Monthly archives: June 2016

“What a ******* shambles!’ shouted Maz as she crossed the Fort William finish line. She had taken a wrong turn which meant she ran 16.5 miles instead of 14. Julia, who was way up the field, had a nasty fall running back down the Devil’s Staircase. She now has three stitches in her arm. It meant Kenny didn’t get to run his final leg. Their eleven month old son Harry, who made up part of the support team, was unperturbed. Mandy missed the Kinlochleven turn off and ran on, I never saw her or her search party again. On the positive side, it meant she missed watching me trail in late, puke outside Kinlochleven leisure centre and get taken to the doctors’ tent. This was a tough course. A three stage relay over 42 miles from Tyndrum to Fort William, 17 miles, 10.5 miles and 14 miles, part of the West Highland Way Midsummers Race. It’s not just the distances. You are running on hard exposed trails. As Mandy put it ‘you are all cursed it is worse than the Inverness marathon’ The full race starts in Milngavie at 1am on Saturday. Ultras run, jog and walk the full West Highland Way to Fort William, finishing no later than noon on the Sunday. 95 miles, including 14,760ft of ascent. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I swing from full respect to downright nuts. The relay teams start in Tyndrum about half way. They set off at midday. Runners get themselves to changeover points at Glencoe Ski Centre and Kinlochleven. Teams run well into the midsummer’s evening. As ultras arrive at checkpoints back up teams who drive the route swarm around them with food and fluids. They cook chicken soup and give massages out the back of camper vans. As we drive home at 11pm ultras, with head torches and midge net hats, can still be seen feeding on custard, as they jog back into the Scottish wilderness hoping to make Fort William by the 35 hour cut off. You run through the landscapes of one of the worlds greatest walks: Rannoch Moor, Glencoe, Bridge of Orchy, Devils Staircase, into Kinlochleven. Looking down onto stunning lochs, across sweeping moors and mountain ranges with Buachaille and Ben Nevis in the distance. It is simply stunning, especially on the longest hottest day of the year. Bellas entered 6 relay teams, 18 runners, the biggest in the field. Not all ended up in the medical room or lost. Jane Galt ran an amazing first leg for my team. She came into Glencoe with 17 miles of exhaustion behind her shouting “I thought it was flat, it was not flat!”. Roz and Elizabeth came into Glencoe shortly after. They ran the 17 miles together across tough terrain getting badly sunburnt on Rannoch Moor. They kept their pace and came in well up the field. Even stopping for a selfie. Mirsia came into Glencoe ahead of them all, an inspiration. ‘Trail running you love […]