Glenmore 24 2024. The toasty one

My approach to this year’s race was no different to previous years, just to glide seamlessly from recovery to taper. My training has been a bit light this year with a dodgy Achilles but with a good rest after the West Highland Way Race, I felt my Achilles had recovered and in August I could start doing a bit of effort again and used the club’s hill sessions in the Public Park specifically for Glenmore. I’d walk the ups with a smooth strong stride and trash/condition my quads with a hard effort on the downs. I didn’t see any reason why I shouldn’t aim at the 100 miles. So plan A in place but also with the hindsight of fourteen previous 24 hour races,with ten of them going over the 100 miles, really only two of them having gone according to plan A. I think a better name is just to call it a wishlist and be prepared to adapt. It wouldn’t be a do or die effort, just no faffing using my simple plan of covering five laps in the first four hours then a lap an hour which has worked well previously and enjoy my day. 

Pauline and I had a good journey up the road with only about ten minutes at the Broxden roundabout and arrived at the Hayfield early, so we just relaxed in the sun, drinking tea and chatting until 4pm and we could start setting up our shelter before heading to our holiday home we had booked, this was the second year we haven’t slept in the Hayfield before the race, must admit, I enjoy having a real bed and a proper bathroom. 

The fancy dress theme this time was Barbie and my face ached with all the smiling and laughing at the efforts, we didn’t stay too long and headed back to our house for an early night.

photos from Bill Heirs 

The forecast for Saturday was really roasting, 25 degrees, I don’t think we had such high temperatures all summer! So my plan was adjusted, first and foremost RUN TO THE CONDITIONS, there’s no point dying in the heat in the first few hours and not being able to maintain when it cools down, saving my effort for the last four hours and not wasting it in the first four hours. Sue and I were doing the 24 hour race, with Ken and Val doing our support, Pauline was doing the 12 hour but with not having done a lot of running this year, her longest run being around 14 miles, was just going out for an enjoyable afternoon/evening tootle and stopping before sunset. Allan was driver and gofer, picking up pizza for the crew in the evening, taking Pauline back to the house after her run and when they returned in the morning, they would bring bacon rolls for Ken and Val.

photo from Alan Brown

After the briefing from Bill we were lined up and ready to go at 12 noon, I decided to take my wee camera round the first loop, pausing occasionally to take a photo, no pressure to hit a target lap split. Out on the course there was a wee bit of shade from the trees at times and a gentle breeze which helped make it feel a wee bit more comfortable, maybe we weren’t going to be fried alive after all.

For the first three laps I felt fairly comfortable, enjoying being back on the loop, the tall trees, the vibrant heather and views down Loch Morlich, it was quite warm but I wasn’t overheating. I was surprised that it seemed to get even hotter as the afternoon wore on, I had hoped that the temperature had plateaued even if it wasn’t starting to cool yet. I hadn’t been wearing a Buff until around then and I picked up one which had been sitting in a bowl of cold water ready for when I wanted it, I had a mild sensation of waterboarding myself as I pulled it over my face but half way round the next lap I still felt quite warm with a scarf round my neck so I took it off, rolled it into a long tube, draped it round the back of my neck then tucked the ends in my bra straps at my collarbone, a lovely cool cloth on the back of my neck and the air at my throat, lovely, I have never done that before and it’s always nice to suss out something new. 

It was just after 5pm and still not any cooler, I had on my eating plan some rice pudding but Val tentatively asked if I’d like a Rowntree's Fruit Pastille ice lolly and handed me one. Wow! I had no idea where they got them from and didn’t care, and not usually my first choice when choosing a cold treat, but oooyaah beastie, it was the best! I had devoured it before reaching the end of the Hayfield, I’m glad I had a soggy wet buff scarf with me, I poured some more water onto it from the bottle I was carrying to wipe my sticky face and hands, the lolly was a bit drippy and I wasn’t letting any of it go to waste. 

For my evening meal I had planned macaroni cheese but I really didn’t fancy something as heavy in the warm weather but the chicken soup I had on the list for later went down fine, my stomach was doing alright, but only just. I don’t stop to eat when running, so every year I place a small cool box at the top of the hill at the end of the Hayfield lap and pick up my custard/rice pudding/milkshake or whatever at our shelter and walk with it until I reach my box with no pressure to finish what I’ve had and drop my grub in it so the crew can pick it up and I can polish it off the next time round, last year some minger thought it was acceptable to use my box for their rubbish, which included some slobbery orange peel! Boke! In case the eejit was running again I pre-empted them and placed a polite no rubbish label on it. Happy to say there was no puke inducing random rubbish in my box this time. I did have a few wee bokes through the night but it was not as bad as last year. 

As time moved on it was lovely to keep meeting the same folk around the same place for quite a few laps for a few strides, we were running different paces just to-ing and fro-ing working to our strengths. I had wondered if I would catch up with Pauline at some point knowing she was just enjoying her day with no pressure. The first time I saw her she was in our shelter, having completed a cheeky wee ultra of seven laps, twenty-eight miles well within daylight hours. She might have considered another lap but Allan had arrived with the pizza, perfect timing to say “That will do nicely!” 

Eventually shadows grew longer, the sun was dropping towards the hills behind Loch Morlich, and it began to cool, the optimistic plan of being able to pick up the pace a smidge didn’t really materialise but I stayed fairly consistent.  We haven’t always been blessed with a glorious sunset at Glenmore but we were this year. I took my time on the sunset lap watching the sky turn pink and the sun glittering gold along the loch. It was an emotional moment, taking me back to my special six hour run in 2013, three months post cancer treatment and a huge step in returning to normal for me. I was back home doing what I loved in the bosom of my ultra family.  As I watched the sunset in 2013, tears streamed down my cheeks as I sang Runrig's Hearts of Glory, the lyrics perfectly summing up my situation. I was happy to be on my own this year so I could sing out loud as I watched the sun set. 

There's a vision coming soon
Through the faith that cleans your wounds
Hearts of olden glory will be renewed

The colours of Scotland leave you young inside

There must be a place under the sun

Where hearts of olden glory grow young

photo from Sarah Robertson

As much as eating will always be a challenge, I am now eleven years healthy and the joy and  privilege of being so fit and well will never be taken for granted, as long as I can run in beautiful surroundings I will never grow old. 

The night wore on and I added a long-sleeved layer and my peaked Buff to keep my head-torch comfy, another lap in the dark and I added a fleece but I never needed anything else to keep me cosy. The sky was clear and the temperature must have dropped pretty low going by how well wrapped up folks in the Hayfield were. I was moving well enough not to feel too cold. I did pause a few times to put my hand over my head-torch and look up and enjoy the wonder of the stars. 

At one point I was having little nod offs but I managed to catch up with Lois and Mairi, Lois was my saviour last year when I was seriously sleeping on my feet and was likely to keel over in the heather. Again this year chatting away brought me out of my sleepy time  and also having some  coffee helped too. 

At around 4am I wasn’t sure what I wanted to eat, I still didn’t fancy the macaroni, Ken offered me some of Sue’s lentil and bacon soup, it was quickly warmed and put in, what looked to me like a small child's plastic bowl, I usually just walked round the wee loop eating but I was fighting a wee bout of the dry heaves so this time I stood at our table and shovelled it in like a petulant child who wasn’t getting any pudding until it was eaten. Like a petulant child I wanted a round of applause when I finished, Val humoured me. 

Throughout the race I paid no attention to comparing this year’s run to the splits of 2019, I knew I wasn’t going to make the 100 miles and I wasn’t stressing about it either (now looking at my timesheet recorded by Val and Ken) I started taking over an hour per lap around 9pm and over seventy minutes a lap after 2am but as dawn approached I did pick up the pace a bit with the restorative powers of daylight, and at around 8am I began to think about how many more laps would I manage, I didn’t want to spend a whole hour on the Hayfield loop or have to push hard to squeeze the final lap in, so with a bit of effort I pushed on and brought my third last lap back under an hour and then I wouldn’t have to panic for my last two laps. I’d have around an hour for each of them and around half an hour of “fun”on the wee laps. Perfect! I managed to keep the momentum going knowing the end was in sight. On the final lap, I caught up with Sue, she was having a brilliant run and was on lap 25. At the top of the hill, I pushed on for my final descent into Hayfield and to let the crew know to get the cameras ready, Sue was on her way. I paused briefly at our shelter to see Sue celebrate getting the horn signalling her 100 miles! Yay!

Right! I’m off! On a mission! I’ve completed 23 laps, 92 miles and I’ve got thirty odd minutes to try and match last year's distance of 95 miles. I dumped my water bottle, I didn’t need anything now except oxygen and my elbows to beast as many wee laps as I can! Stride up that wee bastart of a hill, shout my number at the top to clock my lap, then keep up with gravity as I pushed down the other side, round the bend holding on to the momentum for as long as I could.

photo from Colin Knox

photo from Allan Macaulay 

photo from Alan Brown

Deep breaths to get me round the bottom and stride up the hill again. On my plan I’d written in capital letters THERE’S BEER AT THE FINISH, a mantra I've used in many a race to pull me in and asked for a can to be placed on the table so I could eyeball it every lap round.  Pauline thought I needed a better carrot than that, and ran with it in her hand for me to chase as I looped round. 

I was looking at my watch now, pushing each wee lap as hard as I could, feeding off the encouragement roared by everyone supporting. The time counted slowly down one last push up the hill… Can I make it to the bottom… Push hard… Round the bend…Can I stop yet? Finally, the horn sounded and I bent forward with my hands on my knees and breathed deeply down to my boots.

A slow walk back to our shelter, not knowing quite what to do with myself. I changed my manky, sweaty top and club vest for a lovely clean t-shirt and gilet and opened my beer. You can keep your scientific post run recovery fluids, Belhaven Best has everything required. Yeeeees!

We gathered for the prize-giving, it was a lot cooler now, Sue and I cooried under a blanket over our knees looking like care in the community, which we were, Ken, Val, Pauline and Allan did a grand job of looking after us. Thank you all for pandering to my diva demands.

There was a technical glitch with the laptop for the results but we were given our race medals, then we headed back to our house. I had a lovely long shower, followed by a chilled out evening with more beer. When I saw the results later with all the wee loops and partial loop added to my distance it was mission complete! Even a wee smidge further than last year! 95.38 miles. 

A brilliant and perfect day/weekend spent in beautiful surroundings with the best of people. Thank you Bill for rounding up the best marshals, every supporter wishing everyone well and the runners I spent some time on the course with. Thank you all for giving me more memories to cherish. 

Here’s how my Glenmore numbers add up now. I’ve a total of 1221.84 miles. 

298 big laps and a cheeky wee ultra of 29.84 miles on the Hayfield.

2011  108 miles, there were no wee laps for the first year 

2012  109.01 miles, 1st Female

2013  25.45 miles, a 6 hour special just for me post mouth cancer treatment

2014  89.56 miles 

2015  107.35 miles

2016  103.26 miles

2017  102.04 miles 

2018  102.61 miles

2019  103.36 miles 

2021  98.02 miles

2022  82.75 miles, 5 days post covid infection

2023  95.05 miles 

2024  95.38 miles