and my feet which I had worked so hard to keep dry up to this point were quickly sodden. As I approached the crest of the hill, I regained phone signal and sure enough there was a message from Julie warning me I was off course. I was able to check the map and sure enough I was on the “Old Military Road”, which paralleled the WHW about 100m further up the hill. By that point the best solution was to continue on and rejoin the route just before the ski centre. The extra climb and the wet feet ensured I had self-penalised for the detour!

Despite the sleepiness and detour, I completed this section bang on schedule! Julie was waiting just before the car park as usual with everything I needed – I changed into dry socks and (I think) had another pan of sausages and beans and some watermelon before heading off. Julie and then kids were staying in a wigwam at the ski centre and had been able to check in early and even go ‘tubing’ while they were waiting for me to arrive.

CP8 Glencoe – CP9 Kinlochleven (10 miles)

Leaving the ski centre was the first time it really took my legs a while to get going again. It was still drizzling with the promise of heavier rain ahead, but I gradually walked and jogged my way into a bit of a rhythm across the A82 and past the Kingshouse Hotel, munching on a bag of Hula Hoops. I was intercepted for a quick photo by Terry who had missed me at the checkpoint just as I headed off the worn tarmac and up onto the hillside to contour along to the base of the Devil’s Staircase. This is well known as the crux climb of the WHW (although it’s not actually as big as the climb out of Kinlochleven 🤷‍♂️), but I was able to keep a good hiking pace and it didn’t really take too long! From the top, I had a last glimpse down into Glencoe before the clouds rolled in, bringing the heaviest rain of the race so far.

With the path turning into a river in places and just the steep descent on tired legs made it quite slow going. At one point I saw Kev and Calum maybe half a mile ahead, so I knew they weren’t too far away, which was encouraging. On the way down into Kinlochleven the hydro scheme was overspilling and even the water pipes were jetting water out of the joints between them – it was properly WET. I had a strange deja vu realisation at one point that I was walking through the exact location that randomly crops up in my dreams from time to time… must have been some visual memory from 20 years ago that I had forgotten the source of! For what was a relatively long section, it actually seemed to pass quite quickly and all of a sudden I could see the rooftops of Kinlochleven and was able to sit down and have all my needs attended to by my crew. They had picked up a takeaway dinner and even had some prawn crackers for me, but I didn’t fancy them and decided I should make (another) “comfort stop”. They had spotted some public loos just round the corner, so I headed there only to find it was five past six and they had been locked up at six 🤬 Fortunately I was able to sneak in to the bunkhouse/camp site toilets, so besides an extra few hundred metres there was no harm done. Since there was no crew access at Lundavra and I would be into Glen Nevis late in the evening this was the last time I’d have crew until Fort Augustus in the morning. I had a drop-bag waiting for me at South Laggan some 30+ miles away so I ate another can of beans and sausage, more watermelon, and did a big restock of my pack to take me through the night before heading off on my way munching on another bag of crisps.

CP9 Kinlochleven – CP11 Braveheart Car Park (13.5 miles)

The first mile up through the forest is a big climb, although like the Devil’s Staircase it felt like it went quite quickly and before too long I popped out onto a wide track – another section of old military road – which would take me all the way to Lundavra. Even though it should have been quite runnable, I did quite a lot of walking on this section (saving myself for the nice, runnable first half of the Great Glen!). Although the rain had gone off and it was actually quite a nice evening there was still a lot of standing water on the path and I was trying my best to keep my feet dry. It seemed like a long time before I got to Lundavra, where I was expecting there to be a checkpoint. No sign of it! I was in a phone signal black-spot again so I continued on the WHW until I crested a ridge and was able to check the race tracker – and the Lundavra checkpoint had mysteriously disappeared! Fortunately I wasn’t in need of anything, so no great loss to me, but it made the combined section to Glen Nevis quite a long one! Somewhere along this section was the Bon Jovi moment (“Woah, we’re half way there!” 🎵) but I don’t remember it. Quite sensibly I wasn’t thinking about how far there was still to go!

A nice evening, looking down to Loch Leven from the climb up out of Kinlochleven.

Between Lundavra and Glen Nevis is several miles of undulating single-track path. I didn’t have a good mental map of the area so it was hard to judge progress. I was definitely going in the right direction, just slowly! As it was now well into the evening I was a bit dozy, so took another caffiene gel to keep me going. After what seemed far longer than it actually was, I reached the forestry road that led down into Glen Nevis. I forced myself into a decent running pace for the last two miles down the glen. Maybe half a mile before the turning for the CP I caught up with two walkers (I thought), one wearing a dryrobe but as I passed them I realised one of them was Calum! Later I found out that he’d got really cold and phoned his crew to come out and walk him in, leaving Kev to go on ahead.

At the CP, Calum’s crew (thanks 🙏) had been given a cup-a-soup for me by Julie and I was just drinking it as Calum came in and climbed straight into his van to warm up. Kev was taking a decent length break with with his crew and I realised this might be my chance to get a lead… time to make a move!

CP11 Braveheart CP – CP12 Clunes (13.5 miles)

It was just getting dark so I put my head torch on as I headed down the Glen Nevis road, passing a very slow hiker who was looking forward to finishing the WHW. I had another 70-something miles to go! I’d like to say I put the hammer down, but all I could muster was a bit of a running interspersed with fast walking. I had just crossed the river Lochy on the “Road to the Isles” when Kev set off in pursuit, with Calum not that far behind him. I had turned a 15 minute deficit into a 25 minute lead, but the chase was well and truly on! Up the locks of Neptune’s staircase and I was on the Great Glen Way proper. At this point I had planned to get some decent running in, but it wasn’t happening and the next few miles felt like the hardest yet.

The rain was lashing down and all I could see in the beam of torch light was gravel path, rain reflecting the light, hedges to my right and the blackness of the canal to my left. I stopped briefly to pull on full waterproofs and ploughed on. It felt like I was in a little bubble of monotony, making no progress and for the second time in the race, the sleep monster paid a visit. Another caffeine gel didn’t make any difference and I found myself micro-napping again. It felt like Kev was catching me and I was only a couple of miles along the canal but I simply had to sleep. I set my phone alarm for 10 minutes and curled up right there on the towpath, fast asleep. I woke on the alarm, suddenly alert again. I had half expected to be woken by Kev, but I could see on the tracker that he was still just at Neptune’s staircase.

I headed off again and the rain began to slacken off but soon I was back into battle with the sleep monster. I tried a bunch of different tactics to stay awake, first talking to myself, then singing random lyrics of songs that popped into my head. Probably a good thing there was no-one else out and about at midnight on a rainy Friday night! I tuned into a Radio 5 late night chat show for a bit, and even caught some of Glastonbury on BBC Sounds. Behind me, things had changed as Kev had decided to quit and turned back to the start of the GGW race at Corpach, but Calum was moving well again and maybe 2 or 3 miles behind at most. Eventually, I made it off the interminable canal path and crossed at the bridge at Gairlochy where there were a couple of marshals and Bill re-painting arrows on the road as they had been washed away by the rain. At least it shows the washable paint worked!

After a very short bit of road, the GGW turns back into a more interesting trail but now I was in the woods I first had to stop to “make a deposit”. The next few miles weave in and out of the woods and around the headland – I imagine there would be a quite a good view down Loch Lochy in daylight! At this point the front-runners of the Great Glen Ultra started to come past. It was quite nice to see some other people and though I was mainly walking it was nice to cheer them by and also get some encouragement as most of them were aware that there were a few hardy souls out there who had 100 miles in the bag already. A couple of miles of road led to the next CP at Clunes and I arrived there at 3am, but not before another 5 minute roadside nap!

CP12 Clunes – CP13 South Laggan (7.5 miles)

I was way slower than planned, now two hours behind schedule but still in the lead and though I was all-round tired I didn’t have any major issues, so there was nothing for it but to push on to the next CP, where I would have a drop bag waiting. In hindsight it might have been a good idea to have one at Clunes just to give me a boost. I had hoped there might be something available at the CP, but none of the GGU runners had left anything. Pretty much the whole of this section is wide forestry tracks along the side of Loch Lochy. It was pretty slow going and as I plodded along I was aware Calum was gradually closing on me, but I was still really dozy and stopped for two further on-trail naps. On one of them I was woken by one of the GGU runners, to check I was OK! I got straight up and kept pace with him for a while (thanks!), which was a good distraction.

Dawn of the second day, looking down to Loch Lochy from the zig-zag climb.

Dawn broke about half-way along this section, but it didn’t do much to wake me up. At least there was a big zig-zag climb to focus on as the path had recently been diverted to bypass a hydro scheme. Once at the top I was able to pick up a little bit more of a pace on the gradual downhill to South Laggan. No more proper naps allowed, but I was still micro-napping on my feet. On several occasions I lost more than a few seconds and woke up slightly disoriented. At one point I woke having fallen face first into a bush at the side of the trail. I was looking forward to the CP, but the name is deceptive as it was not at South Laggan but actually a mile and a half further on, just past North Laggan… not what I needed as I was running very low on supplies!

It was great to finally round the corner and see the CP crew there with a chair ready for me. Calum was still only about 30 mins behind me at this point but I needed a decent break. I changed into a fresh pair of socks and applied some KT tape to the balls of my feet, which were starting to feel a bit tenderised. In my drop-bag I had a pot of fruit salad, some powder to make up some more energy drink and a few bits to eat during the next section. I was really hungry though and was able to scran a few bits from the CP van too (thanks again!) In all, I stopped for about 15 mins and it was good to take the weight off my feet and have someone to talk to. I’d lost about another hour and a half on this section – the schedule was well and truly out of the window now 🤣

CP13 South Laggan – CP14 Fort Augustus (13 miles)

I headed off feeling rejuvinated, with the sun rising in the sky on what was set to be a nice day. Lots of nice trail on the next section, a mile or so less than expected due to the location of the previous CP, plus I could look forward to seeing Julie again! One advantage of being behind schedule – if I had been on time she wasn’t planning to be there and I wouldn’t have had any crew until the next CP at Invermoriston! I made decent progress up and over the hill to Invergarry, although I had to stop to apply some more KT tape as my left achilles had started complaining – oddly enough this was not the same tendonitis that I had had for the month leading up to the race 🤷‍♂️. It was only a few miles over to Invergarry, then back up into the woods. I was still moving quite slowly but enjoying myself and feeling very relaxed. I could see that Calum had stopped for a long break (90 mins in total) at Laggan so the pressure was off and I guess I dawdled a bit as a result!

Reaching the canal again at Bridge of Oich the weather changed a bit and there were several short, sharp showers which necessitated quickly putting my jacket on, but then taking it off in between as it was hot in the sun! My ankle was bothering me quite a lot by this point and although the towpath was dead flat and runnable, I wasn’t running. It was only 4 miles but once again, seemed to take a long time! Julie found the perfect motivation but messaging me a picture of a sausage sandwich, and came out half a mile from the checkpoint to deliver it (nicely returning the favour for my bacon sandwich delivery on the KACR 😎).

At the CP, I had just sat down when the wind whipped up, and cold rain started bucketing down! Fortunately, Julie and Rhona had a complete restock of my pack ready and I gobbled some food while I was there too. No more watermelon sadly – apparently they had discovered it was in fact mouldy (after feeding it to me for most of the day)… maybe that was the reason for my frequent toilet stops! Sitting still and the sudden change weather had caused me to get quite cold all of a sudden, so I didn’t stop long, putting my jacket back on and getting moving to keep warm. I wasn’t moving well though and it felt like a long way to “death march” to the finish!

CP14 Fort Augustus – CP15 Invermoriston (7.5 miles)

After a mile on the streets of Fort Augustus, the GGW enters a really nice forest section, and after a short distance splits into a low and high route. Of course, we were taking the high route! This climbed steeply up and soon broke out above the treeline onto a good path over open hillside. It was slow going, but at least climbing I felt I had an excuse to go slowly whereas on the flat sections my ankle was hurting quite a lot. The path topped out at around 1000ft and there were spectacular view up and down Loch Ness on what had become a warm and bright summer morning. I didn’t stop long though and forced myself to run the downhills, even though balls of my feet were starting to get pretty sore (although in their defence, they had just covered 130 miles)!

The path pretty much contoured along the hillside for a few miles, before a short steep drop down towards Invermoriston, mirroring the climb up from Fort Augustus. The route doubles back on itself before dropping down onto a minor road into Invermoriston. Julie came out to meet me, and though she didn’t say so at the time thought I was looking pretty ropey, and had doubts I would finish! As well as a chance to sit down, refuel and replenish, the car park at Invermoriston also had a public loo, which I (of course) “made a visit” to. I didn’t even have to pay 50p as I managed to sneak through the barrier behind someone else… possibly the fastest I had moved for a while 🤣 Julie was also able to sort out my feet with some fresh (and better applied) KT tape and they felt much better as I left! Although the going had been slow, this was the first major climbing section since Glen Nevis, so I ‘only’ lost another 20 minutes on my schedule.

CP15 Invermoriston – CP16 Drumnadrochit (14 miles)

Straight out of Invermoriston, the climbing starts again, first on a zig-zag tarmac road where I was able to eat and check the race tracker. I was surprised to see that Calum (fresh from his rest at South Laggan), had clawed 45 minutes back on my on the previous section to Fort Augustus, and was making good time towards Invermoriston. The race was back on!

On the way up through the forest I was working hard and definitely moving faster than I had on the previous climbs. I did have to stop to put my jacket back on at one point as a short sharp shower rolled through, but it was better than getting wet and cold. Once over the top, the track pops out at a great viewpoint over Loch Ness and there is then 3 miles of gradual downhill single-track and I was flying (relatively), clocking 12 minute miles for the first time since Tyndrum – amazing what a bit of adrenaline can do! A faffy little wiggly section leads out to a car park at Grotaig, followed by 3 miles of undulating tarmac. Not fun, but at least I could keep up a good pace on it, and in some places the GGW ran along a footpath parallel to the road, which was better.

The road eventually turns downhill, giving a good couple of miles running into Drumnadrochit via a nice forest path which was soft underfoot with pine needles and leaves. Once it levelled out I was expecting to cross the river on the road bridge and the CP be pretty much there, but there was almost another mile to go until the Julie came in to sight! On previous stages I would have been walking these flat pavement sections, but now I was running! For the first time since Loch Lomond I was actually making up time on my schedule, running this section an hour faster than planned 😄

A relatively quick stop of only 10 minutes, although I ate some more sausage and beans, restocked for the last two sections and (partly) removed a tick from my leg, then I was on my way. One final big climb to do and all the hard sections would be done!

CP16 Drumnadrochit – CP17 Abriachan (7 miles)

I could see Calum had taken a longer break at Invermoriston, and was also going slower than I had up the hill so I was feeling a bit more confident again. I scoffed a bag of crisps on my way out of Drumnadrochit and then enjoyed some more good running down the road. Someone had said there was about 3 miles of road, but it was actually only a little more than a mile till the GGW turned off through a gate, round the back of a farm, and then up into the woods, via what seemed like a million gates that had to be unlatched and latched as I passed through – although it was probably only 4 or 5!

The climb up through the woods should have been quite pleasant, even enjoyable. The sun was out, it was the end of a warm afternoon and the light was filtering through the trees to the mossy forest floor – a lovely place to go for a walk. Maybe it was the time of day, or maybe the last 150 miles were catching up on me, but for the first time my mind just checked out and I started to get major visual hallucinations! First up, I could see a “Go-Ape” style high ropes course in the trees, with wires, platforms and ladders. No people oddly, but whenever I got close, it all just disappeared! The most disconcerting experience was on one particular mossy and rooty climb, the ground seemed to flow downhill towards me and pass by underneath my feet like a giant travelator. To top it off, at one point I spotted a pair of Nazgûl standing watching me from beside a tree-stump – which could have been scary but for the fact one was carrying a tennis racquet and the other had a bike 😂.

Fortunately I kept it together enough to escape the woods and came out on a wide forest road. Rising out of the woods it began to get cold in the wind and I had to put my jacket on again as I was too tired to move fast enough to generate much body heat. The trail continued to rise and eventually after a couple of miles arrived at the final CP at the trailhead car park of Abriachan. Getting close to the checkpoint gave me a boost and I was running quite well down the long straight towards the CP. Apparently the last of the GGU runners had just passed through, so the checkpoint crew were still there as well as Julie and the kids. They seemed to be having far too much fun as at least one of the crew was in a onesie and they had a princess theme, so I duly obliged by sitting on the “throne” (not a toilet but a camping chair) and donning a tiara for a photo! I’m pretty sure none of this was hallucinated! I didn’t stop long though as it was time to tackle the final leg.

Final straight, coming out of the forest.

CP17 Abriachan – Finish (10 miles)

I could see that I had pulled out another hour or so on Calum, and although I was about 3 hours behind my own original schedule I knew that barring a freak accident, I was going to finish first. Leaving the checkpoint at 7pm a 48 hour finish was out of the question but I set a goal to go under 49 hours to beat Keith’s time – something to keep me going.

Honestly there is not much to like about most of this section of the route. After a mile of nice forest single track I came out onto “The Dreaded Black Stuff” again. It was only about 3 miles long but gradually uphill and seemed interminable. Branching off onto a path, the gradual climbing continued and I was getting fed up waiting for the top. Eventually the path started to level out and gradually drop through a forestry plantation. There were still 6 miles to go at this point and even though I was running bits the distance seemed to pass so slowly, and the soles of my feet were feeling pretty tenderised on the hard stony path.

With about 4 miles to go I started to “smell the barn” and a switch flicked in my head – no matter how I was feeling, I was running it in! Shortly, the forest gave way to open woods, with glimpses through to Inverness and the finish. The path steepened downhill, and apart from a short section through a housing estate on the pavements it made for enjoyable running. On the next narrow path section, I caught up the GGU sweepers and the last two runners. We exchanged congratulations on our respective about-to-achievements and I motored on. One last housing estate and I was on the footpath by the river – less than a mile to go. Across the bridge over the canal and Julie, the kids and Spud were waiting for me. Through the underpass and in to the athletics centre and onto the track. The kids ran alongside me and from nowhere I turned on the jets! All of the tiredness, sore feet left me and I was flying, leaving the kids behind and hitting 6-minute mile pace as I rounded the far bend. Overwhelming feelings of both relief and achievement flooded over me as I pelted down the finishing straight and across the line, stopping my watch at 48:44:26 🎉🎉🎉

Video evidence of my “sprint” finish (thanks to Mairi Fox)

Aftermath

Quite a crowd had waited at the finish line, and it was great to sit down, get changed and let it all sink in! We didn’t hang around too long though, as we needed to get home and Julie had already done quite a shift driving around for the last 48 hours. We made a quick stop at McDonald’s and then headed down the A9 – despite my best efforts to stay awake I don’t think I lasted long 🙈. We hadn’t realised that there was a prizegiving on the Sunday, although there were no prizes to give out for BWOG anyway as Bill wasn’t sure any of us would complete it! In truth it was good to be back home in my own bed, and I don’t think I woke up till lunch time anyway.

Looking back now on the race, although there were only 3 runners, it really felt like a race for almost the whole distance, and I feel very satisfied that I was able to manage myself well enough to come away with the win. Congrats to Calum (finished about 5 hours later), and Kev (100 miles in 27 hours) on their achievements too! At one point on the trail before South Laggan, Calum was only 10 mins behind me and if he had caught me the result could have been very different.

A lot of things went to plan – apart from the second night, my pacing was pretty good. In hindsight I’d have allowed more time for the tricky path along Loch Lomond, and I should have planned for an extra drop bag at Clunes and/or Braveheart CP as the section from Kinlochleven to South Laggan with no resupply was a long, slow one. Having never gone through two nights before and setting a new distance PB I’m more than happy though, especially having discovered the joy of on-trail napping! No major foot or injury issues and after a couple weeks of recovery (including holiday to Orkney) and plenty of easy walking I was able to get back running again just fine.

I couldn’t have made it to the end though without the tireless support of Julie in particular and also the kids – best crew ever 🤩 In total I had only about 4 and a half hours of ‘non-moving time’, and given that at least an hour of that was spent sleeping, I was in and out of almost all the crewed checkpoints in 15 mins or less. The marshals at all of the other checkpoints were very helpful too – thanks for taking the time out to support us on this crazy adventure, and it was great to have so many people waiting to cheer me in at the finish too.

Since this was the first running of the event Bill had said the cut-offs were really a guideline, and although I finished within the 50 hour limit, I did miss the planned 4.30pm cut-off at Drumnadrochit. I think next year the start time is going to be 4pm on Thursday, giving an extra 5 hours – which seems about right. It would also mean more overlap with the GGU runners, and more chance the CPs would still be open when BWOG runners passed through – Fort Augustus, Invermoriston and Drumnadrochit were all gone when I got there.

Several people suggested my finish should be considered the new FKT, but the race route through Claggan meant missing out the first miles of the GGW and the finish is a little bit short of the end of the GGW too, so Keith can keep his FKT… but maybe changing the route to fit in the full GGW might be an option for the future?

Would I come back and run it again? Probably not as I don’t think I left much room for improvement (at least for me) and the only way is down from here 🥇 but it’s a great route and I look forward to dot-watching next year. But never say never… Maybe you fancy giving it a go yourself?

Thanks to everyone who took and shared photos during the event, I have shamelessly pinched them and shared here 🙏

Interview: Béné & Jeep

One of the best parts about volunteering at Cape Wrath Ultra earlier this year was getting to see all the competitors achieving (or even exceeding) their own goals as the event went on. For some it was a solo journey, while for others they buddied up out on the route. One pair that I saw finish every single day together were Jean-Philippe (Jeep) Cornet and Bénédicte Saintier who had come together all the way from France to the North-West of Scotland to take part in CWU. It took a little while after the race, but I managed to have a chat with them, so here it is!

Congratulations again on your CWU finish and thanks for making the time to answer some questions for the Miles Together blog! Let’s start with by finding out how you got into running and how you met?

Béné: I started running 25 years ago when I was an expat in Taiwan. I joined a Hash club and initially I was more interested in the drinking afterwards, but gradually I became a good runner and most importantly I loved it, and started loving every outdoor sports : mountain biking, cross country skiing, etc…

Jeep: I started running at school with cross country then longer races until the half marathon. After a break of 5-6 years to play volleyball, I started triathlon when I entered the Faculty of Sports in Montpellier. I practiced for about 5 years.

I continued to run without competing, and I registered for my first long distance, 70km at the Templier race in Millau in 2008.

Béné: We met during an ultra in the South of France 4 years ago. I noticed this good looking guy at around 45km (he says he’s the one who noticed me), by 70km we were running together, he helped me through a rough patch at 80km, I dropped him at 100km and we reunited at the finish.

It’s a big step up from 100km to an 8-day, 400km race. What led to you signing up for CWU?

Béné: I heard of it on the internet and because I love Scotland and I love sporting events with a story, a meaning, a good route, a journey so it was immediately on my radar and it was obvious this was something I wanted to share with Jeep.

Jeep: This adventure seemed too beautiful to say no.

I hope it lived up to your expectations! Did you always plan to run 100% of the race together? Did it work well or were their times you would have preferred to separate?

Béné and Jeep: We weren’t always sure beforehand and changed our minds several times. However, after the first day it was obvious that we wanted to stay together and part of why we came to Scotland was to share the trail and the landscapes.

It worked really well mainly because our aim was to enjoy and finish more than real competition (at home we usually separate after 10min from the start and meet again at the end!). But we love running together and we did most of our training together.

It certainly is an awesome trail. What were some of your highlights from the race?

Béné and Jeep: Getting to the top of the last climb on day 6 and seeing where we’d come from. The light, the view, the company were just perfect at this moment.

The camps, our tent mates (tent 7 rocks!), unlimited chips, the amazing volunteers and especially the welcome at the end of each day, showers with a different view every day (yes, we enjoyed washing in lochs and rivers every nights!) and the weather (I know, we were so lucky).

Most importantly, the landscapes every day were beyond amazing.

We were super happy to get the lighthouse but we loved the journey more and we would have liked it longer (even if at the time we were sore everywhere).

Nice to hear you enjoyed the welcome back to camp 😃 I’m sure it wasn’t all highs, though! What were your worst moments and how did you get through them together?

Béné and Jeep: There wasn’t really any difficult moments except times where we were tired and it was a bit long. But we go through these times by just getting stuck in until it passes.

The worst moment was the bad weather on the headland between Glencoul and Glendhu on day 7. We were both digging in hard. We were cold and progressing very slowly. But then it stopped raining, and things looked up (like they always do)!

Good old fashioned positivity and hard work got you through then. Any advice for other people taking part (either solo or together) in future? What did you learn from the race?

Béné and Jeep: Learn to run off trails and if possible in bogs. Prepare your body for shin splint. I think 80% of camp was rocking K tape on the shins!

Jeep: I learned a new life philosophy – to always go and see what there is after (pain, doubt, joy, night, hunger, etc….). Thanks to Laurent, our tent mate, for this outlook on life.

Béné: I learned that I was strong and that this impossible race was actually totally doable with good training.

Amazing what you can do together! Now it’s a couple of months since you left Cape Wrath. How did your recovery go and what have you got planned next?

Jeep: We were tired for a couple of weeks afterwards but a couple of months later did a 178km race in the Alps with 11,000m vertical climbing. It went well (especially for Béné who completed it in under 45hours).

Béné: However, we also planned to be volunteers on races. After the care we received from the amazing team we decided it was time to give back. So, this winter we’ll be volunteering! We hope to be volunteers at the CWU one day (Jeep says he’s going to learn English).

That’s a great idea, you’ll love it. And your English is just fine Jeep 👍

We hope you enjoyed meeting Béné and Jeep – maybe it will inspire you to take on a challenge of your own! In the mean time, keep enjoying more Miles Together 👋

Volunteering at Cape Wrath Ultra 2023

The Cape Wrath Ultra is an epic 250 mile, 8 day stage race organised by Ourea Events that follows the Cape Wrath Trail Starting from Fort William right up the West Coast of Scotland to finish at the lighthouse on mainland Scotland’s most North-westerly point – Cape Wrath! This year there were roughly 180 competitors taking on the challenge, and I was one of 80 or so event team members supporting them along the way. The event team is made up of Ourea staff, specialist contractors (medica, timing, plumbing & electrics, marquees…) and many, many volunteers!

While the 10 day commitment is not to be taken lightly (thanks Julie 😍), a week or more camping, working and hanging out in great surroundings with a bunch of like-minded people – what’s not too like?

Putting on an event of this scale is a major feat of logistics, and the Ourea team are a well-oiled machine. Volunteers are assigned to a team for the week and I was part of the Start/finish team. A typical day for us would involve setting up for the start (7-9am), making sure each runner had their GPS tracker and sending them on their way. As soon as the last runners were out, we’d pack down the start funnel and gantry, pack all out kit into a van and head to to the next camp to set it all up again for the finish! Usually we had plenty of time but on one particularly short day with a relatively long drive between camps we were ready only ~15 mins before the first finishers arrived. We’d then welcome each runner back in, take their trackers back and let them head off to prepare for the next day! The course closed at 10pm but most days almost all the runners were back in with an hour or more to spare. In between times, we would help the camp team with packing everything else away, and erecting the 20+ 8-sleeper blue tents that the competitors used. We had morning and evening shifts which meant there was a chance each day to get off site for a short run, although I must admit I was there at course opening and closure every day 🙈

Competitors boarding the ferry to cross Loch Linnhe on Day 1.

Some highlights from the week:

On day 2, we had late drama as three runners were still out on course as the 10pm deadline loomed. The first one rounded the last headland (about 1km out) with less than 10 mins on the clock. Sprinting it in, he made it with 58 seconds to spare! Sadly the other two failed to make the cutoff.
On day 5, the last runner on the course (Agamemnon a.k.a. The King) made a wrong turn a couple of miles from the finish and came down the wrong side of the hill. He managed to get within 250m of the camp, but on the far side of a burn and deer fence. We all watched as he proceed to double-back and re-climb the hill, adding nearly 1000ft and a couple of miles to his route. Race control deemed no action was required as he had “self-penalised” 🤣 For the rest of the week he was the butt of (good-natured) navigational jokes.
The weather was great pretty much all week, light overcast and some sun and a little breeze – perfect for running and camping. Only on the morning of day 7 did we finally get a little taste of Scottish Spring, with driving winds and horizontal rain. The midges weren’t too bad, even in Torridon!
The camp locations are stunning. My favourite was Inverewe (Camp 4), where we had stunning sunshine and a lovely site overlooked by Beinn Eighe. I even managed a little swim in the river… very nice after most of a week without a shower! Glenfinnan and Kinloch Hourn were also special places.
On the final day, the finish line is at the Cape Wrath lighthouse, but from there everyone needs to be shuttled 12 miles down a dirt track, across a the loch via a short boat ride and walk to the final camp in Keoldale, near Durness. Only a small ground of event team get to go to the actual finish line and I was one of the lucky ones. It was an absolute privilege to be there to welcome the competitors to the end of their epic journey and share cheers, hugs and tears as they crossed the line.
I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch of people to work with on the start/finish team! Inspired by the late, great Tina Turner you guys were “simply the best”. Simply the loudest too – as I believe our finish line whooping was heard more than a mile from camp 🙉

If you want to find out more about what happened in the race itself, there is a great daily blog from Ourea. All I would add is that volunteering was an absolutely fantastic experience, and I totally recommend it to anyone – you will not regret it! I made some great new friends and really feel like part of the CWU community. Looking forward to seeing many of you again next year, when I will be back – as a competitor 😁

Thames Ring 250

Scroll down to the bottom for Strava link (spoiler alert!)

The Thames Ring 250 is organised by Challenge Running, with race director Lindley Chambers. It is a 250 mile loop starting and finishing in Goring and made up of stretches of the Thames path, Grand Union Canal and Oxford Canal. I have been preparing for this race since January with nervous anticipation and it was finally time to travel down to Goring for the race start. I left home at 5am on the Tuesday and 3 coaches and a train later I arrived in Goring at about 7pm. I checked in to the Miller of Mansfield pub where I was staying and immediately met a couple of guys that were also racing! A lot of the runners were meeting for a meal at another of the local pubs but I had decided against joining them as I felt it would make me more nervous and then make it harder to sleep. Instead I went for a quick mile leg stretch along the Thames before heading to the local chippy for sausage and chips. I then headed straight to my room to get my kit sorted for the morning before a relatively early night. Race registration (and the pub breakfast) didn’t start until 8am so I set my alarm for 7am. I actually managed a good nights sleep until I woke at 3am and then I dozed after that. All in all it wasn’t a bad pre-race nights sleep.

When I headed down to breakfast at 8am there were already a couple of runners there and more soon arrived. In total there was just over a dozen of us! A full cooked breakfast and plenty of tea went down a treat and I then went and sorted my bags before heading to race registration just across the bridge at the Morrell Room. Registration was really well organised and I soon had my kit checked and a tag added to my drop bag. I collected my hoody and race number and had my tracker attached to my race vest (I then had to get this moved as it felt really uncomfortable)! I was all sorted by 9am and then had a long hour of waiting around. I had a quick chat with Iain and my eldest and then hung around nervously waiting for the start.

Start – CP1 Hurley Car Park (27 miles)

As we waited for the start I positioned myself at the back determined to not go off too fast! My plan was to walk the first 5 mins and then alternate 5 minutes running / 5 minutes walking for as long as possible. We started at 10am and it was a relief to get going after what felt like a very long wait at the start! I always find it hard not to race others at the start of any race but knew I would be better trying to stick at a steadier pace, which I actually managed. The 5 minutes walking at the start definitely helped as well as being slowed down by a few gates in the first few miles. I did find it hard to settle into a rhythm as even with only 43 starters it felt busy and I felt like I was getting in people’s way with my frequent walk sections! However we all soon spread out, quite a few others were running in pairs or groups but I ran on my own wanting to stick to my walk/run strategy. I know from previous races I tend to run too much or too fast if I start chatting with other runners. It did mean a lot of yo-yoing with others during the first day. We were soon crossing the river at Pangbourne and then heading on to a section where you come away from the river, over the railway and pass through Purley-on-Thames. Navigation was straight forward using the GPX file on my watch. I had been nervous about navigating the road/town sections beforehand but soon got into the swing of it once we were on our way. After crossing back over the railway we then followed the Thames all the way to Reading. I was looking forward to the next section as it was the only section I had previously run (in reverse) during KACR last year. Everything was feeling good, I was eating and drinking almost every walk break and my pacing was what I had expected. All good so far!

From Reading you follow the Thames until reaching Sonning where you cross the Thames on the road bridge. It was here that Iain (as my crew) came to my rescue on KACR as I had my biggest wobble of the race! Chocolate had solved the problem on that occasion! This time I was feeling good and happy to just be trotting along to CP1. There were still a few other runners around and as we turned away from the river just before Shiplake I was able to show them the correct way to go. It was nice to have a short chat with other runners but then they stopped at the shop in Shiplake and I headed on over the level crossing and back towards the Thames. There was a short diversion to avoid a damaged foot bridge and then I was at Henley. It always feels strange running through busy towns with everyone just going about their business but I had soon crossed over the river and was again heading along the river path towards the turn away from the river at Aston and the short climb up past the Flower Pot Inn (one of the checkpoints from KACR). I had caught up a couple of other runners but was still sticking to my 5 minutes running / 5 minutes walking and was looking forward to reaching the check point which now didn’t feel too far away! I like this section of river path running and was soon crossing the foot bridge at Hurley. A short run along the island and then across a second footbridge and I was at the check point at roughly 27 miles (28 miles on my watch).

This check point and all of the future check points were fantastically well organised and the volunteers were amazing. My drop bag was always ready for me as was a chair and volunteers were super quick and helpful. There were a couple of runners at the check point when I arrived and a couple came in while I was there. I had always planned for a quick turn around at this first checkpoint and I managed that reasonable well – I didn’t get too comfortable! I had my bottles refilled, topped up on food and gels, emptied my rubbish, had a cup of tea and a banana and was on my way. All in all I was stopped for about 10 minutes.

CP1 – CP2 Chertsey (28 miles)

This next section was where I felt I finally got into a better running rhythm. I didn’t see as many people and just got my head down and got on with it. I had run the route as far as Maidenhead (albeit in reverse) and was looking forward to the public toilets in Cookham! I was sticking to a roughly 12 min/mile pace which I was really pleased with and eating and drinking well. The temperature was great for running and as long as I didn’t think about how far was still to go all was good! Soon after the check point you cross over the Temple bridge and run along the left side of the Thames until Marlow where you weave along some little lanes and alleys before getting back to the river. You stick on this side of the river for quite a while before crossing on a footbridge next to a railway bridge at Bourne End. For anyone that like trains you get to see lots on this race and every time I saw a train it made me smile and think of Iain as he gets so excited when he sees a train on a run! After this you soon reach Cookham and turn away from the river and through the church graveyard. A short road section and then some public toilets in the car park! You then turn down Mill Lane and are soon on a wooded path which takes you back to the river. Navigation was all straight forward and I was feeling more confident following the route on my watch. You run along the road into Maidenhead, cross over the road bridge to continue along the Thames on the far side. I said goodbye to the section of the route I knew and was on to new territory!

I don’t really remember much about this next section to the check point. There were a couple of bridge crossings and short road sections but otherwise river path all the way. Navigation was straight forward and I was just ticking away the miles. I have never run a race with such a long distance between check points and hadn’t appreciated how long it can feel between stops and seeing people. At this point in the race it was OK but it did get harder as the race went on! I had to stop about half an hour before the check point to put my head torch on but otherwise just kept going! As I approached the bridge where the check point was meant to be I saw a sign that said the check point was just up the road in the pub car park so off I trotted! I was still running at the pace I had hoped and aimed for another quick turn around at this check point. I was still feeling good and feet felt fine so wasn’t planning to change socks or shoes just yet.

The check point was another fantastic set up and I was soon munching on a bowl of potatoes and cheese with a cup of tea. Water bottles and food was restocked and I swapped into a long sleeved t-shirt for the night. All the volunteers were lovely and it was great to chat to folk before heading out again. I also changed my skort for a pair of shorts as the waist elastic was slightly too tight and it had been bothering me for quite a few miles. Changed into my trusty Flanci trailblazer shorts and full of food I felt ready to tackle the night! I was about 18 minutes at the check point, slightly longer than I had hoped but with the change of clothes not too bad!

CP2 – CP3 Yiewsley (28 miles)

This was the section I had been most nervous about before the start. It has some quite built up areas and I must admit I was nervous of running them in the dark on my own. My options were to pair up with another runner but that would have meant going slightly faster or slower than I would have liked and with a different run/walk pattern or to just get on and do it. I chose to just get on with it as I assessed that the actual risks are low and I had my tracker and phone with me. It did mean I was slightly on edge all night and very aware of my surroundings! I just prefer running in the countryside on my own at night! In my pre race planning I had hoped to stick at roughly 13 min/mile for this section and I managed this reasonably well sticking to the 5 minutes running / 5 minutes walking plan.

After leaving the check point you follow the river round until you reach Shepperton where you head up the road away from the river. There were 2 points in Shepperton where the GPX and maps differed slightly so I had checked with Lindley before the race and he was happy for us to follow either route. I stuck to the road which I was glad about as there were a large number of teenagers hanging about in the car park which was the first point where the map and GPX varied. Once through Shepperton you cross the bridge to Walton-on-Thames where you follow the river all the way until crossing back over at Hampton Court. This section was slightly confusing as there is more than one path option. They do however all run parallel to each over between the Thames and Hampton Court. Looking at Strava I seemed to have swapped between 2 of the paths and at one point I phoned Iain who told me that people were using both the lower and middle path. Iain was fantastic support through the night and I spoke to him several times for reassurance and a friendly voice! He makes an awesome long distance crew and I would find it a lot harder without him. Just before Kingston bridge I caught up and overtook another runner, annoyingly in this stretch I got distracted and tripped over a tree root, thankfully no harm was done and I jumped back up and on my way. Iain was again amazing and calmed me down!

I don’t remember much of the next section until reaching Richmond which was the next stage I had been worried about. There were several sections through the night where the route went next to quiet roads in woody areas. This did mean I had to run past a few cars of young men, but I just put my head down and kept running and wasn’t bothered by anyone. In Richmond the navigation was actually easier than I had expected and I didn’t have any problems, there were however quite a few youths hanging around which made me on edge even though none of them did anything! I was definitely on hyper alert for this section. My nerves weren’t helped when I turned into Lion wharf Road to find a police car and van pulling over a car – I just kept going! Syon Park was straight forward to head across and seems to be permanently open at the far end now. I was finally on the Grand Union Canal which felt like a huge milestone.

I don’t remember much about this section, I definitely relaxed a lot as I felt the worst of the night was over. This section is easy to navigate and just had one straightforward diversion. The legs were beginning to feel the miles now and I was looking forward to reaching check point 3. I was still only slightly off my plan A pacing which was encouraging (I am always overly optimistic on my plans and have never stuck to one yet!).

I arrived at check point 3 in the early hours of the morning, and looking back was slower than I should have been. The danger of lovely check point volunteers and many hours on my own meant I probably lingered and chatted far longer than I should have. I did check my feet and put on more Sudocrem and I think I changed socks (I can’t 100% remember what I did when)! I enjoyed more tea and baked beans, hot dogs and potatoes (I think) and restocked my water and food. I was having to work at eating on my walk breaks now and wasn’t really enjoying a lot of the food I had with me. However gels were great and I continued to benefit from them for the rest of the race. I think I was about 28 minutes at this check point before I headed on my way.

CP3 – CP4 Berkhampsted (24 miles)

This section had the benefit of being slightly shorter and in daylight, however I tend to find I have a real low in the early morning once it gets light and this was no exception! I felt really tired on this section and because there is little navigation I found it hard to snap out of that tired state. This section is also where you pass 100 miles which felt like another milestone although also brought with it nagging doubts of how was I going to keep going for another 150 miles when I was already this tired! The key with this race is definitely to avoid thinking about the enormity of the task and just focus on the next section. There were lots of positives – I was still running well and managing an OK pace (just over 13 min/miles a lot of the time), nothing was injured (just tired), it was now daylight and I would be seeing my parents and aunt and uncle at check point 5 this afternoon. I can’t remember if I saw any other runners on this section or just at the check point. The path was generally good for running / fast walking. There was one diversion on this section which took you away from the canal and along a busy road but otherwise it was canal all the way. I arrived at CP4 ready for a break and was definitely more faffy than I should have been! Legs and feet were now tired and sitting in a chair was far too nice! My routine was much the same as at other check points and it was nice to get some chat. Henrik was at the check point when I arrived having hurt his knee. He headed out before me as I was still getting sorted with food and drink. I think I also changed shoes at this check point as I figured fresh soles would have more cushioning than the ones I had been pounding for miles and miles. I was just under 30 minutes at the check point in total with 108 miles on my watch.

CP4 – CP5 Milton Keynes (25 miles)

I soon caught up with Henrik who was really struggling with his knee. We walked for a short section and then I started running again. Henrik tried a run but it wasn’t going to happen with his knee so I said a goodbye and headed on. I was unsure if he was going to try and keep going but with a knee that sore and 150 miles to go it seemed unlikely. I was gutted for him as a bashed knee is not a nice way to have to end a race.

So I was on my own again and heading on to Milton Keynes. I was really looking forward to seeing Mum and Dad and my aunt and uncle, but I was also feeling really tired and felt I was slowing down a lot. At some point I swapped to 4 min running / 4 min walking as 5 minutes just felt too long. I decided to try a 15 minute power nap at Milton Keynes to see if that sorted me out for the night ahead. This section of the route is easy running and navigation, looking back at Strava my only slight detour was to head down the Wendover arm of the GUCR! I’m guessing my watch beeped at me and I headed back! For this section I wasn’t really using the map at all and was just relying on the GPX on my watch. As I got more tired Iater into the race I was keeping an eye on bridge numbers on the map as well to minimise mistakes! This was the first section where I really started noticing how long it was between check points and this section did begin to drag. It was hard to keep my mind focussed on the moment and not start thinking of the massive distance still to go!

I arrived at check point 5 about 30 mins behind my A plan which I was very happy with and it was great to see my Mum, Dad, aunt and uncle, they have never seen me mid-race before so I had already warned them I may look awful, be really stiff or just not look very happy. Actually I was feeling good, tired and sore but nothing that wouldn’t be expected at this point in the race. After quick hugs and hellos I soon put them to work refilling bottles, emptying rubbish from my race vest etc (all the glamorous jobs)! I had some food (I can’t remember what) and a cup of tea and then once everything was organised I said my goodbyes and nipped into the little pop up tent to try and get a short nap. I crawled into the tent and soon realised sleeping would be a challenge! My hips and legs were sore on the thin mat so I tossed and turn but didn’t really sleep. I did use the time to rub sore spots in my leg muscles so that when I got up 15 mins later my legs felt loads better.

Looking at Strava I only spent about 30 minutes at the check point so not any longer than the previous one. Annoyingly I forgot to put the elastics back on my gaiters after my little rest and didn’t realise until several miles down the canal path so after that they weren’t doing much good and I took them off at the next check point. The first of many little check point errors!

CP5 – CP6 Nether Heyford (26 miles)

It was now raining and I had put my rain coat on at the check point. This was frustrating as I find I overheat easily when wearing it but the forecast was that it was set in for the night so I was just going to have to get used to it. Another runner had mentioned to me that this next section to Nether Heyford was a tough one so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but the first few miles were OK and quite runnable. I had arranged to say another hello to my mum, dad, aunt and uncle at the far side of Milton Keynes and I was really looking forward to this. I felt a little bad dragging them out in the rain just to say hello as I ran by but at least it wasn’t in the middle of the night! It was lovely to see them, I was still feeling good and running well, although apprehensive about the night ahead! I tried to stop and have a chat but they weren’t having any of it and sent me on my way! Once past Milton Keynes the path became quite muddy and wet and was harder to keep a good rhythm on. It was requiring concentration to keep from slipping on the path, especially as it was now dark. At some point I stopped and put waterproof trousers on as I was getting cold – this turned into more of a job than I had hoped as even with zips up the back the trousers didn’t fit over my shoes and I had to hop around trying to take shoes of and put them on!. I managed to slip over at one point when looking up to check a bridge number, before I knew what was happening I was sliding along the path in the mud! Thankfully no damage was done and I was soon on my way again!

Bilsworth tunnel was at about 151 miles. The navigation was easy but the climb up from the canal was steep! Somehow steeper than I had expected and once you join Stoke Road although easier underfoot I didn’t enjoy it much as the cars came flying down the road ridiculously fast. It seemed like it took a very long time before I turned off the road and rejoined the canal. The next few miles to the check point were slower, I don’t remember a huge amount about this section of canal but at night in the rain with a slippy, muddy path they took far longer than I would have liked and it was with huge relief I arrived at Nether Heyford ready for some warm food, a short sleep and a change of clothes. This section had taken a lot out of me and I was worried about the 100 miles ahead! For all this sounds like I didn’t enjoy it in some ways running in the rain was really nice and knowing I was heading towards an indoor check point was a huge incentive to keep pushing on! Being in second place overall and first female so early in the race had been a surprise and I wanted to keep giving the race my best however I was now running further than I ever had before and a second night of very little sleep was new to me. I found it very hard not to let the doubts creep in!

Someone had come out of the check point to meet me which I really appreciated in the rain and as the only runner at the check point I was really well looked after. I soon had all my wet kit off drying on radiators and watch and phone charging. A quick change in the toilets and I was ready for food and a cup of tea. I decided to have an hour’s sleep here and was soon up on the stage behind the curtain. It was lovely and warm and dark but unfortunately the hard floor meant I couldn’t really get to sleep and rolled around and fidgeted for most of the hour. I think I dropped off for about 20 minutes in total. I did take the opportunity to rub and stretch some very sore and tight leg muscles which felt good. After an hour I got up finished sorting my bag and had some more food and another cup of tea and was then off on my way. I was at the check point for about 1 hour and 40 mins in total and left knowing it would now be very difficult to get near the female course record but I was still on target for finishing with a good time.

During this race I learnt that I can manage several nights on very little sleep and for me I think 10 mins with my eyes shut stretching out sore and tired muscles is probably the best. I don’t feel that having an hour laying down really added very much and meant that when I left the check point I just felt frustrated that I had wasted an hour. I’m not sure exactly when I left but it was still raining and I had a couple of hours before it got light. I didn’t mind the rain but wasn’t looking forward to swapping onto the Oxford canal which from previous race reports sounded like it was the most difficult terrain of the race!

CP6 – CP7 Fenny Compton (29 miles)

This is the longest section of the race and it felt it (30 miles on my watch with some poor navigation at Braunston)! There are only a couple of points where you need to be careful for navigation, firstly the diversion at the Braunston tunnel. I was tired at this point and spent a long time wandering around trying to find the correct path. In the end I phoned Iain who thanks to the tracker soon had me sorted out! The other point is to make sure you get on to the Oxford canal, which I managed fine! The path was hard going and only got worse and once on the Oxford canal it is very monotonous. This may be a good thing as concentration is required on foot placement all of the time. There would be sections where the path would improve only to deteriorate around the next corner. The path was quite slippy and wet and was either sloping into the canal or had big holes for you to keep an eye out for. The bushes had thankfully been cut back but they still had nice sharp edges to snag your coat on. This was the start of my low section, my pace had really reduced and I had started faffing – always dangerous and difficult to stop once started. Once it got light I had my morning lull and generally spent this section feeling sorry for myself. The rain did at some point stop and the sun came out. My feet had started being sore in the last section and that was only getting worse and my legs were stiff and tired. I began to see my time slipping away.

I arrived at the check point later than I would have liked and ready for a break. The volunteers were again fantastic and I was soon had hot food and drinks, bottles refilled and bag restocked. I was finding it harder now to eat between check points. Hard pear drops that had seemed like a great idea (and I had enjoyed) had shredded my mouth which was now full of ulcers. I hadn’t really enjoyed the salamis and they sat unused in my drop bag. Babybels and little Kinder-like bars were still going down well and Kellogg’s Krispie squares, although not enjoyable, definitely gave me an energy boost. Crisps were also hit and miss. Gels however were still good so I kept well stocked up with them and I was still eating really well at check points so all was good. I again decided to have a short sleep here and again failed to sleep. 10 mins laying down and rubbing sore muscles is definitely the way to go for future races. I was craving company by this point and so hang around far longer than I should have. This check point also has the bonus of the pub toilets – a real luxury but also another way to waste time. All in all I spent just over an hour here, definitely longer than I should.

CP7 – CP8 Lower Heyford (23 miles)

As the race went on I discovered that I would feel really strong and positive for a couple of hours out of a check point and then would crash, feeling tired and sorry for myself all the way to the next check point. I think in future long races in the latter parts of the race I will stop every 3 hours or so for my own mini check point – some good solid food and a 5-10 min sit down to see if this makes a difference. However this race I didn’t so after a couple of hours of feeling good I plodded on past endless fields, random bridges to nowhere and the odd canal boat. The path was terrible for most of the day and I was faffing! This made the tiredness even worse and at one point I phoned my eldest for a chat as I felt like I was falling asleep on my feet. Every time I saw a bench or lock it was difficult to fight the urge to sit down and I often treated myself to 10 second sit downs. I’m not sure these did much good and only slowed me down more! Everything was tired and sore by this point, including my toes, thankfully the balls of my feet and heels were holding up ok. The sun had come out warm and I was glad it hadn’t been this warm the whole way. It was late afternoon / early evening by the time I arrived at Lower Heyford, the second indoor check point of the race.

The building was lovely and I took my shoes off at the door! I got everything on to charge (watch, phone and torch) and then sorted out my feet which had some good blisters on the toes. My hands had been swollen all day, which is normal for me in long races but I was aware my ankles were also beginning to swell which I was worried about. So while I ate some lovely food I sat with my feet up. This check point was far too comfortable and warm with the TV on. There was also a comfy looking blow up sleep mat in the corner which I managed to resist! I again spent too long at this check point and was just leaving as the next racer arrived. I spent just over an hour at the check point. Definitely room for improvement!

CP8 – CP9 Abingdon (25 miles)

The first 15 miles out of this check point were slow. I had decided that I couldn’t run anymore and was going to walk the rest of the way. The problem being my walk was getting slower and slower! The path does improve and definitely has some good runnable sections but in my head I couldn’t run anymore. As it got dark I put my head torch on only for it to start flashing that the battery was low. This was concerning as I had just charged it! It turns out that in my sleep deprived state I hadn’t realised the power bank I “charged” it from was empty! I turned it down to medium beam and used it on that until it stopped altogether when I swapped onto my spare battery. This was fine but I had a nagging worry about what if this battery didn’t last me to the next check point and I was left with no head torch on a canal in the middle of nowhere. These worries and Iain’s amazing MP3 playlist kept me going for a while until near Oxford when I started getting really tired again. I started hallucinating which I found funny rather than scary and had a section where my family were walking with me, even though I knew they were at home, bicycle wheels also kept doing weird and wonderful things and I kept seeing faces in the path. The most annoying hallucination were seeing people where there weren’t any and trees that appeared to be bridges until I was very close.

A phone call with Iain late evening and he told me that one of the runners behind, Nathan, had picked up his pace and was rapidly catching me. That was fine I was still convinced I was going as fast as I could. Nathan did catch me, which actually felt a relief as I was desperate for some company! I just hoped he stayed for a chat for a few miles before running on! However when Nathan arrived he was very certain he didn’t want to overtake me and was happy to go at the quickest pace I could to the finish. I told him not to be silly and to get going as it was a race after all and he was looking far stronger than me at this point. However he was adamant and I was happy for the company so we carried on together. For his sake I said I would try a run but reminded him I really didn’t think I could run anymore. It turns out I could and once my brain was overruled my legs were more than capable of running. We had a fun few miles running faster than we probably should have done at this stage in the race but it felt great.

We only slowed down when the path again deteriorated into a horrible, muddy, slippy track for the last few miles to Abingdon. I learnt a valuable lesson here that even when you think you can’t do anymore actually you can. I could still run and I really enjoyed it. We had a few almost navigational errors but always noticed and corrected them before they were a problem and I really enjoyed having someone to chat to after so many hours on my own. We turned up at the check point in high spirits and aiming for a quick turn around. Nathan set a time limit which was sensible but I did struggle to keep to it after faffing so much at the last few aid stations. The check point volunteers are again fantastic and couldn’t do enough for us. If you are looking for a quick finish time it is definitely important to limit check point time! After only 20 minutes or so we were back on our way. Clean shoes and socks, fed and watered and with gels restocked, I had also removed my waterproofs which I had been wearing for warmth but since running had been slowly baking in! And the head torch did last out until the check point and daylight!

CP9 – Finish Goring (21 miles)

In my head this section was going to be easier, with only 21 miles to go and back on the Thames path I thought it would be easier terrain. We left in high spirits planning to run / walk most of the way, but were soon disappointed – the path was still awful, claggy, slippy mud and rutted paths. Interspersed with fields of interested bovines, which were tussocky and uneven it made keeping up any pace hard going. The early morning was shrouded in a cold mist that slowly burnt off but meant I was either too cold or too hot depending on our pace and whether we were in a random pocket of cold air. It was a beautiful morning but I wasn’t in much of a state to appreciate it with all my focus on the finish that didn’t seem to be getting any closer! I then made the mistake of looking at my legs and noticing how swollen my knees were – they weren’t too sore but I was worried I was going to injure myself so was reluctant to try running again on the uneven surfaces. I suggested a couple of times to Nathan that he could head on but he was happy to stick with me as long as we were moving fast enough to keep second place and under his target time of 74 hours. Morning is always when my low points hit and today was no exception and I probably moaned far more than I should have – sorry! The sleep deprivation had also caught up with me and I was struggling with even simple bits of navigation. Thankfully we didn’t make any major mistakes!

Eventually the finish crawled slowly nearer and it was with relief we were able to count down the last few miles. I would like to say I picked up the pace for the finish but all I could manage was a run around the last corner to the finish, 260 miles on my watch, joint 2nd position and first female in a time of 72 hrs and 40 minutes. Lindley presented our medals and my trophy and prizes for first female, a few photos and I was able to sit down and relax knowing I didn’t have to get up again for a while! Again everyone was fantastic making sure I had food and drink and everything I needed. Blisters were drained and dressed for the journey home (thank you) and I was able to get a couple of hours sleep in the corner of the room. It was great to be able to cheer in the next two finishers before having to head to the station for the journey home. Thankfully Lindley gave me a lift to the station as it would have felt like a long slow and painful walk with my drop bag!

Of the 43 starters, 19 finished and regardless of if people finished or not everyone gave it their all. Of those that finished I am particularly impressed by those that did a fourth night – I have no idea how you kept going and think you are all amazing. A huge thanks to Challenge Running, to Lindley for a brilliant event and for your amazing team of volunteers – super well organised throughout and I was always very well looked after at all the check points and finish. Sometimes too well(!) making it hard to get back out there and keep moving! And a massive thank you to Iain and my family for allowing me the time for these crazy and awesome adventures.

Recovery

A train journey and 3 coaches (1 of them overnight) isn’t the best start to recovery and by the time I got home on Sunday morning my ankles had swollen impressively. I had thankfully managed to get some sleep on the coach (hopefully I wasn’t snoring too much!) and managed the half mile walk home from the bus stop. Iain was running a local 10 mile race that morning so after a quick shower and breakfast I headed out with him to support. I really wanted to be there for him as he had done such an amazing job supporting me during the race. Our youngest was also with us so after seeing the racers off we headed to the closest point they would pass after a mile and a half. I managed to hobble there in time to give Iain a cheer and then we headed back to the stands at the track where the race would finish. Angus was playing games on my phone so I instructed him when to wake me and promptly fell asleep! I woke just in time and was able to hobble to the finish to cheer Iain in – a new PB of 1:03:42 and 14th place overall. Then home to put the feet up and sleep.

Lots of sleeping and elevating the legs meant I was able to slowly walk a few miles on Tuesday and since then have made sure to walk every day and I started running again eight days after I finished. Pilates has also helped stretch everything but is a little sore at the time! Thankfully other than very bruised and blistered toes I haven’t had any injuries and just need to give my body time to recover.

Having spent a large portion of the race complaining about how much I hated it and how I couldn’t understand how anyone would run it twice or more, within a couple of hours of finishing I found myself thinking how I would improve my race strategy and how I could do better. It is certainly the race I have learnt most during and I am looking forward to using what I have learnt in the future. I would absolutely love to come back and try again at the race record – I am sure having run the route previously is an advantage and also knowing that I can manage on very little sleep. I could certainly reduce my time at later check points and I now know I can run even when I think I can’t! A little more self believe would also help. Of all the races I have run this is the first I feel I have unfinished business with!

Thames Ring 250 Preparations

I have been thinking about and planning for the Thames Ring 250 since last year. After a great end to 2022 with the Sunrise Ultra I took 3 weeks break in December to give my body a rest and focus on Christmas. The plan was to start 2023 fresh and ready for a big training block. The reality was everyone, including me, had the lurgy over Christmas and I started 2023 feeling tired and drained!

I don’t have a coach and tend to make my own training plans, which seems to have worked well so far! My plan for the start of 2023 was to increase my miles both walking and running and focus on time on the feet. I started with 2 aims in January. The first was a run streak (all good so far!), hopefully for the year but at least up to race day. The second was an accumulator challenge in January adding a mile a day.

The January accumulator went really well and meant plenty of miles in the legs and plenty of back to back long runs. It also meant I gradually built up the miles at the start of January which was great after being ill. Overall January was a huge success with only 2 really challenging days. There were a few niggles during the month but I was able to run through these and the difficult days have boosted my confidence that I can keep at it even when things are tough. It was a great challenge to complete but I’m not sure I will rush back to doing it again as the time commitments at the end of the month were tough to fit in to family life.

February was planned as a quieter month. The first week I reduced my running considerably to allow my body to recover and adapt from January’s efforts. I added in more walking to keep my overall mileage up. The second week was school holidays which I always struggle to train through. I just planned short runs to keep the legs ticking over and then increased the mileage again the last two weeks of the month. I also added in a pilates class in February, which is new to me. I really struggle with strength and conditioning so figured a structured class was the way to go. It has been great and has really challenged me to be aware of and strengthen individual muscles – my abs had a big shock!

March was all about the miles – no massively long runs just lots of shorter runs (up to 18 miles). Lunch runs and the odd weekend run with Iain added in some speedwork and I tried to run with my race vest as often as I could. I really enjoyed this month and felt great. By the end of the month I was tired and ready for a slow gradual taper. I deliberately opted for a long taper because of school holidays and the challenge I have training during them. It has all gone to plan and I feel as ready as I can be for race day.

The last couple of weeks when my mileage had been less I have focussed on race prep, studying the route and organising everything at home for while I am away. My bags are packed and the buses booked – I am good to go! Can’t wait for the adventure 😁

Beating The Drop

Last year I ran “The Drop – Edinburgh“, finishing second overall so I had a bit of unfinished business when it came to this race and I signed up for the 2023 edition quite early on. After a few short and fast races I knew this one would be a good test of my fitness at 15+ miles distance, although without being able to wear a watch judging pace is a challenge. The finish location had moved a little from last year and was hosted at Up and Running in the West End, so the routes I had worked out last year were still pretty much relevant. Given that we had started to the West last year, I was betting on a start location in East Lothian somewhere, so I made sure to recce the major routes via Google Street View, Strava Heatmap and Bing/OS Maps. Starting from the A68 and as far round as Humbie the best way would be to reach Pathhead and go via Dalkeith and into Edinburgh via Cameron Toll. For anywhere further East, then Tranent, Musselburgh and Meadowbank looked best.

This year, The Drop have strarted providing live tracking for all their events, which makes them much more fun to spectate (virtually). In theory, you should also be able to replay the event to see where everyone went, but it doesn’t seem to be working (yet) for the Edinburgh race. Worth a look though:

Julie was able to drop me off in Edinburgh on the way down to Selkirk, and I made sure to stop off at McDonald’s for a pre-race cup of tea and loo stop. Before long we were blindfolded and on the coach! It seemed to take longer than I expected but after a while the 10 milers were dropped off and we headed to the 15 mile start. Once we finally came to a stop and took our blindfolds off I could see we were in a village with a war memorial and some signs at junctions pointing to Gifford and Duns, Humbie and West Saltoun – most of which were further Southeast! With that in mind I guessed we were in East Saltoun, one of the likely locations I had expected might be drop location and headed in the opposite direction towards (I hoped) Pencaitland.

I was one of the quickest off the bus but stopped half a mile down the road for a pee and several people went past me. I quickly caught up with them and was soon in the lead… at least of the people going in the same direction as me! Before too long, Pencaitland came into sight as expected, confirming I was where I thought I was and was heading in the right direction. One runner came past me, but turned left for Dalkeith rather than keeping straight on towards Tranent, so I was back on my own and heading as fast as I could along the road. As I passed through the centre of Tranent I caught sight of him again a short distance behind me (it turned out he’d only made a short detout to ask for directions in Pencaitland and then rejoined my route), and before we reached Musselburgh he passed me again. There was no way I could stick with his pace so I just hoped he would make another navigational error!

Passing the racecourse in Musselburgh I made my only (minor) navigational error – there is a short cut over a footbridge that saves about 0.1mi but I didn’t recognise the turnoff and took the more obvious route down the high street, dodging Saturday morning shoppers! The route thus far has been gradually downhill towards the coast, and now it levelled out as I made my way out of Musselburgh and along the coast towards Joppa and Portobello. I made sure to ignore the obvious left turn which is signposted Edinburgh by the A199 and A1 – probably the best route in a car, but for running has an awkward section around the back of Arthur’s Seat and the Meadows, plus it has quite a bit more climb than my route. I headed straight ahead through Portobello High Street to the junction at the end of Seafield Road. Fortunately the traffic lights were kind to me and I was able to slip across without delay. The road turned gradually uphill for a few miles through Jock’s Lodge, Meadowbank and Abbeyhill – I ran out of fluids at the this point but I knew I had just over a mile to go so wasn’t concerned. I passed a few of what looked like the tail end of the 10 mile runners (still not quite sure where they were dropped!), and before too long crested the hill at the Old Royal High School. No chance of getting lost from here – just lots of shoppers, tourists and buses to dodge on the way down Princes Street, a quick dash through the West End and in to the finish at Up and Running!

Checked in on a cool, overcast morning – good running conditions.

After a bit of confusion it turned out I was the first 15 mile runner back, and only a minute later second place turned up – he was the runner who had passed me earlier but had taken the harder route South of Arthur’s Seat (and had taken a wrong turn). In total he went over a mile further than me, so although I wasn’t the fastest on the day my route was good enough to sneak home first! You can see my complete route on Strava here:

My finishing time was 1 hour 53, about 20 minutes faster than I managed last year and my route was pretty much optimal (barring the missed shortcut in Musselburgh) – so I’m very pleased with how it went. I was also pleased to find I’d kept up a pretty steady pace, and way faster than I thought, setting new Strava PRs for a Half Marathon (1:29:04).

Overall, I’m happy to have managed to win this event at the second attempt – although I really like the format so I’m already thinking about coming back next year, or possibly fitting in the Glasgow Drop later this year. We’ll see!

February Roundup

“Winter miles mean summer smiles” is a well-known phrase among runners, and both of us are midway through out winter/spring training blocks getting ready for big races to come. Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a few smiles along the way too 😃

Only 4 weeks after Feel The Burns, it was time for Selkirk Fund Runners’ second race of the year – the Heart Burn Run. We ran this one last year and it’s a great wee race. Thoroughly low key, open to walkers and runners, pay-on-the-day, 10k round the hills above Selkirk on a vaguely heart-shaped route (Valentine’s themed, see!), and back to a excellent selection of cake laid out on a table in a car park!

The weather on the day was excellent and after a good week or so without much rain underfoot conditions were perfect. Even the infamous turnip field which is usually a huge bog was like a bowling green! There were 51 walkers already on the route when the 15 runners (including us) set off. We had the unusual experience of setting the pace from the start and we managed to stay ahead all the way to the top of Peat Law. A fast, fun descent followed across heathery slopes and past the path the to Three Brethren, before the nasty “Rocky Road” climb up to Foulshiels Hill. Here we were passed by the eventual winner, and we couldn’t stay with him. From the top it’s pretty much downhill all the way to the finish, with the grassy slopes between Tibbie’s and the Top Pond making it easy (and fun) to reach top speed! We pushed hard all the way, finishing together a few minutes behind the winner but agonisingly 3 seconds over the one hour mark – leaving a target to aim for next year 🤪

The following weekend Iain had entered the Bertha Park Trail 10k – a bit of an “impulse buy” but since it was the inaugural edition of the race and is pretty much on out doorstep it seemed rude not to 😉 The race starts on the outskirts of the Bertha Park housing development, follows some woodland trails around the back of Bertha Loch for the first 5k then a flat dash down the Almond cycle path, before turning back for a short kicker of a climb back up to Bertha Park and a finish on the green. Iain regularly runs this route while Angus is at football training so he knew what to expect – although it looked a bit different in daylight! The trail section is very narrow, with lots of overhanging trees, roots, rocks and streams/bogs, so with that in mind the only strategy was to head out hard to avoid having to pass anyone on the trails and then try to hang on to the end.

In the end that’s pretty much how it turned out. After a slightly chaotic start where the air horn failed to sound at the end of the countdown, Iain was ahead at the first turn and opened up nearly a minute’s lead in the first mile. The plan worked and he held the gap steady to second place and crossed the line first in a time of 43:50 🎉

Sadly no race photos – but a decent spread of cakes, cookies and watermelon at the finish. Definitely worth a look next year if you’re in the area.

So lots of smiles to be had in February after all, and great to see we are both in pretty good shape heading in to the spring. Hope you are having a good start to the year too!

January Hill Races

The plan was to take a little break over Christmas, have a couple of weeks to build back up my base mileage then run a couple of short, fast hill races in mid-January as a bit of a sighter as to where my fitness was before pushing on with a big training block ready for big races later in the year. That plan went out the window when I was floored by the winter lurgy over the New Year period and didn’t even manage my first run on the year until the 6th of Jan! So what were supposed to be two ‘effort’ races with decent fitness became a case of ‘push as hard as I can and hope for the best’… oh well 🤷‍♂️

First up was a new local race that was announced late on in 2022 – the Falkland Yomp. Hosted by Lomond Hill Runners, this is an 11km route in and around the Falkland Estate, an area we have often gone for walks in but never run in yet. Although the route doesn’t go all the way up to the top of East Lomond, it does pack in two mile-long climbs up to the top of Maspie Den via the Temple of Decision, then back up again to the Tyndall Bruce Monument, and a final kicker within the last mile called the “Wee Bastard” – a total of 1400 feet of climbing. The race is almost all on good forest tracks or fire roads, except for a couple of boggy sections.

From the start, it took about a couple of minutes to realise I didn’t have the fitness to stick near the front of the pack and I was passed by lots of people on the way up the hill. Didn’t seem to be too much wrong with my descending legs though and I took a couple of places back on the fast track down Maspie Den. The route passes the start and Julie was there to wave me on, and the cowbells that we bought last year but keep forgetting to bring to races finally got some use. Along the flattish “Beech Hedges” track my legs felt dead, and with still half of the race to go the climb up to the momument was a bit of a slog. Downhill was fun again, and the “Wee Bastard” wasn’t as bad as its reputation suggested – at least I was able to pass a few people here, and hold them off on the quarter-mile sprint down to the finish. Just missed out on finishing under an hour with a 1:01:20 time, and 31st place out of 117. Not bad all things considered! A really fun course, and I hope to come back again in future, especially as it’s only 20 mins from home.

This is my happy face 🤪 (Photo by Raymod Leinster)

Downhill finish, just about held off the guy behind me!

The following weekend, my legs had just about recovered and we headed down to Selkirk for Feel The Burns, the hill half-marathon that we both ran last year. My expectations were somewhat dampened by last weekend’s result, plus the fact that my cousin Dougie wasn’t there this year to chase! Julie was also running today, but as she was on day 15 of a January Accumulator challenge (more on that here), with a couple of extra miles to do before and after, and 16 miles planned the next day this was not the time for an all-out effort!

It was a bright, calm day, perfect weather conditions for running. There had been a lot of rain around so anything grassy was expected to be boggy, and there were reports of snow lying at the top of the Three Brethren. Over 260 runners gathered for the start in a very muddy field at the Corbie Linn but soon strung out on the way up to the top pond and then up the grassy and heathery slopes of Peat Law. This was a longer climb that anything the Falkland Yomp had to offer and by the time I reached the top I was a minute or more down on last year’s time, and lost another minute by the top of the Three Brethren.

The run along the Southern Upload way was snowy, but made for good running conditions and great views to distract from the hard work. At the turnaround point after Brown Knowe I had lost another couple of minutes and resolved just to push as hard as I could on the down and see how I got on. The three miles of descent to Broadmeadows is great fun – unfortunately mid-way down two of my lace loops on my right shoe snapped, fortunately the top one held so the shoe stayed on as it would not be a good place to try barefooting. The final big climb up and over Foulsheils hill was as grim as always, but at least from there on it’s pretty much downhill all the way to the finish. In the end I crossed the line in 2:04:45 and 81st place, about five minutes slower than last year. I’ll tell myself most of that was due to the muddy conditions, but I suspect it was more to do with my condition!

Julie finished half an hour later with a 2:39:15, and promptly kept running to finish off her 15 miles for the day! After a well deserved hot soup and haggis pie, we headed back to my parents’ for a Sunday roast dinner, what better way to end the day?

An easy-paced run for Julie but still plenty of energy left to sprint past two people at the finish 🤣