Miles Together

The Pilgrim’s Ultra – 18th September 2021

This run has been long in the planning after signing up for it in October 2020. At the time my longest run had been the EMF marathon in 2019, I then hadn’t run for a year afterwards and had got back into regular running February 2020. I think I very much wanted a challenge, something that I would have always believed wasn’t possible! I had been running consistently for the previous 6 months and wanted something in the diary that was really going to motivate me to keep progressing over the winter. I was looking for a race that didn’t have too much elevation and wasn’t too far from home, and Northumberland works well as it means we can drop the kids off with grandparents on the way. The Pilgrim’s Ultra sounded perfect with an interesting mix of coastal, river and hill running. Once the 100 miler was in the diary I was able to plan progressively longer races in preparation. I ran my first ultra with Iain on my birthday, 35 miles near to home (The last 7 miles were on my own and felt tough!). Iain and I then ran the Northumberland Ultra in May (which felt harder than expected after starting at an optimistically fast pace!). Over Easter I managed a 50 mile solo run from home unsupported and that was really hard (I felt like giving up from about 38 miles). Then in July I ran the St Cuthbert’s Way Ultra 100k and loved it! Iain and the kids were my crew for the day and although the last 20 miles were hard I can honestly say I enjoyed it all. I had the added bonus of finishing as first female. This race made me feel more confident heading towards the Pilgrims Ultra as I had enjoyed it so much but I was also scared how I would manage another 35 miles! I had hoped to get some back to back long training runs in August but the reality was that with the school holidays I was struggling to get many runs in at all. We managed a family long distance walking holiday (100 miles on the Kintyre Way) which was really good preparation but the long runs just didn’t happen. Once the kids were back at school I did manage to get back up to 50 mile weeks for a few weeks before tapering and before I knew it it was the week before the race!

Pre Race

Final information for the race (including start times and check points) was very late coming out, to the point I was convinced it was going to be cancelled. When the information was added to the website it was pretty comprehensive and of course in future years you will be able to look back on previous years race info. The start time was 8 am, which was later than I would have liked, but registration was also in the morning which meant no rushing on the Friday. The mandatory kit list isn’t massive, the only thing I would suggest adding is that a GPX file of the route on a phone, watch or handheld GPS device is essential!

All the plans had been made, the kids were going to the grandparents and Iain (and Spud the puppy) were going to be my support crew. I planned all my food and hydration based on Iain being at each check point. Then disaster struck and one of the children had a positive COVID test. Thankfully everyone else tested negative (and we had the space they could isolate completely separately) but they didn’t finish their isolation period until the end of the Saturday (race day). This meant Iain would no longer be able to drive and be my support crew. It was also an anxious week of repeated lateral flow tests (all thankfully negative) and a complete rethink of food, hydration, travel, drop bags… Not how I had envisaged preparing for my first 100 miler!

I spent a lot of time looking at the St Oswald’s Way map, the GPX of the route on Strava, and Google Maps/Street View. I was nervous about the navigation, especially at night as I had done very little night running in preparation. The St Oswald’s Way is not as well signposted as the St Cuthbert’s Way so I knew navigation would be trickier. I planned to have the route on Strava on my phone during the race but didn’t want to be completely reliant on it! Also because this race hadn’t run before there were no race reviews online and very few reports from people that had walked the St Oswald’s Way. I did know some of the route as the first 9 or 10 miles are the reverse of the last 10 miles of the St Cuthbert’s Way and I had run a reasonable amount of the coastal path at the Northumberland Ultra in May (although that had dropped onto the beaches a lot more)! The big unknown was the section from Rothbury to Hadrian’s Wall (and that was going to be overnight)!

For hydration I was using KMC IsoMix added to my soft flasks. Because Iain would no longer be at checkpoints I had to carry small measured out tubs of the powder to add to the flasks when I topped them up at water stations. I also carried KMC NRG gels in raspberry and mint, and mint caffeine. I had 5 in my running vest that I replenished at the aid stations with drop bags (Craster and Rothbury). For food I carried salted peanuts, raisin and cranberry dried fruit and jelly sweets the whole way. My aim was to walk 1 minute every mile and while walking make sure I drank and had a mouthful of food. After aid stations I would eat something slightly more substantial – pepperami, oat bars etc. At the aid stations with drop bags I had slightly more food options and made sure I had a pot of rice pudding at both from my drop bag. I also had a banana when they were available at aid stations. The aid stations mainly offered sweets, oat bars, Jaffa cakes, crisps etc. They also all had coke as well as water. The aid stations from Warkworth onwards offered hot drinks (yay, tea ☕️) and soup at Rothbury and Kirkwhelpington.

I was able to sort trains to get to Berwick-Upon-Tweed on the Friday, Iain and I already had a wigwam booked at Pot-a-doodle Do which I was able to use (a short bus ride and walk from the station) on the Friday night. In the morning I booked a taxi to the registration and start on Holy Island. I couldn’t quite believe I had made it to the start! And although stressful the travelling and packing had all gone to plan. My drop bag was ready, although massive – as well as food I had packed several changes of socks, change of t-shirt, extra layer, change of shoes and spare head torch and power bank to pick up in Rothbury.

Registration was at a coffee shop garden on Holy Island and was open from 6am on the Saturday morning. I got there at about half past and think I was the first there! The rain had thankfully stopped and there were covered benches dotted around to wait at. Registration was well organised and I soon had my number, map, tracker attached to race bag and tag for drop bag. The drop bag was dumped in the van and I was able to sit and take a moment as others began to arrive. I was very nervous and feeling quite out of my depth! I was also already exhausted after only getting an hour or two sleep because of nerves! It was lovely when some people I had met on St Cuthbert’s Way Ultra turned up and I was able to get a chat and all the volunteers at registration were very helpful. Coffee was available from 7 but I didn’t feel like anything. There was one toilet at the coffee shop but portaloos were available in the coach park around the corner or public toilets just down another street in the village. I got quite cold while waiting around even with a coat and buff on so was disappointed when registration over ran slightly and the start was pushed back to 8.15 (we had been warned this might happen because of the tight times).

The Start – CP1 (Belford)

Finally it was time to walk down to the beach for the start. I packed my raincoat and headed down for the brief race briefing before we were off! My plan had been to try and average 12 min/mile to Rothbury and then 30 min/mile up over the hill before getting back to 15 min/mile for the rest of the race. However I was going to allow myself to run at a faster pace off Holy Island and across the causeway before settling down to an easier pace. Most people were running either the 50k or 100k route so would be going at a faster pace and I needed to let them go! The causeway was a lot more enjoyable than when I first ran it at the end of the St Cuthbert’s Way! I was soon over the causeway and heading up through the fields to Fenwick. I was pleased to get the first railway crossing done as they always make me nervous! I was trying to get in the habit of walking 1 minute every mile as I had planned but it was difficult to be that disciplined! I had run the first 4 miles at 10 min/mile and now with the gentle climb dropped to 11 min/miles. In the back of my mind was the nagging question – was I going out too fast? I decided to go with it as I felt good and was enjoying the running. The A1 was clear when I got there and I was able to run straight across, through Fenwick and up into the woods. This was nice running and well sign posted. You reach the high point just after 9 miles and then its mainly down hill to the coast. It was nice running mainly through fields until Belford at 12 miles. There was a water station at the far side of Belford by the golf club. I didn’t need to top up my flasks as it wasn’t too far until the next aid station at Bamburgh but I was able to grab a banana!

CP1 (Belford) – CP2 (Bamburgh)

From Belford you head along the edge of a few fields before another crossing of the A1 (again I didn’t have to wait long) and another railway crossing! I was glad to have them done and now on to Bamburgh. The route is on a mix of fields, small roads/tracks and woodland path. At mile 16 there is a short steep uphill through some woods where I took the opportunity to give Iain a quick call to see how everyone was and how he was getting on. I was feeling a little sad I wouldn’t get to see him at checkpoints along the way. As you get closer to Bamburgh you head along the edge of the first of many caravan parks and a little further on get to go across the first of many golf courses. The signposts so far for the St Oswald’s Way had been good. In Bamburgh the aid station was at the cricket Pavilion, there were toilets and I was able to refill my flasks, grab a coke and a packet of prawn cocktail crisps and head on my way. Around Bamburgh and on the coastal path it was busy in places but people were lovely and many would give a clap and well done as you headed past. 20 miles done 80 to go! There was some rain during the morning but it was very refreshing and not cold so I didn’t need to stop and put a jacket on.

This is apparently a self catering place called ‘The Ducket”

CP2 (Bamburgh) – CP3 (Craster)

The next 4 or 5 miles to Seahouses is a little inland, crossing fields and on small roads, it was nice to get some chat with other runners as we headed along this section. I got a boost as I headed into Seahouses as Iain and I had stayed at a pub here and we ran through here when running the Northumberland Ultra, it was also nice to now be on the coast! Once out of Seahouses the next couple of miles to Beadnell was easy running but not very exciting as you follow the coast road. Once in Beadnell you head down the harbour road and through a caravan park to get onto coastal path. There was handy public toilet in the carpark (as there aren’t many secluded spots for an outdoor wee in this section!).

The next section to Craster is beautiful coastal paths and the navigation was straightforward. Annoyingly I managed to take a tumble when running along the edge of the golf course just before Dunstanburgh Castle, I seemed to trip over a pebble! Luckily no damage was done other than to open up the scar on my knee from a previous fall (it looked more impressive than it was!). I jumped back up and headed on thankful no serious damage had been done. It was also a bit of a wake up call that I needed to be careful especially as I got more tired. I was already feeling tired by mid afternoon which I was quite worried about and was still questioning whether I had gone out too fast! Dunstanburgh Castle is beautiful but I was now focussed on getting to the aid station at Craster, changing my socks and getting some food. I was using a power bank to keep my phone and watch charged and was able to plug them in as I ran. I use a Garmin Forerunner 35 which only has 8 hours battery when recording a run. The phone was also using more battery running the GPX in Strava but I found it reassuring being able to check I was on route if unsure.

The last little section into Craster seemed long! But I was soon at the Jolly Fisherman Pub where the aid station was located. The volunteers here were amazing and soon had me sorted out with my drop bag and checking my knee was ok (I did get a plaster but it didn’t stay on for long 🤣). I wanted quite a quick stop so soon had socks changed, water flasks refilled and food restocked. I also had a pot of rice pudding which was amazing. It was a lovely atmosphere as it was also the finish of the 50k race, so plenty of people were around. But I was determined to have a quick stop so soon handed my drop bag back in and headed on my way. Annoyingly I forgot to restock my KMC IsoMix for the next 2 aid stations but I wasn’t going back so would have to do until Rothbury when I got my drop bag again. I had 1.5L of mix in my flasks and the KMC NRG gels also have electrolytes in them so it wasn’t a disaster!

CP3 (Craster) – CP4 (Warkworth)

The afternoon was surprisingly warm and I was looking forward to the evening when it cooled down! The next section of the run was beautiful on good coastal paths but it did feel hard work in the heat! After about 4 miles you run through a little village called Boulmer where there are some more conveniently placed public toilets! A little more running through the edge of a caravan park and you reach the only bit of beach running of the day. Some of the sign posts were becoming less obvious (or I was more tired) so I was being careful to check the phone more frequently to make sure I was on route. This paid off as I would definitely have had some errors otherwise! I was running a similar pace to another 100 mile runner, Paul, and we spent this section having short chats and over taking each other! I think my navigation was better and he was faster 🤣 I had the advantage of the route on my phone while he was relying on the OS maps provided at registration. The beach was a surprisingly nice change to run on (and was only short) but even though I was looking for it I missed the turning off the beach, Paul the other runner had also missed it so I called him back and found the right path off the beach. I then stopped and carefully removed as much sand as I could from my shoes, socks and feet.

A short run along the edge of a golf course and then you reach Alnmouth, run around the coastal edge of Alnmouth, along a short path and over the bridge over the estuary. After a short section of road the path follows two sides of a field before running parallel to the road for just under a mile, a left hand turn down a well signposted path and I was back on the coast. Through another caravan park and then I somehow missed the path and headed on up the main track. I soon realised my error and retraced my steps back to the correct path. Paul had caught me up again and was appreciating that I had the route on my phone! A couple more miles and we were in Warkworth and at the next aid station. The bridge into Warkworth is lovely and I was glad I had checked out the sharp right after it on Street View or I think I would have missed it!

Another indoor aid station, with a lovely lady waiting for us, and a cup of tea. The cup of tea was so appreciated. There wasn’t anything I fancied to eat so a quick loo stop and I was on my way with cup of tea in hand! ☕️ I walked up the road to the castle while sipping tea and tried to take a half decent photo while balancing too many things! I was happy to have kept up a good pace and knew from Iain that I was first female in the 100 mile race with a little lead. It had cooled down and I was looking forward to the hour before it got dark.

CP4 (Warkworth) – CP5 (Rothbury)

I don’t really remember much of this next section into Felton. After Warkworth the route heads out on a small road that turns into a farm track and then is a mix of field and farm tracks until just before Felton when you meet the River Coquet. The path then follows the river into Felton where you cross another nice little bridge, follow the road slightly up hill, taking a left hand turn and then head off across a field roughly following the river. Under a road bridge and it was now definitely dark and the head torch was on! This next section was somehow far harder than I thought it should be! The path was harder to follow, the ground was very uneven and wet! Somewhere along the way my right knee began to hurt which was concerning with so far still to go. Paul had caught me up again and decided to run with me as it was so hard to navigate with just the OS maps, especially now it was dark. There had been mention of a diversion because of a landslide at one point along this section but we didn’t find it and carried on on the main path. The navigation did get slightly easier in the mile or so before the water station at Weldon Bridge, heading through some wooded areas on a clear path. Iain was doing an amazing job of crewing from a distance – encouraging and keeping me updated!

The route after Weldon Bridge was still tricky and I kept making small mistakes and having to correct them. I was very envious of anyone with the route on their watch at this point as it would have made things so much easier! Just before Rothbury I hit a point where I was at a complete loss, and Paul didn’t know. We weren’t far from Rothbury and should have been hitting an old railway path but having just crossed a field with no path there was no obvious old railway and the only obvious path was a steep down hill through bracken. I was 90% certain this was not the path but couldn’t work out how to get where we needed to be. In the end I phoned Iain who despite having just gone to bed tried to help using the online tracker and map. After a few minutes I managed to work out we had ended up too far into the corner of the field and once I walked back along the edge of the field I found the correct route over onto the railway path. I was very grateful I was able to phone Iain and get his help/reassurance! The rest of the way into Rothbury was easier navigation but I was having to run/walk because of my sore knee. I was very pleased to cross the bridge and head up to the Jubilee Institute in Rothbury and the next check point. I had found the previoous section tricky and was ready for a break before heading out again! My knee was sore and I was unsure if carrying on was a good idea. In the end I decided to tape it and see how I got on over to Kirkwhelpington. I had still been able to run on it and could walk at a fast pace without it being too sore. I knew the next section was a steep uphill so I would be able to give it a bit of a rest from running!

The check point at Rothbury is the second point you can access your drop bag, which was much needed! It was also the finish to the 100k race so there were a few people around. All the volunteers were brilliant and made sure I had everything I needed (a nice cup of tea and a banana). There was also soup available but I didn’t fancy any. The first thing was to change socks as my feet were soaked and feeling quite tender. I did have another pair of shoes with me and was unsure if to swap as I was wearing my preferred pair already. In the end I stayed in the wet Inov8 TerraUltras for the rest of the way as I was confident in their grips and they are nice and roomy on me. I also suspected that I would soon get wet feet again anyway (which was true!). I had to swap from the small to large power bank which was frustrating but I just wasn’t confident the small one had enough juice left in it for the rest of the way as I would need to charge a phone, watch and possibly head torch! I also picked up a spare headtorch and remembered my KMC IsoMix powder this time. I ate another pot of rice pudding and restocked gels, food etc. I already had my raincoat on as it had been a bit damp so I decided to run in that overnight rather then my fleece top that I had planned to put on. I also taped up the knee with KT tape and hoped for the best. 2 other 100 milers had come in just after Paul and I and we all left at roughly the same time. They had paired up already and so I hoped we would be able to stick with them at least while it was dark as I was very nervous about navigating on my own.

Annoyingly I had managed to stop my watch while at Rothbury (no idea how), so would be relying on the phone to record the full run on Strava.

CP5 (Rothbury) – CP6 (Kirkwhelpington)

This is the longest, hardest and darkest section between check points! When planning timings I had left 5 hours for this section and Iain had laughed and said it wouldn’t take that long – It ended being 5 hours and 15 min from when I arrived at Rothbury to when I arrived at Kirkwhelpington! It’s a steep start from Rothbury and I headed off with Paul just ahead of the other 2 runners who had stopped briefly with their crew. The path heads up Simonside and is a good relatively easy path to follow. The 2 other runners (another Paul and Steve) soon caught us up and I asked if we could walk with them while everyone was walking and they said that was fine while we were walking at the same pace. They went ahead and I must admit I left them to do a lot of the navigating at this point as Paul had a handheld GPS and Steve had the GPX on his watch. It was during this section of the race I realised how useful these are as unlike me they didn’t have to keep stopping to check the route! After the first couple of miles the path became harder to follow and there were points in the section of cleared forest where we spent what felt like ages trying to find the path. The path in the forest was hard to walk fast on as it was wet, uneven and at times unclear. We actually managed to keep a good walking pace but we all had a grumble at different times over the next few hours. At times we chatted and at times we lapsed into silence, heads down and keeping going! My knee was sore but didn’t seem to be slowing me down at a walk. I had to remind myself to keep eating and drinking as it wasn’t instinctive at night.

Annoyingly in the middle of a thick forested section my head torch died and plunged me into complete darkness. Iain had told me if I used it on full beam it would need to be charged after about 6 hours but even so at that moment I was not impressed. With the difficult terrain full beam was the only option. Steve helped me get out my power bank and plug in the head torch and get out my spare (which was feebly inadequate). I ended up using the head torch as a handheld torch for the rest of the night plugged in to the power bank which was not ideal. I will definitely be getting a better head torch before my next overnight run!

After several miles you finally leave the forest behind which is a huge relief! I think we all had varying degrees of sore feet and I had my sore knee. This whole section felt very surreal and I found the picture of the 4 of us rushing along through the woods quite comical! It is not an easy route to follow! When we finally got to a road near the edge of the forest Paul’s crew met him and kindly offered us all food and drink. I stuck with what I had but waited while the others got sorted. Unfortunately while stopped my knee seized up and when we got going again was incredibly sore. It did ease up as we got going but I was quite concerned I would need to retire at Kirkwhelpington.

The rest of the way to Kirkwhelpington is mainly fields that had their own challenges! There were very few paths in the fields and the grass was long and wet, we met a variety of farm animals which is quite eerie when you just see eyes gleaming in the torch light. The lack of paths meant even the navigation here wasn’t easy as you searched for a gate or stile by head torch. We finally made it to Kirkwhelpington, we were all exhausted and had various aches and pains. I had had to take some pain killers for the knee and was still unsure if I would be able to keep going but I really didn’t want to DNF with only 20 miles to go and in first place female. I decided as long as I could walk on the knee I would head out and see how it went!

As at every check point the volunteers were brilliant at looking after us. There was soup for those that wanted and lots of biscuits, sweets, crisps etc. I had 2 cups of tea that made me feel a lot better. I also had a trail bar and topped up my flasks. We probably stopped longer than we needed but finally all headed back out the door ready for the final 20 miles. There was one more unmanned water station in about 10 miles.

CP6 (Kirkwhelpington) – CP7 (Great Whittington)

We headed off from Kirkwhelpington along a road. It was nice to have an even surface to walk on for a while! I assured everyone that if they wanted to head on at a faster pace or run/walk I was quite happy to get myself to the end as I definitely couldn’t go any faster with my sore knee. But everyone decided they were happy to fast walk the rest of the way and that we should all finish together. This section is a mix of country road, farm tracks and fields and would definitely have sections that are runnable if you had anything left to give. It was great as the sky started to lighten into morning, but I was still worried that I wouldn’t be able to finish because my knee at times was very sore. It’s actually quite a short section from Kirkwhelpington to Great Whittington but it felt like it took forever! As well as my sore knee my feet were now feeling pretty wrecked from being constantly soaked and I was exhausted. Luckily my digestive system was still working well and I was still able to eat and drink 😃. The water station at Great Whittington was exactly that – an unmanned water butt on a table. I had enough in my flasks to get to the end but we all stopped briefly as Paul’s crew were here as well.

CP7 (Great Whittington) – Finish (Chollerford)

I seized up again and was annoyed with myself for stopping. The first 5 minutes walking were incredibly painful on a very sore knee and I seriously thought I was going to have to stop with only 9 miles to go. Everyone encouraged me to keep going (as they pointed out I may end up waiting longer to get picked up than it would take me to get to the finish 🤣) and the pain eased to a manageable level and I could still fully weight-bear on the leg. At some point it started to rain and continued for the rest of the race. Thankfully 2 miles saw us to Hadrian’s Wall path which felt like a real boost and like we were nearly there (even though there were still 6.5 miles to go). The navigation was no longer a problem but the stiles were! There were far too many stiles in the last 6.5 miles and it really was a case of dig deep and keep going. Fruit jellies were my friends during these last miles!

Since morning Iain had been sending me encouraging messages which really helped. He was getting short responses (if any) as the rain and the need to keep moving meant it was hard to write anymore. The rain also meant that I don’t have any photos from this section. I did know from him that as a group we were 3rd overall and I was 1st female with a good lead on second place! At least I didn’t need to be looking over my shoulder, but to be honest I don’t think I had anything else to give even if second place had been just behind! Even as we entered Chollerford and headed towards the bridge and the George Hotel where the finish was I still couldn’t do anything but hobble, no sprint finishes from me!

I finished in joint 3rd with Steve, Paul and Paul and 1st female in a time of 26hr 02mins. I was cold and exhausted, my feet were sore, my ankles were sore and my knee was very sore. But I had done it, I had run/walked 100 miles and it felt amazing! 🥳 I got a lovely medal and group photo and then we headed inside to the function room where I could finally get a seat! Drew (the organiser) and all the volunteers were again brilliant sorting me with tea, soup and even a bacon sandwich (on gluten free bread). My feet were very happy to get out of wet shoes and socks and it was nice to be able to sit and know I didn’t have to get up again for a while! I was presented with a lovely wooden trophy for being first female finisher and a very nice race t-shirt.

Post Race

I was able to get a lift from Paul to the station where I had an hour and a half wait for the train so set my alarm and then sat on a bench in the sun outside the station and slept! My first train was to Carlisle where Iain’s aunt, uncle and family were waiting to congratulate me. This was really lovely and a cup of tea and some goodies was very much appreciated! A quick catch up and then on the next train to Edinburgh. In Edinburgh my train to Perth was delayed nearly 30minutes which felt like a long time. And then at last I was home. It was lovely to see everyone, we stopped off for a chippy tea but then I could only eat about half of the munchy box that I had been so looking forward to! I managed to stay awake until about half 8 when I gave up and went to bed 😴

It was wonderful to be able to use the race to raise money for Kinfauns Riding for the Disabled where I volunteer. I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has donated, it is really appreciated and really helped me to keep going during the race. Thank You!

I am really pleased that I was able to keep going and finish the race and that I can now say I have run a 100 mile race (and yes I am already planning for next year)! It was harder than I expected, especially the terrain and navigation from Rothbury. But it was mainly fun, it’s great to meet and chat with other runners and the wonderful organisers and volunteers who make these achievements possible. I am really pleased with how I managed hydration and nutrition and I am sure part of this was due to the fantastic products (gels and IsoMix) from The Kendal Mint company, their caffeine gels were amazing for waking me up for a while (a separate review will be coming soon). I think I had done the bare minimum training and so my aim is to train well over the winter in preparation for next year’s races, to increase my strength and hopefully reduce my risk of injury. Staying awake all night didn’t cause me too many problems but I was running with others – I wonder if this would have been harder if I had been on my own?

Thanks to Cold Brew Events for a great race – varied, interesting and certainly a massive challenge!

Photos are my own or from Pilgrim’s Ultra Facebook page.

Leeds & Liverpool Canal Race 2021

Like the race, this blog is rather long and took me quite a while with several breaks to complete. I’ve described all the main features of the route (that I can remember) so it might be of interest to folks considering trying the race in the future, or at least give an insight into what it felt like for me at each stage of the race. I hope you’ll agree it was worth it!

Now I’ve caught up on a bit of sleep, worked on reducing my calorie deficit, and my legs are starting to regain a bit of mobility again. Already the memories of the weekend are starting to fade, so while it’s still reasonably fresh in my mind, read on to join me on an epic 130 mile trans-pennine journey from Liverpool to Leeds!

Pre-race

For those who haven’t heard of the LLCR130, it’s the shortest of three Canal Race ultras (the Grand Union Canal Race GUCR and Kennet & Avon Canal Race KACR are 145 miles each!) which make up the “Canalslam” series. Organised by Keith Godden and Dick Kearn of Canalrace C.I.C. and put on by an army of willing volunteers, all three races have a deserved reputation as no-frills, inclusive, cheap and friendly. Unlike some other ultras, no prior experience is necessary – although completion of a Marathon is recommended. GUCR is now so popular that entry is via a lottery, while entry can be obtained directly for the other two events if you’re reasonably quick after entries open! Another unique feature of the canalraces is that it’s possible to enter as an “unsupported” competitor i.e. without your own crew, and the wonderful race team arrange for your drop bag to be ferried ahead to each checkpoint in turn, as well as providing hot food cooked (microwaved, at least) to order at several. I took this option, and can’t thank enough the behind-the-scenes logistics people that had my bag ready and waiting for me when I arrived 🙏

I first attempted LLCR in 2019. At the time we were living in Runcorn so the start was fairly close to home. Various things went wrong during the race that conspired to end with a DNF after 100 miles, but I always planned to come back for another crack at it. 2020 being what it was, the first chance was going to be 2021. I had done a couple of 30-40 mile ultras earlier in the year, and had been able to train consistently since recovering from breaking a toe in March so was feeling in pretty good shape. My plan was to set out slower, with the expectation that the wheels would stay on this time and by CP4 or 5 I should have caught up and passed my previous self. With that in mind I made two schedules – firstly a target of 27 hours (12:30 mins/mile), which seemed achievable if everything went to plan, and secondly a fallback ‘catch the train’ target of 30-and-a-half hours (14 mins/mile), which was the latest I could make it back to Perth on the train on Sunday, although I was also prepared to walk it in to make the final cutoff of 40 hours if needed – I just wanted to finish this time!

On Friday 27th Julie dropped me off at the station in Perth and I made the journey via Edinburgh and Wigan to Liverpool Lime Street. The journey ended up being delayed due to late running on the West Coast Main Line and a resulting missed connection but I arrived in Liverpool around 5.30pm (with the bonus that I would get the whole ticket price refunded!). I checked in to the budget International Inn hostel, then headed over to the start location at Old Hall Street to register for the race. It was a mile or so from the hostel to the start but as I’d actually managed a decent taper and three full days of rest, I was happy to stretch my legs after a day sitting on trains. I opted to put down a £5 deposit for a “British Waterways” key – I didn’t need to use it in 2019, but it would come in handy this time, as it turned out. I stopped off for a pre-race Pizza Hut on the way back to top up the carb stores and hit the sack at around 8.30pm.

Starting my LLCR journey at Perth train station

I had actually managed quite a decent amount of sleep before my alarm went at 4am! A quick shower, on with my running kit and a slightly random breakfast: PBJ sandwich, sausage roll, oat bar, banana and apple, washed down with 2 cups of tea! The walk to the start line was a bit surreal as most of the bars and clubs were just kicking out, mostly in the direction of McDonald’s at Liverpool Central station, judging by the tonnes of waste deposited all over the place 😲 I made it to the start line just after 5.30am, handed by drop bag into the waiting van, and had time for another cup of tea before Dick’s refreshingly minimal race briefing (something like: don’t get lost, don’t fall in the canal, and have fun). The 70 starters lined up at the arch on Old Hall St which marks the original terminus of the Canal at Clarke’s Basin, and on the stroke of 6am we set off!

Start: Old Hall St – CP1: Bell’s Swing Bridge (14.5 miles)

It actually takes most of the first mile to reach the present end of the canal. 70 runners on a mass jay-walk across the dual carriageway at Leeds Street must have surprised the few drivers to be out that early in the morning! This little ‘intro’ served to give the runners time to string out before hitting the towpath, but has the downside that your GPS distance never quite matches up with the mile markers on the canal for the rest of the race 🤷‍♂️

One of the mistakes of 2019 I was sure I was going to avoid was setting out too fast, so once on the canal I quickly settled in to a steady pace of just under 10 mins per mile. The miles flew by through a mixture of rough industrial and pretty parklands of Bootle and Aintree as the sun rose in the sky, before popping out into the countryside at the town of Maghull. I even saw a yellow Merseyrail train passing on a nearby line – as anyone who knows me will realise, trains are an auspicious omen for a run! Before long I reached the first CP at Bell’s Swing Bridge, at about 2 hours and 25 minutes, a few minutes earlier than planned but importantly a full 15 minutes slower than 2019.

Although my legs were feeling good, my stomach had been a bit ‘churny’ since the start. My usual staples of dried fruit and honey-roasted nuts weren’t sitting well for some reason, but I’d had a few gels. After topping up my water (plus a few SIS Hydro electrolyte tablets), disposing of gel wrappers and picking up a few more from my drop bag I was ready to go with a minimum of faffing. Thanks to the CP volunteers who always kept an eye out and had my bag ready, this routine was quick and efficient and I only spent a few minutes at most of the CPs. I downed a can of ginger beer in an attempt to settle the stomach and grabbed a packet of pancakes to munch as I left. As the sun was now fully up and it was already warming up, I decided to swap my buff for a sun hat – a good decision as it was only going to get hotter!

CP1 – CP2: Ring O’ Bells (11.2 miles)

The next section to the Ring O’ Bells pub near Burscough Bridge is almost all rural with nice views over the surrounding fields. The towpath is grassy in places, but is still good for running and as it is the shortest section of the route at a little over 11 miles, the distance flew by in around two hours at the same steady pace. Before long the steep stone bridge over the Rufford branch of the canal to the North appeared and half a mile further on the checkpoint came into view. A quick restock, grabbed a few chunks of watermelon (my favourite race food!) and Haribos from the extensive CP2 buffet and I was off on my way again, still a few minutes ahead of my planned pace and feeling good. I was running in 16th place at this point although I had no idea at the time – I did get some updates from Julie who was watching the race progress from the LLCR Facebook group, but these were usually some hours after the fact. Probably a blessing in disguise as at this stage I was happy running my own race, managing my pace and not worrying about what anyone else was doing anyway!

CP2 – CP3: Red Rock Bridge (14.5 miles)

This section of the route is quite varied, with lots to see and distract me from having run a Marathon and trying not to think about the fact there are nearly four more to go. Shortly after leaving the CP you pass the 100 miles to Leeds marker – only double digits left to count down! For the first time the route crosses to the right hand side of the canal, and there are a few locks to ascend, which gave a nice excuse for short walk breaks. Underfoot is a mixture of gravel paths, some woodland (mostly dry) paths with a few roots and then a long paved section as you pass the DW stadium on the run in to Wigan. I remembered this section from 2019 as being blazingly hot and having very little shade. Fortunately the temperature never got much above 20C, significantly cooler this time, although I was still glad of the sun hat. I started to pass quite a few runners on this section, many of whom were walking presumably after having started out too fast, so my pacing plan was still working well and I was able to stick to it.

The ‘main event’ of this section is the ascent of 21 locks through Wigan. There are lots of interesting historic industrial buildings, some cobbled sections and again more good reasons to take a walk break on the uphills! The locks are actually spread out over about 2 miles, so there were a lot more flat and runnable sections between than I remembered. After a quick drink from the convenient tap at the top lock, and soaking my buff which I’d kept wrapped around my wrist, I made good speed again on the last few miles into the CP. This was particularly encouraging as this was where I first started to really struggle with the heat and pace during the 2019 edition.

The only thing that was not quite going to plan at this point was food intake, so I was looking forward to CP3 as the first location to obtain hot food, and it was lunchtime after all! After a short stop, I headed off with a cup of oxtail soup and a hot dog, still on schedule and now up to 8th place.

CP3 – CP4: The Navigation Pub (14.9 miles)

I didn’t remember too much about the next section from 2019 as I think I had been in the early stages of heat-stroke – the only memorable point being the miraculous appearance of the Top Lock pub a few miles past Chorley where I had been able to obtain some ice! This year it was quite an enjoyable section of good towpath and easy running. A little bit of walking in the middle as I climbed the flight of locks, and instead of stopping in the pub made use of the water tap and the Canal & River Trust ‘facilities’ opposite. Not much further on, I passed the 50 mile marker and still felt like I was making good progress. It was definitely warm, but not too hot, and there were plenty of trees providing shade over the towpath.

Before long I was arriving at the next CP beside The Navigation pub. Since I was still feeling a bit sicky, I thought I’d opt for liquid calories and had some coke at the checkpoint before heading off with a random selection of cocktail sausages, watermelon slices (the CP crew recorded my passing with “Watermelon slices are my friends”) and some gingerbread men! Still in 8th place but having made up 10 minutes on the runner in front, things were about to take an ‘interesting’ turn…

CP4 – CP5: Business First (15.5 miles)

I made it under the bridge and out of sight of the CP (luckily for them) before chundering the entire cup of coke and the rest of my stomach’s contents into the verge. Amazingly, within a few minutes I was feeling fine – better than I’d felt all day in fact, and the food I’d picked up at the CP went down a treat! Unfortunately this was to be short-lived and within a mile or so I bonked as I’d just lost all of the morning calories from my digestive system and had to resort to run-walking. The next ten miles out of Blackburn were definitely my lowest point of the race. Even reaching the half-way marker didn’t help, as it just made it easy to work out how long it would take to finish at the pace I was going!

There is a saying “when going through Hell, keep going” and at least I did keep moving and continued to stuff in as much food as I could tolerate. With about five miles to go to Burnley and the next checkpoint the canal passed through a lovely rural section. As the sun started to sink, the temperature dropped and calories started to flow again combining to produce a proper runner’s high. I ran the rest of the distance to the checkpoint non-stop, including one mile in under 10 minutes as I caught and passed a few more runners 😁

I arrived at the checkpoint in good spirits again, but conscious of the need to keep eating (reminding myself: “low mood, have some food!”) so when the CP crew offered hot food I decided to go for some chicken hot pot. The chicken and sauce were a bit too rich for my delicate digestive system to manage, but the potatoes on the top were great, and it was good to get some solid, warm carbs down, not to mention a hot cup of coffee (black, 2 sugars was my staple order for the next few CPs), and I set off again munching an apple, ready to face the night ahead.

CP5 – CP6: Salterforth (13.2 miles)

Now feeling positive again, I was looking forward to the next section which has lots of interesting features, as well as the relief of running in the night after a long, hot day. After assuring an incredulous local that I had in fact started in Liverpool (yes, today!), and was headed non-stop to Leeds overnight it was less than a mile until the detour around the Gannow Tunnel. By the time I rejoined the canal it was properly getting dark and time to turn on my head torch. Shortly after that comes the famous Burnley Embankment, although I couldn’t see much of the view as it was too dark!

At this point I settled into a routine where I would eat a little food (nuts, fruit or a gel), have a drink and carry out any ‘admin’ such as checking the map, charging my watch, or checking my phone while walking, then run the remainder of the current mile and all of the next. This helped to keep me motivated, moving well and after just a few of these two-mile blocks I was at the last series of ‘up’ locks which take the canal to its highest point at Foulridge. The sky was mostly clear and I could see plenty of stars and the cool, calm conditions brought on a wonderful feeling of being literally on top of the world! As I approached the Foulridge Tunnel, patches of mist started to drift in, the first of what turned into some quite dense fog later in the night.

Unlike 2019, I navigated the paths over the tunnel without mishap and popped back out onto the canal in Foulridge – over the top and headed downhill to Leeds! It’s less than a couple of miles of good, wide towpath to go till the next checkpoint and I soon arrived and got acquainted with the excellent CP volunteers. It seems unfair to single out one particular CP as they were all incredibly helpful but I promised the CP6 volunteers a 5 star review on Tripadvisor as they had ready-cubed watermelon served in a Tupperware – what luxury! I thoroughly recommend visiting if you’re in the area 🤣

I picked up my gloves from my drop bag as it was starting to get a bit cold, before heading off on my way, in a good mood (“I’m Happy Days”, apparently). Having arrived in 4th place I left in 3rd as Mark Denby was stopped at the CP after retiring from the lead with an Achilles issue.

CP6 – CP7: Bradley Swing Bridge (16.5 miles)

The next section I regard as the real crux of the course. Not only is it the longest distance between CPs and (depending on pace, I suppose) done in the darkest, coldest part of the night, it has a lot of narrow, rooty and grassy towpath, which is wet with dew and often covered in slugs, snails and frogs – it can be hard going! This section is also notorious for being foggy and it certainly lived up to its reputation this year. I don’t think I saw much further than 50 metres ahead of me at any point.

Perhaps spurred on by knowing I was in a ‘podium’ place and not knowing how far behind 4th place might be, I was able to keep up a good pace with the same combination of run/walking that I had developed earlier in the night. There are a couple of flights of locks and a few canal cross-overs to keep things interesting and it was nice to do the full towpath past Gargrave (which had been avoided via a diversion in 2019). The section between Gargrave and Skipton is just monotonous, however, and the neat, flat, white gravel towpath seemed never ending. Eventually I reached Skipton, which actually passed rather quickly (perhaps my memory was skewed by the 30min/mi death shuffle I was in by this point in 2019) and shortly after I reached the 100 mile marker at about 2.30am, knocking about 3 and a half hours off my previous 100 mile time!

A mile beyond and I reached Bradley Swing Bridge, the terminus of my 2019 LLCR attempt… everything from here on was going to be new! Arriving at the checkpoint I was “super chirpy” according to the crew and also surprised to see Steve Hobbs who had been 2 hours ahead of me at the CP6. Turned out he’d fallen asleep on the trail and also had another nap here before I’d arrived. I had another coffee and we were just both about to set off when out of nowhere I was chunder-struck again and disappeared behind the CP tent to empty my stomach for the second time in the race ☹️

Once again, I felt fine straight afterwards so grabbed as much bland food as I could carry – brioche and pancakes – plus some Haribo and set off into the enveloping mist in pursuit of Steve!

CP7 – CP8: Railway Bridge (13.9 miles)

After a mile or so I caught up with him, much to his surprise as he thought I had snuck off ahead, when it fact I had been busy throwing up. After a brief walk together we broke off into our own respective run/walk routines. I put together a few solid miles of running with the aim of dropping him and soon I was alone in second place, although nervously checking behind for a head torch in the fog every time I slowed.

I can’t say I remember much of this section… having failed to keep down my latest caffeine dose I was starting to get seriously sleepy. While I ran the effort was keeping me awake but when I walked I was veering around all over the towpath and had to make sure to keep well away from the canal’s edge 😬 I also started seeing things: mainly shapes of faces and animals in the gravel and rocks of the path, but also every shadow on the canal looked like a bridge, some of them quite elaborate!

Fortunately I made it unscathed through to dawn, and as I descended the Bingley five-lock flight I was able take off my head torch and gloves and pack away my reflective jacket. Getting quite a boost from the daylight, and determined to stay in 2nd place I ran the rest of the way through Saltaire and Shipley to the final checkpoint.

I think the crew here were pleased to have someone to arrive as Sergey Ionov had passed through in first place a several hours before! I just had a quick stop: more coffee, brioche and pancakes (almost a proper continental breakfast), unloading all my rubbish and night gear that was no longer required and I was off for the final half-marathon (ish) to the finish.

Dawn at the bottom of the Bingley five-rise locks

CP8 – Finish: Office Lock (12.6 miles)

I had been really looking forward to this section. Having been to a few events by It’s Grim Up North Running (I also recommend their events if you’re looking for friendly, fun and interesting races in the area) I had run several bits of the canal before. In fact, it turned out to be a bit of a slog! My legs started to seize up, the miles seemed to go by so slowly and now that it was light and the fog had lifted I kept expecting to see Steve catching me every time I looked round. Even reaching single figures to go, and counting down the distance didn’t help much. Due to the precise length of the canal, the mile markers count up in whole miles from Liverpool, but mile-and-a-quarters to go to Leeds – which was oddly demoralising!

Finally I reached 6.25 miles to go (one “Dron Loop” – a regular route near home), 4.25 miles (one “Dunbarney Loop“), a 5k to go… The last few miles of the canal had a lot of runners out for their Sunday morning runs – a few of them spotting the race number and giving encouragement, most of them probably wondering why I was stumbling along so slowly! With two miles to go the Aire Valley Marina has two arched entrances that have to be crossed 😡 but at long last I reached Spring Garden Lock (number 6) which indicated a mile to go.

With the finish finally getting close, my legs came back to life and I ran my fastest mile of the whole race. All of the emotions of the last day and more on my feet, two years of training, planning and waiting welled up and I didn’t know whether to laugh, shout for joy or cry – I think I did a strange mixture of all three. As I passed under the railway bridge and the finish banner came into sight I broke into a full sprint, crossing the line in second place with an official time of 27 hours and 12 minutes, almost bang on my original schedule!

Post-race

I thoroughly enjoyed the warm finish line welcome from Dick, Keith and the rest of the team, a gratefully received handshake, and the amazingly weightly LLCR finisher’s medal. I had time to speak to Julie on the phone, without whose constant encouragement by Whatsapp I would have struggled to finish, and could finally sit down without needing to get up again and run 😮‍💨

The famous LLCR hospitality wasn’t over yet though, and there was hot food (sausage and mash – fantastic), tea and all sorts of fruit, biscuits and other goodies. I changed out of my running kit and had a quick damage inspection – everything hurt, but nothing was actually broken, exactly how it should be at the end of such an epic race. I had a few ‘interesting’ looking blisters on each foot, although these hadn’t actually caused me any bother during the run, but was otherwise unscathed! Steve came in third about 25 minutes later, and it was great to cheer him in, although I’d lost the ability to stand up by that point… After an hour or so I was ready to hobble off to the train station in plenty of time to catch my train North. I stayed awake just long enough to change trains at York, and then next thing I knew I was waking up near Stirling!

Looking back, I take an immense amount of personal satisfaction from my successful completion of the LLCR. Not particularly my finishing position (although that was undeniably nice, on any other year my time would likely have left me somewhere lower down the top 10), or even my finishing time (athough I’m also pleased with that) but the fact that I executed my race plan to almost to perfection, not getting fazed by everyone speeding off at the start and continually picking up places as others slowed or dropped out. I faced plenty of my own challenges of course, not least the stomach issues, but managed to overcome them and for 90% of the race I was genuinely having a great time! Oddly enough, I’m glad that the winner was nearly 3-and-a-half hours ahead as there’s no lingering regret that if only I’d tried a little bit harder I might have passed him. Sergey was in a different league – congratulations on a great race 👏👏👏

Finally, I’m incredibly grateful to all of the organisers, volunteers, behind-the-scenes team, crews/supporters and of course the other runners that make LLCR the great event that it is. Dick asked after the finish “will I be back?” and at the moment I don’t have any plans to. However, Julie is thinking about KACR 2022 so I may well find myself back on a canal, but only in a supporting capacity…. at least for now 🤔

Final note: most of the photos are mine, a few are taken by Keith Godden or others and were posted to the LLCR Facebook group.

John Lucas Memorial Ultra 2021

We’d had our eye on the John Lucas Memorial Ultra for a while – at 46 miles it’s a good ‘mid-length’ ultra and would make a good event for someone looking to step up from 50k. We’d thought about running the full distance together, but in the end we opted to run as a pair. Given that the race was just a week after we walked the 100 mile Kintyre Way the shorter distance was appealing, plus the fact that only one of us would be running at a time meant we didn’t need any additional child-care!

We had just had an impromptu short break in Dumfries and Galloway so the JLMU was roughly half way home. Packing the car the night before, we set off early stopping only for a McDonald’s breakfast at Dumfries and after a quiet drive up the M74 arrived at the start/finish location – the Strathaven Ales brewery – just after 7am with plenty of time to sign in and pick up our race numbers before the start. The event is relatively small, with around 30 runners in the solo Ultra, four pairs, and around a dozen teams and has a distinctly local feel with the majority coming from the host club Strathaven Striders or some of the other nearby clubs such as Cambuslang Harriers and Motherwell AC. We were made very welcome though, and after the solo race had started at 8am the event organiser came over for a chat.

Julie was to run the first half of the course, so at 8.30am she lined up at the start with another three runners leaving Iain and the kids to cheer them off!

Leg 1: Strathaven Brewery – Ardochrig – Whitelee (21 miles)

I had been having second thoughts about running 21 miles a week after walking 100 miles with a knee that was still slightly sore but I had had one test run (6 miles) early in the week and the knee had been OK so I supported it with some KT tape and hoped for the best! Iain and I had already decided on a target 7 hrs so I was aiming at running at a 10 min/mile pace.

Starting with only three other runners was a very strange experience – I didn’t really like it. I was worried they would all charge off and leave me plodding along which would have been very demoralising! As it was the two guys set off at a faster pace and I headed off slightly faster than I should have, determined I wasn’t going to be last from the start. I was quite concerned running up the drive and along the road as my legs felt like lead and it was hard work! The first couple of miles are on trails and were a challenging start. It was then pavement running through Strathaven before getting on to lovely country roads until mile 10. I just about managed to keep ahead of the other lady runner until the park in Strathaven but I was working hard! It was lovely to see Iain and the kids here, they always give a good cheer!

I got chatting with the other lady and we ran a few miles together, which was really nice as she knew the route well and was pointing different things out as we ran. But I was having to work harder than I wanted to keep up and wasn’t sure I could manage it all the way. So she ran on and I kept going at my own pace. CP1 was 10 miles in and at the start of Whitelee wind farm. By then a couple of the team runners who started 30 mins behind me had already sped past making it look easy, but they were only running 10 miles, after all!

I didn’t stop at the CP as I still had plenty of water and gels to get me to CP2 where I could hand over to Iain. The next 10 miles were hard work on landrover tracks through the wind farm. The novelty of the wind turbines soon wore off and the route is surprisingly undulatingly – a bit of walking up the hills was creeping in! Relay runners periodically raced passed, all very friendly but still demoralising. The last 3miles seemed to go on forever, you can see the CP from about a mile away and it seemed to take a long time to get closer. Luckily for me Angus has walked down the path and was there to encourage me up the final climb to the car park and CP where the others were all cheering me on and I was able to pass Iain the tracker and send him on his way.

Approaching the Whitelee visistor centre

I had managed a pace of 10:01 min/mile with new 20k, 30k and half marathon PBs – that might be why it felt hard work 🤣

The route was well marked and there were marshals where needed (especially through Strathaven). The views for the first 10 miles were beautiful but I must admit I wasn’t as keen on the next 11 miles through the windfarm!

Leg 2: Whitelee – Auldhouse – Stonehouse – Strathaven Brewery (25 miles)

Julie was looking like she’d been working pretty hard for the first leg, but we didn’t have time to chat – a quick swap over of the tracker and I was off. Out of the four pairs teams, we were in last place with the leaders about 35 mins ahead, but the next pair was only 10 minutes ahead so I set off aiming to see if I could catch any of them before the finish That, plus the fact that many of the solo runners had passed through the halfway point gave me plenty of motivating targets to chase!

The first few miles from the windfarm are a long downhill into Eaglesham before the route turns onto a long series of undulating back roads that wind their way through farmland South of East Kilbride and North of Strathaven. I should have done more research on the route as I had assumed there would be more on tracks / off-road, but all of that was in the first half of the route and I would have been better off in road shoes… Nevertheless I was able to keep up a decent pace of 7:30-8:10 mins per mile.

The Auldhouse checkpoint came sooner than expected, but I just ran straight in to the timing post and back out again – I was carrying enough water for the whole section and enough SIS gels to keep me going. Although I was unaware of this at the time, the leading pair had dropped out after at this checkpoint and I had managed to take 5 minutes out of the next pair’s time already. Throughout the next section I continued to catch and pass a number of runners, keeping a close eye on their race numbers to try to spot the next relay team 👀 Eventually I caught up with him just after Glassford, and put in an unsustainbly speedy burst to make sure I dropped him!

After 18 miles the route crosses the Avon and climbs steeply up to the final checkpoint in Stonehouse before continuing up a couple further miles of climbing. At this point my legs rebelled and even after topping out for the final few miles downhill towards the finish I was struggling to keep below 9min/mile! Just for extra laughs, there is a final loop back down to the Avon, past the Spectacle E’e waterfall and up some rooty riverside paths and steps! To be honest it was a relief to finally be met by some of the kids with the brewery turning in sight and turn on the gas for a final downhill sprint finish.

Final thoughts

In the end we finished with a combined time of 6:56:38 – just under the 7 hours goal that we’d set 😎 and in second place. Despite suffering over the last 6 miles, Iain’s was actually the fastest of all the three remaining two-person relay teams over this section of the course – so maybe it was just a hard section after all!

The post-finish goodie bag included a JLMU tech top, nice medal/memento, and bottle of water. There was of course Strathaven Ales available at the finish, but sadly we had to drive home so gave it a pass. Thanks to the organisers, marshals and everyone else involved in putting on the event – we totally approve of the chilled out, no frills, well-organised vibe and encourage anyone who fancies a go to consider entering next year!

The Kintyre Way

With all the planning and packing behind us, read on to find out how we got on walking the Kintyre Way in what turned out to be a week long heat wave in mid-July 2021…

Day 1: Tarbert to Claonaig (11.7 miles)

The bags had all been packed the day before so we were able to just get up and head straight off on the Sunday morning, arriving in Tarbert at lunchtime on a gloriously sunny day. Everyone was in high spirits about the adventure ahead!

We went to the chippy in Tarbert to fill everyone up before we started and sat at the harbour to eat. Before setting off we made sure to make use of the public toilets – we didn’t expect to find any more until the end of the day.

Once everyone had eaten we hoisted on our bags, left a note in the car (plenty of free parking around the harbour) and headed on our way. The markers for the route are on bright blue poles and were generally easy to follow. The Kintyre Way heads up the hill out of Tarbert, past the ruined castle and then heads South inland on a mixture of forestry roads and paths before rejoining the coast at Skipness and following the coast road to the ferry crossing at Claonaig. We had a lovely afternoon walking enjoying the views and the remoteness. The main shock was the number of clegs (horseflies)! They bit hard and swarmed like they hadn’t seen flesh in weeks!

Julie had planned to camp on the coast by the B road between Skipness and Claonaig. It had the advantage of a basic looking toilet at the equally basic ferry terminal! In the end we walked just past the ferry terminal and camped by the shingle beach with a field of sheep behind us. Unfortunately the toilet has been removed so wild weeing was required!

Everyone enjoyed paddling/swimming in the sea and watching the ferries while Iain started boiling water for tea. The tent is so quick and easy to put up that setting up camp at the end of the day and packing up in the morning was easy and only took about 10 minutes each time.

As the sun went down the midges came out and we rapidly retired to the tent! We left the outer door open to enjoy the view over to Arran, until about 10mins later when we realised the midges were able to squeeze through the inner mesh (downside of a cheap tent!). View or no view, the outer was quickly zipped up and everyone buried themselves in their sleeping bags with lots of complaining about the number of midges inside the tent!

Day 2: Cloanaig to Rhunahaorine Point (16.3 miles)

Everyone slept OK but next morning the swarm of midges waiting outside the tent had grown, so we packed as much as we could inside, had a quick breakfast of apples and cereal bars and then braved the outside world! We packed up super fast and were on our way (not stopping for even a cup of tea!)

Today’s route initially followed the road before heading up inland on a familiar mixture of tracks and paths until reaching the main road on the West of the peninsula at Clachan. We quickly discovered that yesterday wasn’t a one-off and that any time we headed inland the clegs appeared and started to bite. They were unpleasant and the kids did struggle with them to varying degrees all week! Luckily Julie was the only one to react to the bites and she was able to put up with it with the help of antihistamines!

We arrived in Clachan for a late lunch, so headed for the filling station which had toilets, a tap to refill water and a random assortment of food! We got lunch, drinks and ice creams and enjoyed sitting at their picnic benches before heading on again.

It was hot all week so lots of suncream was needed everyday and had to be repeatedly topped up! Sun hats were definitely needed and Julie was very thankful for her sunglasses.

We expected the walking for the second half of the day to be easy as the route headed along the road for a while before following the coast. This was a mistake! Once the path leaves the road it passes through fields of bracken. Someone was in the process of strimming the path through but once we passed them it was hard going especially for poor Angus as the bracken reached well over his head. Julie went up front to try and clear a path through and everyone else followed close behind! We finally reached the beach and walked along for about a mile – hard going on tired legs, whether on sand or stones! Before long we found a beautiful spot to camp for the night on a level grassy patch just off the beach. We were again treated to beautiful views of Gigha and Jura and there was barely anyone else around – just one camper van at the end of a track several hundred metres away. We collected enough drift wood for a small fire and fortunately there were no midges tonight, making for a much more relaxed evening.

Day 3: Rhunahaorine Point to Carradale (21.4 miles)

Today we had a leisurely start! We had already planned a stop at Big Jessie’s tearoom in the morning which was only a few miles away at the Gigha ferry near Tayinloan and it didn’t open until 10am. The walk along the beach was surprisingly hard going, even on fresh legs but we timed it perfectly to arrive at Big Jessie’s as it opened. There are also public toilets here if the cafe had been shut. Everyone enjoyed breakfast rolls (filled with any combination of bacon, lorne sausage, black pudding, eggs and tattie scones) and drinks and they even had gluten-free bread. There is an outside seating area and you can watch the ferry load and unload.

From Julie’s research we had found there was a small convenience store / post office in Tayinloan where we planned to restock, so we headed on to the main village, only to find the shop is gutted and in the process of being renovated! Luckily the owner was working on the site and kindly offered the use of a tap to refill our now empty bottles – and promised the shop will be back open in 2022! Luckily we had enough food for the day and planned to get an evening meal in Carradale where the Glen Bar does both eat in and take away.

The kids found the walking today tough – it was hot and the clegs were relentless, making it hard to stop for any length of time! It was also our longest day’s walking. We encouraged them on with thoughts of the meal we would have in the evening and we had a lovely late afternoon stop at the picnic area at Coronation Wood to cool off in the shade (the first point of the day with no clegs 🤣)

As we walked the last few miles into Carradale on tired legs Iain phoned the pub to see if we could get a table or if we would need to order a takeaway – disaster they were fully booked and not offering take away as they were short of kitchen staff. We then phoned the hotel in the village only to find they had a family emergency and weren’t offering any evening meals at all! After a moment’s upset we decided to head to the pub anyway for a drink and bar snacks and then we still had cup a soups for once we had made camp. Decision made we headed on! The pub came in sight, we bagged the last free picnic bench outside and we all collapsed onto it hot and tired.

Iain went to order drinks and came back with the wonderful news that the kind staff would squeeze us in and we could order food – food has never tasted so good 😊 They were also kind enough to refill our water bottles and had lovely loos!

All fed and watered we headed off to find somewhere to camp just out of the village. We didn’t want to go too far as we needed to use the community shop to restock when it opened at 9 the next morning. We ended up finding a lovely little cove to pitch in looking out over Carradale Bay. It would have been great for a fire on the small beach as there was loads of driftwood but the kids were too tired so we went straight to bed!

Day 4: Carradale to Campbeltown (20.5 miles)

We had a great start to the day with the kids playing while Iain walked back to the shop – he got things for breakfast and lunch as tea would be in Campbeltown later and we could restock further at the big Tesco there. A local lady told us about the great cafe at Torrisdale Castle which we decided to stop at.

Once we got going the walk along the shore required concentration on the rocks (there is a high tide detour route along the road if needed) and then had the walk up through the Torrisdale estate. We arrived at the Kintyre Gin / Beinn an Tuirc distillery café about half an hour before they opened but were made so welcome by the staff. We were invited to wait at their covered outdoor seating area and then had lovely drinks, ice creams and cakes when they opened and they topped up our water bottles before we headed on our way.

Everyone loved this stop but the downside was that we still had a lot of walking to do and it was nearly noon by the time we left and it was already hot!

The first part of the walk over into Ifferdale was lovely again but the horseflies were a major problem! The next section over to Lussa Loch was just hard work – it was hot, the forest roads were baked hard and dusty by the wind farm construction traffic and the loch never seemed to get closer. We had hoped to stop at Lussa Loch for a paddle but in fact due to the weather it was so low it was hundreds of metres from the path that nominally followed the Western edge of the loch, so we plodded on! We drank a lot and by mid afternoon had to stop at a farm and ask for water – the lady kindly refilled some of our bottles even though their own water was in short supply as all the burns were dry.

The kids were hot and tired and the walk into Campbeltown took a long time. We eventually collapsed on the bench outside Tesco around 8pm while Iain went in to restock. Julie checked her feet as one had been sore and found a large blood-filled blister on the ball of the foot 🙁 She patched it all up while Iain was shopping and then we all headed for the chippy!

The chippy took forever, it was getting late and everyone was tired – by the time we found a bench by the harbour no one felt like eating! We ate what we could to replace calories and then headed to find somewhere to camp.

This was the night Julie was most worried about as we had struggled to locate anywhere suitable for camping without going at least a couple of miles out of the town. We had walked through the park on the Kilkerran Road out of town when a local lady started chatting and asking if we were looking for somewhere to camp. We explained what we were doing and she assured us we could camp on a disused park on the opposite side of the road, that it wasn’t uncommon to see people camped there and that we wouldn’t be disturbed. We weren’t 100% sure about the location – but faced with a couple more miles with everyone tired, we thanked her for the tip and within ten minutes were tucked up in sleeping bags in the tent!

Day 5: Campbeltown – Southend (15.9 miles)

Julie was looking forward to this day as the route mainly followed the coast road (and therefore would hopefully mean a lot less clegs)! Iain had to head back to Tesco to get water in the morning, Isla went with him and Julie took the others to the park where they had a well deserved play! We finally got on our way at about 10am.

Everyone enjoyed the walking on a quiet road out of Campbeltown with some lovely views out to sea. By midday it was hot and after a reasonable amount of climbing we had dropped back to the coast and there was a lovely rocky bay just by the road where we stopped for lunch. Iain and the kids enjoyed a paddle while Julie enjoyed an uninterrupted half hour book reading. The only difficulty with this stop was getting everyone walking again!

After another big chunk of road walking it was a nice change to cut back to the coast. This section was really interesting as it went along farm tracks and through small collections of static caravans by bays along the coast. We were able to refill our water bottles at a stand pipe by one of these caravan ‘parks’.

Walking along the beach in the afternoon sun was hard work so when we got to a particularly beautiful section of beach with no one around we decided to stop and have another paddle. It was wonderful and everyone enjoyed seeing a seal sunbathing nearby! Again everyone struggled with getting started again and the kids in particular found the rest of the day hard work as they were understandably hot and tired (and the sea looked so tempting!)

Another section along the beach, some coastal walking and then back up to the road for the walk into Southend. There is a cafe in the village but it was already shut when we walked through. At the far end of the village by the beach is a small camp site / caravan park, great sandy beach and public toilets. At the edge of the beach was a small area of grass, perfect for us to pitch on for the night.

Once pitched Iain and the kids enjoyed a swim and then we had sausage and beans for tea. Everyone was soon ready for their sleeping bags as we hoped for a quick start in the morning with the hope we would get to Macrihanish in time to catch the bus back to Campbeltown.

Day 6: Southend – Macrihanish (16.3 miles)

Another beautiful morning and we were up bright and early, ready to start by 8.30 when it wasn’t too hot! The first 5 miles was on country roads and was great walking. We were entertained by young calves in the fields and were all excited that it was the last day’s walking. Julie was slightly concerned when a local lady commented on this being the hardest day – how hard could it be?

After five miles the path heads uphill and is a lot less distinct. Lewis loved this day’s walking and spent most of it far ahead in the long grass! The others struggled to varying degrees – the path was steep in parts and by now it was hot and then the clegs came out to join us 😠

This section of the route is a beautiful, remote day’s walking – the path is less distinct and you really feel you are in the middle of nowhere. It would be very boggy in places after any rain. When you reach the coastline you are on a beautiful clifftop which you follow for several miles, passing an amazing secluded bay before cutting back inland to rejoin tracks and then the road into Macrihanish. The route is easy to follow but is harder walking with a lot of uneven paths and steep climbs and descents. It didn’t help it was the last day and the kids had few reserves left (apart from Lewis who was in his element!)

With the extra elevation and heat we drank a lot today but luckily found a clear burn to refill our filter water bottle and soak buffs to cool ourselves down!

We finally arrived at Macrihanish with only 10mins to spare before the last bus back! Sadly no time to stop in the pub or on the beach but after a quick ride to Campbeltown we transferred to a bus to Tarbert, stopped for another chippy tea and then drove all the way back home!

Looking back, it’s still hard to take in the enormity of what we had achieved – 100 miles in 6 days carrying everything we needed. We had overcome all the challenges including sore feet, clegs and midges and of course the heat. Along the way we had met some lovely people, saw some wonderful places and had an amazing experience as a family! Now we’re all enjoying a well-earned rest… until our next adventure!

Planning a 100 mile walk for 2 adults and 4 kids

So back at the start of the year Julie had the idea of a family summer holiday walking the Kintyre Way, wild camping along the way. It was one of those ideas that was more of a dream but then she mentioned it to Iain and it became a reality! Iain was super excited and Julie couldn’t admit she hadn’t really been serious 🤣

On the plus side, we wouldn’t need to book any accommodation, which with COVID uncertainty was a big bonus. And if we could pull it off it would be an amazing experience for everyone

The kids would be 14, 11, 10 and 9, all have a good level of fitness and are used to days out in the hills. They weren’t used to walking carrying a bag but Julie was confident they could manage a small bag each. In the end they carried a bag each with spare clothes, waterproofs, a book, travel towel, swimming costume and a water bottle. Angus (9) found this the hardest and Iain and Julie ended up carrying extra bags for varying lengths each day as the youngest three took a break from carrying their loads!

The thing Julie was most unsure about was if she and Iain could carry everything else between them and organise the logistics well enough that we could restock along the way to minimise the amount of food we could carry.

We got the smallest, lightest 6 man Teepee tent we could find on eBay and tested it out wild camping at Loch Callater in June. We already had 4 lightweight sleeping bags so just had 2 more to get (Iain and Julie would need to carry all 6) and we didn’t bother with roll mats, pillows or any other luxuries! We already had a small Coleman stove so just had two medium-sized gas cylinders to get (although turns out we could have managed with one). We took 6 collapsible cups and 4 collapsible bowls, 1 travel saucepan with lid, a small selection of cutlery and a penknife.

Iain and Julie also had to fit in their own clothes, waterproofs, sun cream (we used a lot), medicines and first aid kit, maps and compass, and several water bottles – we ended up carrying about 8 litres between us all in various bottles, including one with a filter built in if we needed to use a stream!

Food was hard to plan and we ended up carrying enough for roughly 2 days. This was a mix of cup-a-soups, “Mug Shots” pasta, gluten free noodles, squeezy UHT yoghurts, a range of cereal bars, apples, dried fruit, UHT milks and tea bags, hot chocolates and sweets.

In the end everything fitted and the bags felt heavy but manageable! Julie didn’t weigh them until we got home as she thought the weight may scare her – we did weight them afterwards and they were roughly 18kg each. In hingsight, the only thing everyone felt we had too much of was spare clothes and full waterproofs, but Julie suspects that is only because we had such amazing weather!

The next big challenge was logistics. The Kintyre Way is broken into 7 sections, which works if you want to be able to access accomodation each night but we ideally wanted to be able to restock food and water each day and then have somewhere suitable for wild camping each night. The 7 sections also vary in length quite a lot whereas Julie thought it would be better to have all the days roughly the same length and also to be ending up camping on the coast each night.

Julie spent a lot of time online looking at where shops, cafes and toilets were and using Google Street View to scout out possible sites to camp at the end of each day. She was aware that unlike when walking with adults the kids wouldn’t be able to do a couple of extra hours walking at the end of the day to find a suitable campsite! As chief navigator, Iain ordered two OS Explorer Maps (Kintyre North and South) covering the whole route – although the digital copies downloaded to the excellent OS Maps app were used in practice. Details of the final distances for each day, camping locations and the facilities we made use of along the way can be found in our Kintyre Way blog post.

The planning was complete! Iain took two weeks off work and we planned to head off during the nicest section on the weather forecast… It turned out to be quite a hot one!

St Cuthbert’s Way 100k Ultra 2021

Where to start? An absolutely brilliant race – well organised, a fantastic, beautiful and challenging route, and the surprise bonus of being first female finisher 🥇

I was really, really nervous before this race. Life had meant I hadn’t been able to run as many long runs as I would have liked and had only been squeezing in shorter runs to keep up the mileage. I was nervous about navigating myself (usually I rely on Iain as he is far quicker and more confident navigator than I am! Or stick to roads). I was unsure how to pace running a 100k as previously my longest run had been a 50 mile solo run in April that I had found really hard from about 38 miles onwards. I was also unsure how my legs would respond to all the elevation (8000ft) as I hadn’t had more than 3000ft of elevation in a run before. So many unknowns!

The week before was spent studying the route using Strava and Google Maps. It boosted my confidence having seen all the road sections on Street View and was helpful on the day in seeing the way markers! I also planned what I felt were optimistic but possible paces for each of the sections of the race to give myself an idea of what time I hoped to be at each checkpoint! I had no idea if I was being over optimistic but on the day I think it helped me to not go off too fast at the start and boosted my confidence when I saw I was managing to keep a good pace up the hills.

Getting organised for the race was quite stressful as I needed to plan all of what I needed, as well as everything for family camping, as my wonderful family were coming to crew me for the day. We also had a stop off in Edinburgh on the Friday for professional photos for Iain’s PhD graduation (I am so proud of him), this meant smart clothes for everyone added into the mix!

I was undecided which shoes to wear as I like both my pairs of trail running shoes at the moment – the Inov-8 TerraUltra 270s are great and I feel confident in them but I found when I ran in them for my 50 mile run the bottoms of my feet felt very bruised by the end. The Merrell Bare Access are my other shoes that I love and wore at the Northumberland Ultra in May, however I am just not as confident running trails in them. In the end I wore the TerraUltras and took the Merrells as spares and I actually ended up changing into them at the Wooler check point as my feet were soaked through from the boggy run over the Cheviots (I actually shed a shoe in a bog at one point!)

Other decisions were whether to wear my Flanci skort or my running shorts. I went for the skort in the end as the weather forecast was mainly dry (I don’t like the skort in the rain) and I love having my phone easily accessible during the race. Overall this was a good decision as I used the phone quite a bit to check the route and take photos. However the major downside ended up being chafing from the phone in the thigh pocket. I am still unsure if this was because the skort is loose on me or if it is just a problem with having a thigh pocket. I am now unsure if I should try a smaller size skort or just accept that phones in thigh pockets don’t work on longer runs! 🤔

Then I had to decide what bag to use. On all my long runs previously I have used my Karrimor RP25 20l backpack. There is lots I like about this bag as it has lots of easily accessible pockets on the waist strap and although the bottles are on the sides it is easy to get them out while running. However I have had 2 or 3 times where the bag has rubbed on my neck on longer runs which wasn’t much fun. I didn’t want to spend a fortune on a running vest but while browsing online saw Decathlon had their Kalenji 10l trail bag on sale for £20. So I bought it (and 2 soft flasks with straws from Amazon). The only problem was I only had time to try it out on one short run before the race!

Now I know you aren’t meant to try anything new on race day but I decided to take a gamble and use the Kalenji vest as it felt a more comfortable fit and had space for the the mandatory kit and food I wanted to take and the soft shell bottles seemed practical! Luckily it paid off! The bag was really comfy and everything was easily accessible. My only small issue was at the first check point where I found I had done the soft shell bottles up too tightly and couldn’t get the lids off 🤣 Luckily another runner came to my rescue and unscrewed them for me! 💪🏻

For fuel and nutrition I planned to use SIS GO electrolyte powder (blackcurrant) as this is what I had been using in all of my longer runs. I find it does the job but does leave a very sweet feeling in the mouth which I don’t really like (I may try something different when I have finished this tub!), I also planned to carry KMC NRG gels (chocolate mint), pepperamis, fruit jellies, oat bars, salted peanuts and raisins. Iain would have refills at aid stations, as well as crisps, bananas, and tea.

Registration was at Wooler Youth Hostel on the Friday and I picked up my number, tracker, T-shirt and race goodies. I then stayed in the Youth Hostel on the Friday night, a nice room but I didn’t sleep well! Iain was camping at Budle Bay campsite with the kids so we didn’t have as far to travel on the Saturday when I had finished. I was really wound up about the race and far too nervous/excited to sleep very much. The coach was leaving Wooler for the start line at 3.30 am which didn’t help with sleeping as the alarm was set for 2.30am! I think I only got about 2 hrs sleep in the end and tossed and turned the rest of the night!

So an early start in the morning, I wanted time to have breakfast, cold rice pudding and a banana (sadly no tea), and a 10 min walk to where the coaches were collecting us to take us to the start line. I had already planned with Iain that I would be self sufficient until the checkpoint at Morebattle (25miles). I had hoped to sleep on the hour coach drive but again this didn’t really happen! Our coach arrived at the start in Melrose around 4.30am at one of the rugby training fields at the bottom of town past Melrose Abbey. It was great to be starting somewhere that I knew. A couple of port-a-loos soon had a long queue and then we had to wait for the other coaches. Unfortunately these were late and then dropped their runners at the wrong location in Melrose (the main Rugby pitch). By the time everyone had walked down and used the port-a-loos it was 5.40 before the pre-race briefing. The main thing I took from the briefing was that there were a few fields of cows and calves to be careful around – something to look forward to! I found the waiting around really hard as I was really on edge and tired, and got really cold but didn’t want to unpack the bag as I didn’t think it would be that long!

5.46am and we were finally off. I had already decided to try and get nearer the front of the pack as I knew the path up at the start of the Eildons is narrow steps and I didn’t want to have to go too slow (I had planned 16min/mile for the climb up the Eildons). I managed to get my placing just right – I wasn’t being pushed to go too fast but also didn’t feel I was holding others up! We were at the col between the Eildons before I knew it and then the run down the other side. I had an early reminder to not just follow others as we went into the woods – the St. Cuthebert’s Way (SCW) sign pointed slightly left while the main path headed very slightly right, everyone ahead had headed right. I saw the sign but followed everyone else until the guy in front of me suddenly jumped off the path and cut back to the left hand path. I followed, luckily avoiding an early detour and giving me a healthy reminder to check navigation myself!

A lot of this first section is along the river Tweed with short sections through Newtown St. Boswells and St. Boswells. I was relieved to find that the sign posting was great and my time on Google Street View helped build my confidence. The river paths were harder than I expected with a lot of wooden steps up and down and uneven paths. It was quite humid (my least favourite running conditions) and I was drinking lots as I was very aware it was a long way to go and I didn’t want to be dehydrated. The last stretch to Maxton church (CP1) was a lovely run along the open river bank before heading up to the church and road. I had drunk all my water by the check point so planned a refill (but no energy/electrolyte powder until I met Iain at Morebattle). I then found I had done the bottles up too tight and couldn’t get them undone. A fellow runner, with more strength, came to my rescue and the bottles were refilled and I was on my way. Off up the road, eating my salted peanuts, only to meet the photographer! Everyone else was running up and there was me stuffing my face!

The section from Maxton (CP1) to Bonjedward (CP2) went along an old Roman road called Dere Street all the way to Harestanes, before crossing a suspension bridge over the river Teviot. From planning I was really excited about this section as I thought it would be a wide grassy path that stretched into the distances. It isn’t like this at all! The SCW signpost at the start is easy to miss but I already knew where it was, on the left just before you reach the A68. It disappears in the trees and then heads along the side of the A68 for a while. It is a funny path and I think if I ran it again I would enjoy it more but it threw me as it just wasn’t what I expected! It isn’t even completely straight! It heads along the sides of fields and through woods, it is quite undulating and goes on for quite a while before entering the woods at Harestanes. This is a nice little section through the trees, again well signposted. The suspension bridge across the river Teviot is good fun and then it is only a small distance until the road crossing at Bonjedward.

I didn’t stop at CP2 as I had enough water and was planning to get restocked by Iain and the kids at CP3 (Morebattle), I was really looking forward to seeing them and already planned to ask them to be at Hethpool (CP5) as well (I had previously said I would be fine but realised I would need more fluid at this point and would appreciate the mental boost of seeing them all). I was feeling quite tired during this section. I was trying to keep a good running pace with a short walk in each mile, and I was aware all of the big climbs were still to come. My main memory from this section was an interesting field of cows and calves. The cows had collected in the corner where the SCW went and were already looking stressed thanks to the number of runners heading past. I am not sure what others did but at the side of the field was a ‘safe area’ behind a fence of a single piece of barbed wire at the top and a plain wire half way down, so before I even got near the cows I dived under this fence and walked up the side of the field. A quick climb over a fence and the ‘safe area’ continued until the end of the field.

A short distance to the road and then road running into Morebattle. My ankles actually appreciated the tarmac and having an even surface to run on for a bit! And then the added bonus of seeing Iain who had run out along the road to meet me 😍 – a big boost to my spirits! He ran back next to me and we got a quick catch up. It turned out I was doing well and actually had just taken the lead of the female runners in the first wave! I had previously messaged to say I would want a cup of tea, so it was all ready for me. Some of the kids had walked down the village to cheer me in and the others were ready at the check point to sort me out. What a crew, they were brilliant, everything was repacked and refilled super fast and I was off up the road with cup of tea in hand. Iain came a little way out with me and then I was off on my own again.

Out of Morebattle and the highest point on the route to tackle! I loved this next section to Kirk Yetholm. I felt really good, there were some lovely views and I think my body just enjoyed a change with a fast walk up the hill. The route was well way marked and the path good. This section went really quickly and I was soon back on the road heading towards Town Yetholm. The SCW turns off right before the village itself so you get a nice run along the river instead of through the village. Again Iain was there to meet me and run back to the car at the square in Kirk Yetholm. Again a real boost to see everyone 🥰, a quick water refill and I was off again. Up the hill and on to the Cheviots – the section of the route I was most nervous about navigating!

The next CP was at Hethpool, a remote spot in the Cheviots and the first check point in England! The route was again well signposted and the first part was on a good clear path. I had some good chats with fellow runners on this section and enjoyed the amazing views and remoteness. Lots of the path was good running and the inclines could be walked at a good pace. A quick stop at the border for a selfie with the sign post and then on again. I had to be careful on the downs here as my knee was beginning to get sore and I knew there was still a long way to go! The section after crossing into England is hard going for running as it was very overgrown with grasses and heather making it hard to see were you are putting your feet – I slowed to make sure I didn’t twist an ankle or fall flat on my face! And then a nice run on a track into Hethpool. Again great chat with a fellow runner to the check point where he stopped and I headed on to Hethpool itself as support crews were asked to park at the car park further down the road and then walk back to the SCW. Again Iain was there waiting for me, it was harder for him to prepare as he had no phone signal and so didn’t know where I was on the tracker!

My amazing support crew sorted me out super quick again and I was able to head on with cup of tea in hand. I was feeling tired now and the next section into Wooler felt hard! The last big climb of the day up Yeavering Bell and then a horrible peat bog path on the top! I tried hard to avoid the worst bits but still ended up temporarily losing a shoe in one of the bogs. There were some lovely friendly walkers around and good chat with other runners. Sign posting was again good. The run down into Wooler felt long. I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and my very wet feet! There was still good chat with other runners but it was all feeling just hard work. I then got a boost as another female runner caught up and ran past. My competitive streak came out and I tried to keep up with them! 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️ (They were actually running the 45 mile race – oops). We had a lovely chat and it was a real boost for me – thank you. There is a really annoying section here where you have to run out to a turning point and then pretty much run back on yourself to stick to the SCW. The most annoying thing is that you can see a path that goes exactly where you want to be and cuts off the corner. We stuck to the route and I had a grumble about it! And then we were heading in to Wooler and there were Iain and Angus ready to run into the Youth Hostel check point with me.

Wooler CP – finish line for the 45 miler, but not for me!

I had decided I was going to have a 10min rest here as I had now run 46miles with about 7000ft of elevation! I was updated on my position – I was still first female in the first wave and my times at the check points were comparable to the fastest females in wave 2, I was doing more than OK! Iain and my crew, bless them, had other ideas about having a little rest and they chivvied me on to get out on the route again after only a few minutes. So another quick stop and I was off. A run down through Wooler, over the river and on! There are still some trail sections here but a lot more road running. I was walking all the ups and having to really force myself to run the downs and flats! I had some chat but was trying to keep running as much as I could so pushed on on my own. The section between Wooler and the next CP at the A1 is the longest section at 12 miles and it felt it! It was also not as flat as I was expecting! Another runner, Chris, caught me up along the way and we ended up running the rest of the race together, this was a massive boost and definitely meant I was faster than I would otherwise have been. Good chat to help take my mind off the discomfort and lots of encouragement.

And then it happened, a navigational error at 56miles 😧 There was a signpost but we obviously didn’t look at it closely enough and headed off down a hill and round the corner. Something didn’t feel right (I hadn’t seen a SCW sign), I stopped and checked my phone and sure enough the little blue dot was not on route. This was a low moment as it meant we had to trek back up the hill to get back on route. Both of our phones rang as our brilliant crews were on the ball and had both noticed our error. Back on track but probably 20 minutes wasted and nearly a mile added to the day! It turned out that it was the St Oswald’s Way signposted down the hill and our route was marked with one of the little square St Cuthbert’s way markers! It felt like we were never going to get to Fenwick but finally we entered the village and the A1 check point. Iain wasn’t stopping here so Chris stopped with his crew and I had a quick water stop at the check point and then headed on having been safely seen across the A1!

I knew Chris would catch me up as a faster runner and he had kindly offered to push the pace across the Holy Island causeway for me. There was a planned route detour to avoid the unmanned crossing on the East Coast Mainline. This detour was well marked and just meant crossing the railway using the road bridge and then using the path along the side of the railway to rejoin the SCW. An added bonus was seeing 2 trains at this point! Then a field to cross with a beware of the bull sign on the fence (luckily no bull in sight!) and then a field with absolutely no path to cross to reach the coast. Chris had now caught me up and was trying to increase the pace slightly (it turned out my legs didn’t really have very much left in them). Iain and the kids were at the end of the causeway to offer plenty more encouragement and then we were on the causeway. I really wanted to be able to run well here but I had very little left to give which was really frustrating! It felt like Lindesfarne was never going to get closer! I think I may have been a little moany at this point (sorry Chris). The finish was so close but so far! Chris was great at keeping with me and encouraging me and finally we were by the Lindesfarne car park and there was Angus and Iain. I couldn’t quite believe it, only a quarter of a mile to go. I dug deep and tried my best to increase me speed but it was tough! Iain says I was looking rather green at this point! 🤢 The kids were there cheering me on and then I was through the finish and there was my chair (named “The Throne” by the kids). The wonderful volunteers quickly provided tea and watermelon and it slowly sank in that I had finished and it looked like I was in first place (we just had to wait for the timing guys to check as there was a second wave of supposedly faster runners in the race). 😀

2 cups of tea later and it was sinking in that I had finished as first female finisher in my first 100k race with an official finishing time of 14:42:32 It was an absolutely brilliant day, some hard sections but that was always expected. I loved it! I would like to say a massive thank you to the race organisers for a great, well organised event, a thank you to all the marshals and volunteers who made the day happen and were so friendly and helpful. Thank you to all the other runners that made a great run even better with lots of great chat and especially to Chris who ran the last section with me, and pushed me that little harder than I would have otherwise gone! And a massive thanks to my wonderful family who gave up their day to crew me, they were awesome 🥰.

Wild camping and walking in the Cairngorms: Glen Callater and Lochnagar

This has taken some planning, the main challenge being how to pack so that 2 adults can carry most of what is needed for 6 people to camp overnight and enjoy a day in the hills! Iain and Julie carried most of what was needed (tent, sleeping bags, stove and gas, food etc) and the kids carried smaller bags with their own clothes and a water bottle each. Julie did also squeeze a few extra lighter items into Rhona and Isla’s bags. This trip was not only fun but was a planning trip for what can sensibly be carried for a 100 mile family long-distance walk later in the year (watch this space) – it will be a case of carrying only what is essential!

Julie spent Friday morning collecting everything needed for a weekend in the hills – we originally planned to camp two nights and do two days walking but the great Scottish weather was not on our side! We had already bought small lightweight sleeping bags as six sleeping bags take up a surprising amount of space. Julie dug out two large rucksacks from student days, two smaller bags for Isla and Rhona and Lewis and Angus squeezed what they needed into school rucksacks. The teepee tent was split into two halves (poles and outer for one person and heavier inner/groundsheet for the other).

Tesco delivered a very random order of food with lots of different things to try to see what everyone liked and what was easy! Julie had found ‘mug shots’ – a range of pasta dishes in a packet (just add water), cup-a-soups, tins of beans and sausages, cereal bars, dried fruit, apples, sweets, hot chocolate sachets, tea bags, milk sachets, hula hoops… the list goes on. What we can all eat in 24hrs is impressive!

We try not to spend loads on extras if we can use what we already have, but Julie has concluded that a lightweight saucepan and collapsable mugs and bowls will be a huge benefit on a long distance walk, cutting down on both space and weight – 6 mugs take up a lot of room and a saucepan is heavy and awkward (even strapped to the outside of a rucksack).

Everything was squeezed into bags, the kids’ were nice and light but ours ended up being heavier than either of us would like (mainly because we carried about 12 litres – enough water for the whole weekend!).

We headed off after lunch and were in Braemar by mid afternoon, via an emergency stop in Perth to get Lewis new walking shoes as he announced as we were heading out the door that his were too tight! Braemar was looking lovely in the afternoon sunshine, we had a little wander, and then got an early chippy tea from The Hungry Highlander. It was the best chippy we have had in a long time – the chips were amazing and sitting outside in the afternoon sun was a great start to the weekend. We then all piled back into the car to nip down the road to the carpark at the start of our walk in.

When we pulled in to the Auchallater car park we found it was pay and display. Only £3 a day but slightly unclear how to pay for multiple days, plus we only had £3 in coins and we wanted to park for 48hrs. So we ended up heading back into Braemar to get change for the meter!

Car parking sorted, backpacks on, we were ready for our walk in at just before 5pm. The walk to Loch Callater where we were planning to camp was just over 3 miles up a good path with heather on both sides and amazing views all around. The kids enjoyed (to varying degrees) the rickety wooden bridge part way up. Just as they were getting tired of carrying their bags the Callatar Lodge and the bothy at the end of the loch came into view. A slow wobble over a stile (interesting with heavy bags) and we were at the loch. It is a stunning location and would really recommend it as a wild camp site. There were a few others camping at various places near the lodge so we wandered a little way along the loch and found a spot sheltered from the wind by a little rise.

The kids played by the loch while Iain and Julie pitched the tent (ten mins at most), sleeping bags were laid out and the stove was on. The breeze was enough to keep the midges away. Perfect 👍

Supper of hot chocolate and an apple and then we all retired to the tent to read and admire the view as it was starting to get cool.

Sleep the first night camping is always mixed and this was no exception. With six bodies all in one space someone is always migrating and getting in someone else’s space! Julie always gets sore hips and a couple of loo stops in the night meant everyone was a little disturbed, but the tent did well in a light breeze and a little rain in the night.

At 7 in the morning it was still and clear. The only downside being this meant the midges were out! But what a view to get up to! Some hardy souls at the end of the loch could be seen braving an early morning swim. Iain got sent out to make a cup of tea (essential to start the day) and Julie sorted out bags for the day’s hill walk, and after a quick breakfast, loo stops, teeth brushed and we were ready to go by 8.15am (everything takes longer with more of you).

The kids were pleased to be walking without bags and Iain and Julie happy to have smaller, lighter ones! Iain had plotted an ambitious route for the day including five Munros over eighteen miles, but with the option of cutting it short after the first three. We headed back along the loch to the lodge and then headed up the good, clear path, heading for the summit of Carn an t-Sagairt Mor. The sun was shining and we had the advantage of starting at about 500m so less climbing to do! Admittedly there was a degree of grumbling from the pack but we have found from past experience this usually passes once you reach the first summit. We weren’t rushing and took our time to reach the top for our first summit of the day. We had a second breakfast just off the summit before heading on to the second munro – Carn a’ Coire Bhoidheach. The views were amazing and the walking easy, it felt good to be out in the hills and away from everything. The summit itself is a bit of a nondescript bulge, so after a quick photo stop we headed back to the main path and turned East towards Lochanagar. The walking was easy going and, you lose hardly any height before a short climb up to Cac Carn Mor (which despite the name, is the lower of the two summits of Lochnagar).

Looking back down to the loch – camp site just visible bottom right

It was windy by now and jumpers were now definitely needed! As we made the short walk to the main top, Cac Carn Beag, the cloud descended and the wind picked up further the kids did brilliantly in not the best walking conditions. We had a very quick photo stop at the summit and then headed down to the smaller top to hide behind the cairn for another food stop and shortly after it was time to put coats on to keep warm Iain had been telling us how amazing the views are from the top of Lochnagar were, but sadly not today! We headed back retracing our steps to where the path branched between the first and second Munros of the day. At this point we could have turned left and headed for Cairn Bannoch and Broad Cairn but had already decided that we would end on a positive as everyone was clearly tired and not enjoying walking in the cold and mist, so we skirted round Carn an t-Sagairt Mor on the main path and headed back to camp. Everyone was pleased when we finally got out of the cloud and into the sunshine as we headed back to the tent for a well earned afternoon snack.

Full white-out at the top of Carn Cac Beag

We enjoyed seeing several grouse (some of which gave us quite a fright!), a couple of frogs and a small (grass?) snake while out for the day.

Once back at the tent Rhona and Angus decided to brave the loch for a little paddle, Iain sorted drinks on the stove and I started repacking for the walk down to the car. The forecast wasn’t great over night or for Sunday so we decided it was better to head back in the sunshine and for everyone to get a good nights sleep in their own beds. Packing the bags was easier as most of the food had been eaten and the water used!

Feet up, tea on and a great view. Can’t beat it!

A quick snack and everyone was happy to head back the hour’s walk down the glen to the car for the drive home. Within 15 mins of driving the rain started – perfect timing. And as we drove down the road we got to see a bird of prey circling overhead.

Overall a successful introduction to wild camping and a nice day’s hillwalking. In all we climbed 3 Munros and walked 16 miles (including the walk out to the car). The kids did great and we learned lots to help plan for the long distance walk!

Seven Hills of Edinburgh 2021

Today I had the chance to run a race that’s been on my to-do list for several years. I think I first heard about the S even Hills back in 2016 or earlier when I was working in Edinburgh. Taking in the seven major high points of central Edinburgh – Calton, Castle, Corstorphine, Craiglockhart, Buckstone Snab/Braid, Blackford, Arthur’s Seat and back to Calton – with over 2,000ft of climbing and around 14 or 15 miles in length (depending on route choice), something about it has always captured my imagination. I ran the route a couple of times in 2017 and 2018, although not from the usual start/finish location in a time of around 2 hours and 40 minutes, so I hoped that with a race effort I might be able to get round in about 2:15. Read on to see how I fared! I’ve tried to cover the route in quite a bit of detail, hopefully it might help if you want to try it out for yourself.

The race organisers encouraged participants to travel to the event by public transport – unfortunately Scotrail staff were on strike, but as it was a Sunday we made use of the plentiful free parking on Regent Road (mainly filled up by runners!) and picked up my race number with plenty of time to explore Calton Hill, see some of the new additions to the Edinburgh skyline such as the ‘Golden Turd‘ and clamber up onto the National Monument to see the start of the Seven Hills Challenge 30 minutes before the start of the main race. It was great to have the whole family along to support, and with ten minutes to go I headed down to the start line ready for the off.

Start of the Seven Hills Challenge

The Route

With last year’s edition being a ‘virtual race’ during lockdown, this year one of the few COVID-adaptions was that the start went off in two waves. Although with up to 100 in each wave and only 30 seconds apart I’m not sure it had much effect! After passing the National Monument, the route funnels all the runners down the narrow lane and steps onto Waterloo Place. Heading down to the East End, half of the runners were to continue along Princes Street and up the Mound while the rest of us followed the traditional route up North Bridge and along the Royal Mile. Turning left onto North Bridge, many of us were caught out by the closed pavement on the left side, and with a barrier running along the right hand side ended up running straight up the middle of North Bridge between two lanes of traffic. Not normally something you’d live to tell the tale of, but it was a reasonably quiet Sunday morning and we survived unscathed 😬

Reaching Edinburgh Castle, the usual checkpoint on the Esplanade was omitted in order to avoid a scrum of runners punching their bibs. With the path through Princes Street Gardens closed, it was down the steep Castle Wynd steps and round the back of the Castle on Johnston Terrace. As I turned right down Castle Terrace headed to the West End, I was surprised to see a number of runners heading straight on. This was the first of several major route choices. Having been forced to go round the South side of the castle, it seems that Morrison Street / West Coates Road / Corstophine Road / Murrayfield Road became an option! In the end it looks like it was almost exactly the same length as the traditional route out of the West End, along Belford Road past the art galleries and along Ravelston Dykes – where the runners who had disappeared earlier popped back out of the side streets. At this point I had been running at decent pace (maybe too fast?) and before long we had reached the climb up to Corstophine Hill. The marshal was counting places here and apparently I was in 92nd – so obviously not the only person with a fast start!

A wide lane leads uphill through the golf course, before cutting up to the right on a steep narrow path, opening out onto wider paths round the back of Edinburgh Zoo through the ‘meadow’ with the first water station and up to the checkpoint in front of the Corstorphine Hill Tower. A quick punch of my race number and then back down the hill again. There are various routes through the woods to Kaimes Road, and I managed to find a pretty direct one and popped out right at the top of the road.

After a half-mile steep descent to cross Corstorphine Road, the next two miles are a long, hard, gradual climb through Carrick Knowe, Saughton and Chesser. Crossing the canal, a quick dash past the Craiglockhart Tennis Centre leads you right to the base of Craiglockhart Hill. By now I’d started to catch and pass quite a few of the ‘Challenge’ Runners, and the scramble up the 100 foot muddy bank was a bit of a bottleneck. Sorry to the folks I pretty much clambered over as I pulled myself up, holding on to roots, branches and anything else I could get hold of. A little push up the grass to the top of the hill, and the third summit was ticked off. Stopping briefly at the water station for a quick drink and tip over head (it was hot!), I continued along Greenbank Drive, up the steps to Braid Road and onto the hill path to the Braid Hills. Having kept a good pace up to now, and with 9 miles covered, my legs were starting to feel it and there was a little bit of walking on the steepest path segments.

Not looking too happy at the top of Buckstone Snab!

From the top of the Buckstone Snab in the Braid Hills, I picked up the pace again for the dash across the golf course, down the Lang Linn path to the Braid Burn. There are options either left or right to cross the burn by bridge, but I took the direct option down the banking, wet feet through the burn, and a straight back up the other side to reach the foot of Blackford Hill. The big steps up to radio tower were not what I’d call fun but at least they get you up quickly and the direct path to the summit through the undergrowth had been bashed clear by the runners up ahead. Summit number five ticked off, I followed the most common route staight past the observatory and down the steep Observatory Road where one helpful householder had kindly rigged up a hosepipe on their fence, forming a makeshift mist shower for the runners. Turning left and crossing the road, it’s a Seven Hills tradition that the normally locked gate into West Mains Allotments is open, providing a shortcut of a good few 100 metres!

From here, the route gradually climbs up into Newington, past the final water station at Pollock Halls of Residence and into Holyrood Park for the biggest ascent of the day – 500 feet up Arthur’s Seat. After a sapping slog up the grassy bank to the foot of the hill, the first half of the climb is on relentless narrow stone steps (squeezing past the tourists coming down). It’s possible to continue all the way up on the path, but I opted to squeeze through a gap in the gorse to take the direct ascent up the “Gutted Haddie”, a rocky gully which leads steeply up and directly to the summit. It’s hard work (my heart rate reached over 180!) but at least it uses arms as well as legs for a change. The summit was crammed with tourists as by this time it was a lovely hot early afternoon, so I clambered up to the trig point for the final punch of the day, and then picked my way down over the rocks back towards runnable paths.

The descent towards Holyrood is mostly loose gravel paths with rock steps and was hard on the legs but at least it was the last downhill. Even so, I was struggling to keep up a good pace. The quarter mile across the park was just a slog and as I crossed Abbeyhill and headed up to Regent Road I was well and truly bonking! Whether it was a combination of the heat, low on energy (I’d taken two gels only), lack of good hill training, or I’d just slightly overcooked the pace early on I’m not sure but the last half-mile was just hard! One final push up past the old Royal High School and then round the corner and up half a dozen steps onto the grass of Calton Hill – number seven – and a stumble across the grass to the finish line to record a time of 2 hours, 22 minutes and 45 seconds, and 83rd place!

It was great to see all the family again and be cheered over the line, but after grabbing my commemorative coaster for the next few minutes all I wanted to do was sit down, drink water and cool down! The organisers had put on quite a spread with plates of quiche and apple pie – but this did absolutely not appeal at that point. After an hour or so, I was ready for food and we stopped for a mid-afternoon McDonald’s on the way home 😎

Final thoughts

The race was everything I had expected and more – I really enjoyed the course! Although I didn’t quite make my 2:15 target, that was always going to be a stretch and I knocked 20+ minutes off my PB in hot conditions so I’m happy with the end result. I’d totally recommend it to anyone – but you’ll need to be quick off the mark to get a place as the race sold out in under 24 hours this year.

It’s fun to look at Strava’s “Flyby” feature and compare the routes taken by other runners (I mentioned some of them already). I reckon my route could be improved by about a quarter of a mile – mainly by cutting through the Braidburn Valley Park, and by getting a better route off Arthur’s Seat – so I may just have to come back and see if I can improve on my time next year!

Våga Short Peak Cap

Full disclosure: I was given the cap by the nice guys at Team Våga on the promise of some feedback… so here’s my thoughts so far!

Up till now my headgear of choice for running has always been a buff/tube scarf. They are versatile, can be rolled down to cover ears, worn as a sweat-band, stuffed full of ice on a hot day, twisted to make a hat or worn as a scarf. I’ve also got quite a few of them as they’re a common race freebie. I admit I hadn’t even heard of Våga until I saw they were sponsoring the Blair Castle Trail Weekender. I had checked them out on social media beforehand and popped over to their stand in the event village to say hi! We had a good chat about their background – how they set up during the pandemic last year, based out of the lake district – and I’ve also since read that they support Mind and are a carbon-positive company, so definitely a great bunch 👍 When they offered me a chance to try out one of their caps it would have been rude to refuse!

(Half of) Miles Together meets Team Våga

All of their caps have pretty much the same basic design – with a shorter peak and a much shallower crown than a traditional baseball cap which apparently makes it easier to wear with a ponytail / tied back hair (not that I’d know)! The idea of the short peak is that it’s enough to shade you from the sun, without cutting in to your line of vision when on steep terrain. There is some variation in material, with some lighter/more breathable and some thicker/more windproof. I’m a bit of a sucker for neon-coloured running kit so I picked the White/Black/Neon Yellow one, which is a fully breathable, technical fabric. I promised to give it a good trial run during the Full Tilt Ultra the following day as it was expected to be hot!

I have to say I liked it and have become a bit of a fan! There is plenty of adjustment via a clip buckle at the rear so it fitted fine, and there is a handy little ‘pocket’ for the tail of the adjustable strap to avoid having anything flapping around at the back. As promised, the short peak seemed to keep the sun out of my eyes without blocking my view and the breathable mesh kept the sun off my head without overheating. Even when the wind got up near the top of Carn a Chlamain it stayed firmly on my head. The cap also doubled up as a scoop for tipping water from a burn over my head during the second major climb of the day!

I’ve been wearing the cap for all of my runs this week too. It’s been through the wash a couple of times with the rest of my kit as the material does absorb a lot of sweat! I found that the fabric stretched out a little after the first wash and I had to cinch the strap a bit shorter. The only real gripe I’ve had is that if you’re running into a headwind (particularly if it’s gusty), the cap can feel a bit unstable as the wind tugs at the peak. I’ve had one ‘blow-off’ incident, and adjusted the fit a little bit tighter again. Running intervals today into a strong headwind I did have to adjust the cap mid-run, and also tilt my head further down than I’d like to stop it catching the wind which isn’t great for running form.

Overall definitely a great addition to my running gear collection – and thanks to Team Våga for providing a cap for review. On winter and/or windy days when I want to keep my ears warm I’ll definitely be switching back to the buff, but on hot days with little wind when the main concern is keeping the sun out of your eyes and off your head the Våga wins hands down. Definitely gets a recommendation from me – expect to see me wearing it a lot this summer!

Full Tilt Ultra 60k

After Julie’s 30k, our second event at the Blair Castle Trail Weekender was the 60k “Full Tilt” Ultra. Originally advertised as 58k, some last minute course changes added a couple of km, but the main challenge was going to be the climbing and the weather conditions. The first half of the route was the same as the 30k – up Beinn Dearg (3,310ft) and then back down into Glen Tilt, but instead of heading directly back to the start/finish it turned North up the Glen, threw in a little loop up and down Carn a’ Chlamain (3,159ft) before heading back down the Glen to the finish, for a total of 5600+ ft elevation gain (although Strava claims it to be over 6000)!

The race started at 9am while it was still relatively cool with a bit of cloud cover, but it became quickly apparent that I wasn’t going to be able to sustain the pace I’d hoped for the climb up Beinn Dearg. Whether it was my relative lack of hill training, the warm weather, the previous weekend’s ultra or a combination of all of them my legs just felt a bit leaden so I didn’t push too hard and was about 30 mins behind the leaders and around 30th place on the out-and-back to the summit. The climb took pretty much bang on 2 hours to reach the summit, 10 or so miles in. I had planned to take it pretty easy in the first half of the route to keep something in the tank for the second climb, so overall things were going OK at this point, all things considered!

Heading back downhill I was finally able to get my legs moving, even overtaking a downhill biker on the short steep and rocky section down to the Allt Scheicheachan! After a short sharp climb back up from the burn crossing it was gentle downhill for the next 5 miles back to Glen Tilt. The sun was out, scenery was amazing, and I enjoyed being able to sustain a decent pace of ~8:30min/mile. I had hoped to be catching a few people on this section but didn’t see anyone barring one of the Mountain Rescue team out on his MTB keeping an eye on the runners. There was a tantalising “Water Station Coming Soon” sign at mile 15 – apparently there was an aid station there on yesterday’s 30k but today I had to wait for another 3 miles 😠 Just after passing the rifle range (still shooting) it was great to run into my family support crew! They shouted encouragement, waved me on and didn’t even seem too upset that I’d arrived about an hour later than planned.

I finally got to the real aid station at the point where the course turned north up into Glen Tilt, filled my water bladder back up and headed off up the glen. This section was surprisingly hard going – the gravel road had been packed down to a concrete-like surface by the heavy traffic related to the ongoing Star Wars filming going on at the head of the Glen, it was steadily uphill, and mostly in the full glare of the baking sun. My pace gradually dropped off to 11min/mile but I did keep running and passed several people who had been reduced to walking by this point. There was an aid station set up just before the turn-off for Carn a’ Chlamain – and I (mistakenly) decided I had enough water onboard and ran straight through. Just at the entrance to the film set, the route left the road and headed straight up a 2000 foot climb to the top. Although this was definite hiking territory, I managed to keep up a consistent pace, stopping briefly to tip a load of water over my head as I crossed a burn. After about an hour’s climb I reached the top and stopped for 30s just to take in the view – I wished I’d taken some photos as it was clear all around and you could see for miles and miles!

Fortunately the Mountain Rescue land rover stationed just below the summit had carried a tank of water for runners, so I was able to top up with enough to tide me over for the descent. It was a wider twin-track all the way back down to the glen, and less steep than the way up and reasonably runnable. I passed one other runner who was suffering badly with quad cramping – fortunately my legs were still feeling not too bad! There was an aid station at the bottom, so I filled up with water again – enough to get me to the finish. I was a bit worried that I might be running low on electrolytes – I’d stupidly not packed any extra tablets so after I’d gone through my first 2 litres that I’d made up in the morning I’d just been taking plain water. I suffered really badly with cramps in my first ever 50k race (also in the heat), so I’d been hoping that there was something salty at the aid station. Unfortunately there wasn’t but they did have some watermelon (high in potassium, I believe) so I scoffed a few chunks of that and headed for home.

The last 6 miles were pretty much consistently downhill, on the hard-packed glen road and I was gradually able to pick up my pace, using up whatever reserves of energy were left in my legs. Having walked up the Glen earlier in the year, I knew roughly how much distance was left and so I was able to achieve something approaching a ‘sprint’ finish and banged out an 8:15 last mile through the woods, back on to the Blair Castle estate, around the camp site and cheered under the finish line. After 7 hours and 15 minutes it was great just to lie down in the shade and not need to run any more!

Overall, despite being over an hour slower than I would have liked I ended up in 20th place out of 58 runners (including 7 DNFs) I did actually enjoy the day. Coming the week after the Northumberland Ultra, this wasn’t a ‘goal race’ so I was happy just to run my own race and not worry too much about placing – although of course I still enjoyed passing people 😋 Fuelling went pretty well – I went through 7 SIS Gels, most of a pack of dried fruit and nuts, and a pack of my latest go-to ultra fuel – honey roasted cashews! I think next time I’m running in the heat I’ll definitely pack a few extra SIS Hydro tabs so I can add those to water that I take on along the way – but it seems that I got away without any ill effects in the end. As it’s effectively a local race, who knows – maybe I’ll give it another go next year?