Isle of Skye half marathon

Ok, it is technically a race but since it’s always the week before the WHW I haven’t given the Skye half loads of welly for years. It’s just a good excuse to go up and have great weekend and a leg stretch. This was my 14th Skye half and it is my favourite, we’ve been going up for it since 1993. I only do two halfs a year now, Skye and Glen Clova. The most I’ve done in one year is 17 in 1993 starting with Inverness in March and finishing with Glen Clova in November. This years Skye was my 107th half marathon.

It’s a lovely route, not an easy one though, a bit of steady climbing in the first few miles, some downs, flats and undulations until the long climb at 10 but it’s all open stunning scenery and the finish is all down hill. Since last year it’s now a standard 13.1 miles but it used to be 13.8 miles, I liked that unique quirkiness and was a little disappointed that it conformed.

Pauline and I ran together, a nice controlled pace finishing in 2.03.07 hrs, about 40 seconds faster than last year, we’re nothing if not consistent! The weather was beautiful, clear blue skies, hardly any wind and not a midgie! It couldn’t have been better… but it was! This year’s race memento was a wee engraved glass and a miniature of Talisker, my favourite. (It’s going in my hip flask to share with an Angel at the top of the loch next week.)

In the afternoon Pauline and I bought a picnic at the Co-op and headed off to Kilt Rock and The Quiraing and had a wee stroll, we weren’t planning anything big, Pauline was wearing pavement shoes!

In the evening it was lovely to catch up with the Sheffield crew, we meet up regularly… in the Tongadale, Skye half weekend.

Sunday was a slow drive home, the weekend was over already, but we stayed in holiday mode for a bit longer, a wee leg stretch at Sligachan, then a detour for an ice-cream in Plockton and another short walk to a viewpoint above the village.

“Kemosabe! It’s a short arse female with size 7 Saucony and very little intelligence!”

Well, if I had a bit more sense I would’ve been watching where I was walking!

Here's more photos, I did get a few good ones, even if I say so myself.

Robin Wombill's Fling report

Robin sent me his race report and is happy to share.

The Highland Fling 30/04/11

This was to be my ‘target’ ultra for 2011. For various reasons I never really had a rest period over the winter. I trained hard for the Water of Leith at the end of November but both Anne and I had rotten colds and we woke on race day to a covering of snow in Perth. We knew the journey to Edinburgh probably wouldn’t be possible so WoL was cancelled for us.  As I was so fit it seemed silly to just waste it all and so I carried on so that I could start my Fling training in late December with a good level of fitness and endurance. This winter that meant lots of running in the snow, so all I did was run in my Asic Trabuco trail shoes instead of road shoes. The training went pretty well but I hate the periods I get during my training when it all seems to be hard work and I always feel tired, then out of the blue it all seems to come together and my performance suddenly matches my expectations.  I did the D33 as part of my training and was really happy with the run. I’ve never done a long flat race and just didn’t know what to expect or how to pace myself so I cheated and ran with Sue Walker as she’s so good at pace – and a great mate who I enjoy being with. I had no idea what to expect and would’ve been happy with 12 minute miles, so to come home in 5:53 at sub 11 minute pace was fine by me. I even managed a local 6k Fun Run the next day.

With 4 weeks to go I had one of those awful weekends. I had a 28 and a 10 planned. I did the 10 on Saturday not the Sunday as I felt a bit jaded. On the Sunday I attempted the 28 and went from Kirkmichael to Blairgowrie and back along the Cateran Trail. It was just dreadful, I had no energy and was thoroughly miserable and eventually cut the run short to 25.5. I got home and had all these worries that I’d overtrained because I didn’t have a rest period during the winter. So, I took the week off. My next run was the following weekend, a favourite that I do every year, Glencoe to Fort William. Lochaber is one of  Anne’s favourite marathons and she runs it just about every year and every time on the way up on the Saturday she kicks me out of the car at Glencoe Ski Centre and I meet her in the Premier at Fort William. I had an extra reason to run it this year. I had a ghost to put to bed. I wanted to run without falling over near Lundrava as I did in last year’s Devil. I just love the route and the weather was fine and I had a great time – until I got to Lundrava and fell again, twice ! I don’t know what upset me the most, the fact that I had fallen again, despite being very careful, the cuts and bruises or the £52 pair of skins that I wrote off. I was fed up – but I ran well and enjoyed it and all thoughts of overtraining were banished. It was also funny as I had a big tin of sweets and a ‘thank you’ letter in the car for the A&E staff at the Belford for stitching me up last August. I limped in with them on the Sunday and they were really grateful and then asked me why I was limping. I just said ‘don’t ask’ and rapidly left. It did make me decide to wear neoprene knee supports in ultras, not because I have knee problems but as protection. It also demolished a nasty raised scar on my left knee ( a legacy of 2010 ) and now I have a much neater ‘hole’.

I resumed my training with new heart and got a big boost 9 days before the Fling when I entered the club’s annual 10 mile handicap race. I made my time estimate and set off at my allotted time – and ran like a man possessed to come home first ! I have a huge trophy to prove it.

And now, my first Fling. I couldn’t cheat this time and use Sue’s pacing and planning skills as she wasn’t running. So I tried my best with other people ! Firstly my support crew of Anne my wife and good friends Iain and Fiona Morrison were wonderful as always and I wonder how they put up with me when I’m tired and irrational. Iain got up at 2 am to drive me to Milngavie, and instead of going straight home waited at Drymen to see me through. Then he went home, picked up Anne and Fiona and drove to Bein Glas and dropped Anne off so she could run south and meet up with me.

Anyway, I digress, my first Fling. I never managed to run any of the route before the race so I  looked at other peoples times for last year and using maps showing ascent figures made some guesstimates. I geusstimated 4 hours to Balmaha, 6 to Rowardennan, 8 to Inversnaid  and 10 to Bein Glas farm, leaving me 4 hours to get to Tyndrum to achieve my hoped for 14 hours.  My nerves were better than last year’s Devil and I got quite a bit of sleep during the day on Friday and during the short night. When I wasn’t sleeping on Friday I think I was eating and probably started the race getting on 11stone ! I knew it would be hot and I’m not good in the heat so filled my hydration bladder with Nuun and tried to mentally prepare for a tough race. We were soon off and I ran with Fiona Rennie at first. I knew it would only be to Balmaha, at most, as I pussy foot around at checkpoints and she doesn’t. By that I mean that I stop to eat - remember I’m a man and I can’t run and eat at the same time ! Of course at two miles I went flat on my face, with loads of witnesses. I can tell you that the knee supports worked but I did land bang on the injured left knee and it did make my eyes water. Pete Humphreys said ‘hello’ as he went past at about 17 miles which is amazing to me as he’d started an hour after me. I don’t remember seeing any other runners I know going past me apart from Gail later on. Going up Conic Hill wasn’t too bad but coming down was scary. I got to Balamaha in just under 4 hours loaded up with some banana flavoured Slimfast, a pot of Ambrosia rice and a jelly with fruit in it. I topped up my hydration pack and set off again. At some point I met up with two Stonehaven girls Fiona Smith and Nicola Rhind who I ran many miles with at the D33 and we ran some more miles together. I left them before Rowardennan and I know this as there were no witnesses when I had my second fall ! I think it was a moment’s lapse of concentration and I was down. Again the knee supports worked but I cut my left hand. I was right by the water so stopped at a small inlet to clean up the hand. The water was clear but full of black bits so I went to some rocks where it looked cleaner and deeper. I squatted on the rocks and discovered they were slippery and I slowly slid into the loch ! I was sitting in about 9 inches of water washing my hand when some southern walkers came round the corner. I got a chorus of ‘you ‘avin a barf mate?’ That got me running again. I was soon in Rowardennan for checkpoint 2 in a shade over 6 hours. More food and a hydration pack top up and off again. Not long after this I linked up with Becky Munro and Carla Cesaroni and managed to stay with them until I met up with Anne at about mile 38, at which point the girls were pulling away from me. They were brilliant, Becky was from Inverness and I asked her if she’d done the Loch Ness Marathon ‘ Oh no, I’ve only ever done a half marathon before this ‘. Carla had come from Toronto for the race expecting Scotland to be cool not in the midst of a heatwave. Becky generally lead and Carla and I followed. I found the ‘technical’ bits alongside the loch fun but hard because they seemed to go on forever. When they finally finished and I got back on to something I could run on I no longer had any energy left. Anne met me about mile 38 as Becky and Carla were pulling away and we got through to Bein Glas in 10:34. Plenty of time to walk to the finish, which was good as my plans fell apart as I started to throw up. I couldn’t refuel and couldn’t really stop heaving so decided to carry on as best I could with Anne. I walked up the hills and managed some Nuun, flat coke and a jelly with fruit in it but couldn’t face gels or anything that tasted remotely synthetic so I didn’t get many calories on board. Finally at Derrydaroch Farm it all fell apart completely. I just couldn’t go on. I could hardly put one foot in front of the other and could only mumble. I cannot describe how I felt and couldn’t understand how I suddenly deteriorated into such a state. My mind was still working and I could still picture Sophie with the orange smoke stick going over the finishing line ( from the web site) and I still replaced Sophie with me. I slumped on a rock and thought  that my body just wasn’t going to let me finish. Iain and Fiona had appeared and Fiona was encouraging me. I sent them away ( I hope politely ). Two blokes went past, one was attempting a shuffling run and the other one looked quite like me. This may have helped, I think I thought ‘ if he can I can ‘. I got Anne to pull me off the rock and I tried to get going again. I managed a pathetic walk/stagger and when we finally bypassed Crianlarich and stopped climbing all the time things got a bit better and I even managed some runs (about 100 yards at a time). We met Iain and Fiona where the WHW crosses the A82 and Fiona joined us to run me to the finish. When we got to the Auchtertyre Lodges I recognised where I waited for Fiona Rennie at last year’s WHW race.  I didn’t know where the route went or what it was like but I knew it wasn’t far and that I was going to finish in under 15 hours. The running became more than 100 yards at a time and when Anne noticed a road sign beside the A82 announcing that you were entering Tyndrum spirits really began to rise. Suddenly there was a wall and a gate ( I think – well there was in my head ) and cheering people and we were there. I thought everybody would’ve gone home by the time I arrived and it took me a bit to realise all this noise was for me and I felt guilty because I’d done so much walking. A nice touch was that Neil MacRitchie was waiting to log my chip at the finish line after I logged him lapping the North Inch at the recent 100k race.

I know it’s still very much a learning process for me and I don’t have any hidden ability that’s suddenly going to appear from nowhere, so I don’t expect to get much faster, but I do want to work on my refuelling so that I enjoy the events more and save some time. Again, like the Devil, I estimated my running time and forgot about the time I lose at checkpoints. My estimates weren’t bad until Bein Glas and even my last one of allowing 4 hours to get to Tyndrum wasn’t too far out ( despite the state I was in ). If I can stop falling over as well that’d be a nice bonus !

The Montane Highland Fling 2011

Pauline picked me up at 4.00am and we were in Milngavie just after 5.00am. The sun was just up too and the sky looked clear, it was going to be a cracking day, it also seemed a bit weird seeing Milngavie in daylight.

I wasn’t nervous, I just don’t do nerves before a race, even though today I wasn’t “racing” my goal was purely a no pressure day out just to get to Bein Glas before the cut off. Although I put no pressure on myself for a time, I was still bit concerned though, my tendon which has been recovering has felt a bit tight and tender for the past week, whatever happens DNF will never be an option and I could be in for a very long painful day. I know I will never ever give up no matter what, there have been races where I aimed high but didn’t get the goal I was going for and the bonus is I’ve learnt a lot more from the tough races. I did have a cunning solution, I put two sets of Sorbothane in my shoes, I am a girly I can do high heels! My lack of training didn’t worry me too much either, it does no harm at all practicing how to run tired and sore. I had entered the Fling a fortnight ago just to have a day out in my favourite place and I wasn’t going to let that be spoiled by trivialities!

Murdo’s race briefing was perfectly brief. “There are no rules just tell someone if you pull out and ENJOY!” Damn right Murdo, that’s my plan!

6.00am the old gits and girlies were off. I was running WHW pace and rules, I was aware of my tendon, it wasn’t getting any worse and in a few more miles I knew that my quads will probably be whinging louder so it wasn’t going to stop me. I was running with Robin, he was a bit wary of falling after his bad one at last years Devil O’ the Highlands, at around two miles in it was a mere formality, he was down and up barely breaking stride. I said “Well, there you go, that’s got that out of the way then, you can relax now!”

Heading up towards Conic Hill the sun was shining, but the wind was quite chilly, I still hadn’t taken off my gloves. It was a beautiful, perfect day, I kept whipping out my camera, I told Robin to stop as I took a photo of him with the loch in the background, two fast guys, I presume, from the 7.00am start stopped and said “Shall I take a photo of you both?” I protested saying I didn’t want to hold him back. He waved his arms wide at the scenery and replied “Nah! This is what today’s about!”

At the top of Conic the view of the Loch Lomond was stunning, another wee pause for photies and we headed down. Pauline appeared, she’d ran out from Rowardennan, besides being my chauffer, she was sticking in a few miles having a fun day too, Pauline's photos she enjoyed running towards everyone but wished she had a pound for every time she heard “You’re going the wrong way!”

Out of the wind on approaching the woods I finally took off my gloves, arm warmers and buff scarf. At Balmaha, Davie pointed me towards my drop bag, Robin and I parted company here, he stopped to eat, I walked on with my rice pudding, Pauline had a wee blether with Helen before catching me up.

I love the section heading towards Rowardennan, the ups, the downs, the woods, the view of the loch, the wee beach and… (I’ll shut up ‘cause if you’ve been here you know what I’m on about.) Jim Rogers from a later start caught us up, he and Pauline chatted off to Rowardennan.

At Rowardennan I swapped my backpack for my older one that I had ready, with its bladder filled just to pick up with no faffing, except I decided to ditch the rain jacket and put in my arm-warmers, gloves and extra buff scarf instead then trotted off. I had just tucked my empty milkshake bottle into my bag then had a wee backpack malfunction, my shoulder strap came loose, the stitching had come undone where it joined the bottom of the bag, a wee walk as I tied the adjustment strap though a loop where the waist strap is attached. It was as good as new, no need to replace old faithful yet.

It was a lovely warm afternoon with wall to wall sunshine, I don’t think I’ve seen the loch so blue, I didn’t bother with a drop bag at Inversnaid but stopped for a few mouthfuls of cold water which was refreshing as my juice was warm. A few folk were complaining that it was too hot, but sympathy has no place in ultras, “If you’re too hot you’re going too fast!” was my reply. I looked at my watch, (I wasnae doing race splits just time of day,) it was just after 2.00pm. Brilliant, around two hours running until Bein Glas I’ll get there at the back of 4.00pm, loads of time before the cut off at 6.00pm.

On the rough path my quads were feeling sore, I put it down to a lack of training but I suppose nearly 40 miles probably contributed too. At one big steppy bit a cheery walker heading south waved me forward, I looked up at the gigantic step and joked I might need a pulley. He held out his hand for me, I think I must be lighter than I look or he’s stronger than he looked, both feet left the ground as he hauled my stekky legged body up the boulders. I thanked him and hoped the hand up wasn’t considered cheating. Along the narrow path I was always looking back over my shoulder so I could get out of the way of faster folk, there were loads of encouragement from everyone that went by except for a few runners, when they approached I spoke to them, I was totally blanked, they had their earphones in, and not even a grunt of acknowledgement as they went by. Each to their own I suppose but it did sadden me a bit to think of what they were missing out on, I’m not adverse to listening to music when running but the WHW is a route with its own inspirational sound track, the wind in the trees, the waves of the loch, the babbling burns, the birds, I heard a few cuckoos, I don’t get them in my garden! My consoling thought was that real ultra runners are never so insular or anti-social or at least real WHW runners aren’t! Mind you, one guy made up for the few ignorant gits, as he was passing me he looked and said “Fiona?” I answered “Yeah!” he took my by surprise by sticking out his hand to shake mine. “Legend!” he said “Love the blog!” I have never been called a legend before. I kept repeating “Legend” in my head and having a wee giggle to myself for quite a few miles. Thanks Peter that made my day.

I was quite warm during the hottest part of the day but never uncomfortably hot and didn’t feel the need to take off one of my two tops I was wearing, a vest and a short sleeved top. I liked the thought that the heat kept my quads warm and supple, if they got cold it would’ve been so much harder to move fluidly. (A wee tip if you struggle in the heat – Run warm in winter. Wear lots of layers and keep them on even when you’re feeling toasty. If you’re down to skin in the spring what can you peel off when it really warms up!)

I thought about taking some painkillers but I’d have to stop hanging onto the boulders to do it so, I decided I’d wait until the after the flat grassy bit and see how the legs felt once they got back to proper running… no need, to quote Mark Cooper, motion is lotion! It wasn’t long until I was looking up to Dario’s post, at the top of the hill I got out my wee hip flask, I’ve been by his post a few times now and I’ve always had my hip flask, I wasn’t breaking with tradition because it was a “race”, I spent a minute or two sharing a wee Isle of Jura with Dario before carrying on to Beinn Glas.

With it being so warm I’d drank most of my juice, but I wasn’t concerned, it wasn’t in the original plan but I’ll top up with water at Beinn Glas. Neil MacR helped me filled my bladder and then I trotted off. Oh bugger! With concentrating on topping up with water I forgot to pick up my milkshake, I only put out two drop bags, my rice pud at Balmaha and a milkshake at Bein Glas, a fail by 50%, not to worry, I wasn’t going back for it, I was carrying plenty grub by the way of Rice Krispie squares and cereal bars, I wouldn’t starve and anyone who was behind me were welcome to it.

Tim and I were plodding away together, although he was moving faster on the run-able bits than I was, I did say to him not to prolong his day and to bash on, he answered he was happy to have the company, cheers Tim I enjoy our blether and at Derrydarroch weren’t we both “I Spy” champions! Pauline appeared near Carmyle Cottage, she wasn’t doing support as such but I spied she had a SlimFast in her backpack (See, I am a champion at the game.) I mentioned that I was a numpty and forgot to pick up the milkshake I placed at the checkpoint. She offered me her milkshake, I didn’t refuse. It’s the first time I’ve had a SlimFast, it went down well, I usually just pinch the kid’s Yazoo!

Pauline and Tim were blethering away from me most of the time and as they pulled away from me again on the first big climb of the rollercoaster, Tim laughed at the sisterly concern. Pauline had shouted “Come on, keep up!”
“Aye, I’m comin’!”

On the last big swoop of the rollercoaster Tim descended never to be seen again. My thoughts compared this to the descent into Kinlochleven, ok, my quads were squealing a bit, but I thought again, I haven’t lost two nights sleep or have eighty miles in my legs. Stop wussin’ and get on with it!

Pauline was wearing a Garmin and told me that if I didn’t dither about I would finish under 14 hours, I said I wasn’t planning on prolonging the end but neither would I push so hard that I’d throw up at the finish, I wouldn’t be disappointed if my time was 14.02 because that was the couple of minutes I gave to Dario and I didn’t grudge them.

After crossing the road I found my running rhythm and kept it all the way, finishing in 13.53.49.

Photo by Allan Harley 

I picked up my t-shirt and bottle of bubbly then polished off what was left in my hip flask. What a brilliant day, I loved every minute. Physically I wasn’t at my best but that is irrelevant when you run with a happy heart. My body might be a wee bit drained, that is just temporary. My heart and soul are fully charged.

The West Highland Way is very special to me and has shaped my character and given me strength over the years. Long may it do so.

Here we, here we, here we Flingin’ go!

Last Monday I posted my entry for the Highland Fling, it followed my longest run of the year on the Sunday, 22 miles at a sedate pace on a lovely sunny afternoon. So far this year I’ve only had two 13 mile runs on the WHW, two 16 milers and one 17 mile run on my local routes. I’m not panicking, my muscles have a good memory! Besides I’m not racing, just heading out for a day in my comfort zone with family.

Today I see my name’s on the start list so I’ll start thinking about a "race plan", I’ve never ran either of the half Way races but I’ve never missed a Devil O’ the Highlands and always managed to be some runner’s groupie. Last year I really enjoyed my leg in the Fling relay and supporting all the other runners.

I don’t really care what time I do I’ve got 15 hours to play with and as a Fifer I don’t like to see waste, I may use them all, I’ve just checked my WHW splits for Tyndrum and the fastest I’ve gone through is 13 hours 37 mins. As a rough guide that will do for a goal.

I expect I’ll choke a bit on the dust from all the other girlies and old gits as they thunder off at the 6.00am start, but it would be nice to have bit of encouragement from the rest of the Flingers as you whoosh past me. There were a few memorable words spoken at last years Fling from the Pirate to his lady love, I found them so inspiring I had them printed on a T-shirt along with an Aussie acronym.
Feel free to shout them at me as you go by.

(as modelled by a couple of Scottish Ultras finest)

“The Ba’s burst fur the big yin!”

"The ba's burst fur the big yin!" Crawford’s words to me when he first felt pains in his legs at the end of January, the GP optimistically thought it could be rheumatism but I think Crawford had a gut feeling, the leukaemia was back. He was admitted to the Queen Margaret on Feb 11th it was confirmed and he was moved to the hospice ward. He had a sense of humour throughout that still had Mum, me and the nurses laughing. He wasn’t eating and was disappearing before our eyes; one of his sons, Andrew arrived from Australia a week ago.

On Monday he looked weary, he had an infection. Tuesday the hospital called Mum, they were concerned about him. We got there at about 11.30am he had deteriorated fast, we stayed by his bedside all day, Andrew went away to inform his aunt and uncle. Pauline arrived in the evening and Andrew came back we were all there at night, Mum was holding his hand, he knew she was there, looking into her eyes, she was reminiscing, the picnic when they forgot the sandwiches, the drive to Arbroath just to buy Smokies, the walks on Aldinga Beach (Oz) His breathing stopped being laboured, the frown on his brow disappeared, listening to my Mum he passed peacefully at 10.30pm.

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with Mum, again at Queen Margaret, she couldn’t walk, her right leg was excruciating, she couldn’t bare weight on it or walk, with her health history, (terminal cancer) they admitted her, did some tests, bloods, ECG an MRI scan, she asked would she be able to get out for the funeral on Wednesday. My gut instinct was that because she’d spent Tuesday perched on a plastic chair it was “just” nerve/muscular pain. She does have tumours on her spine but the results showed “no change” so they let her go home.

While we were at the hospital waiting for the results, we were in a side room, a lady came in and asked what Mum would like for tea, we weren’t sure if was she staying in or going home? She wasn’t sure, I said have something because if she was staying she wouldn’t get something until I brought it in later, this was her only chance to eat. I was also offered something. If we didn’t eat it, it would go into the waste, ok, we’ll have a baked tattie with tuna then! Mum made me smile. She said “Don’t ever say I don’t take you out for something to eat!” My return was “Anything for an afternoon off work!”

Today we were going through what music we’ll have on Wednesday, Pauline has sorted a Piper, so Highland Cathedral and The Dark Island are definite. Knowing Crawford’s humour we joked about stuff like You cannae shove yer Granny aff a Bus and the Bluebell Polka, (he used to play it on the accordion)

How else should a guy behave if he hasnae seen a Scottish winter in about 40 years!

Crawford was a great guy who made my Mum giggle like a school girl, they had a just a few years together but they were precious.

Gail's Anglo-Celtic Plate report

PERTH 100K/ACP 2011 RACE REPORT




At the end of 2010 my plan for next year was to train hard for London. Then I got the call from Adrian to say I’d been selected for Scotland again in the Anglo Celtic Plate, which would take place 3 weeks before London. I couldn’t say no. It’s an honour to be selected to run for your country and I had unfinished business with the 100K. And it was in Perth, on my doorstep. How could I say no?. I also felt in my heart of hearts that it was likely to be the last time I would be selected for Scotland.



So I focused on the 100K for from December. I trained harder than I ever had before, doing my highest mileage and back to back long runs, or long runs on a Friday and Sunday, with a race in between. I’d never done back to backs before and they were tough, physically and mentally. And if they were good enough for Richie, they were good enough for me. By the time of the race I felt as fit as I’d ever felt to do a 100K race. I wanted to get sub 9 hours and I wanted a PB. There was nothing I could do about any other runners’ performance so I just concentrated on doing what I could do for myself. Bearing in mind I was running for a team and I wanted to do my best for the team too. I hoped that with more runners in the race this time it would pull me on and help me get the most out of myself.



I didn’t feel too bad in the build up to the race. Plenty distractions like Lynsey’s birthday, supporting Steven and my pals running the D33. Then the proper taper week before the race. I hate it. Too much time to think. Too much time to eat. Too much time to get grumpy. I didn’t feel too nervous till the Saturday night when the distractions had gone and all I had to look forward to was getting up at some ungodly hour of the morning. I wasn’t even hungry for my mega carbo-loading meal the night before. That’s unheard of for me. I think I was making Steven nervous.



Anyway, after a fairly fitful night of catnapping I got up at 4.50am – that’ll be in the middle of the night, and had a decent bowl of cereal – again not hungry for. Then got organised to leave. Normally before ultras I spend ages attending to my feet – previously covering them in ££s worth of compeeds or taping them up as I have a terrible problem with blisters. But this year my feet had been good on training runs with just smothering them in Vaseline, so that’s what I did. As we drove to Perth the light was coming up. By the time we arrived, about 6.20am it was very misty but light enough to see. I saw Ken and Sue, who had slept, or rather tried to sleep in the tent overnight. They were chirpy as usual. Then Izzy appeared and give me a big hug. It was great to see her in good spirits. Then I started to see the rest of the team and support. Debbie looked pretty nervous. Sharon was positively chipper. I met Craig and Thomas for the 1st time and it was good to catch up with familiar faces from previous ultras and ACPs. There was a great expectant atmosphere with all the Anglo Celtic teams setting up their pitches with their flags. I left Steven to sort out all our “stuff” and there wasn’t long to get ready, but long enough. After a quick team photo (we’ll need to airbrush Izzy in later) we were off.



I was planning just to run as I felt. Comfortable for as long as possible. Maybe aim for 8 min mile pace which equated to 11.50 min laps. If I was quicker and comfortable I wasn’t going to slow down. If I was slower I wasn’t going to panic. I certainly wasn’t going to chase anyone. There were far too many good runners in the field to do that and I was going to run my own race. I ran the 1st couple of laps close to Sharon and Izzy, with Debbie and Pauline not far behind. Then I settled down for a few laps to run and have a good chat with Sharon. Now I know why Debbie loves her as a training partner. It passed the time well and was a good distraction from the next 8 hours which were looming ahead. Sharon said at one point to go ahead. I had no desire, intention or ability to go ahead! I was quite comfortable thank you very much! After a while Sharon held back and the rest of the race I pretty much ran on my own.



I had decided to change my fueling strategy for this race. I’d had problems with being sick in previous races and wanted to try and take in as much energy as possible early doors. In the past I’ve relied on gels at the beginning of the race then tried to eat later, which has been difficult to stomache. This time I wanted to try the opposite. After the 1st hour I planned to eat a bit of nutrigrain bar with jam – to make it moist and easier to go down. After 5 laps I passed through the checkpoint where Steven was waiting for me with the said nutrigain bar. “do you want it now?” he shouted. “No” I shouted as I ran past “I’ll take it after the 1st hour”. “That is an hour, you muppet” he shouted back as I sped off into the distance. How time flies when you’re having fun! From then on I tried to stick to my eating plan of drinking a few sips of Go every lap with a bit of banana or nutrigrain bar every ½ hour. I did OK for the 1st 3 hours, had a gel, then just shouted out what I fancied, when I fancied it after that. I thought I stuck fairly well to my plan. Steven may disagree. I had quite a few gels, closer to half hourly, compared to hourly in the past. I had a slimfast over 2 laps. The caffeine gels kicked in pretty well. I had quite a bit of flat coke which went down well. I did dry heave a few times towards the end of the race, but there was no real threat of actually being sick.



I passed though the marathon distance at 3 hrs 27 and the 50K at 4hr 07 which I was really pleased about. That gave me a boost.



As the race progressed I heard that Sharon had had to drop out because of stomach problems. I was so disappointed for her as I knew she’d be gutted. It’s not something you have any control over. I had been wondering where she was as I genuinely expected her to be the 1st Scottish lady in the race. I lapped Debbie at one point but never saw Izzy at all. She was either keeping and maintaining her distance or just plain avoiding me! In the latter stages of the race, maybe with 10-12 laps to go I was slowing down. Just so tired. Then Debbie came flying passed me. I wanted a bit of whatever she had just had. I could summon no response whatsoever. She was getting further and further away from me and all I could think of was I wonder how many laps it will take before she catches me. I was resigned to it. But I wasn’t giving up. I was pleased for her and thought you go for it girl. I just need to keep going. And by the way, where is Izzy? She must be out there somewhere but I’m not going to turn round. If she’s on my tail I’ll hear her Stevie shout his encouraging words. Every lap I did, I thought of Izzy as I ran over the “HBT” written in sand on the ground and “Go Izzy”. I pretended I was running for HBT and that it was meant for me!.



After a few laps I saw Debbie in the distance and I was catching her. There was no race for position in the full race as the Welsh and English ladies were flying, but I began to think about the Scottish Championship title. And I had a time to chase. I knew a PB was a possibility if I could keep going but I had to maintain my position to retain my title. I had won it last year but really by default. I wanted to earn it this year. I was so tired I was having to stop and walk to take my gels but I kept moving. Steven would say all the right things to motivate me to start running again. Tommy was at the start line telling me how many laps I had to go. So important at this stage to be able to count down and pull the finish in. Pauline, on the run was brilliant, telling me how well I was doing, and just saying all the right things at the right time. You’d think she’d been there and done it before….. So selfless when running her own race. All the other runners were so encouraging to each other. It was great to see the guys push on and lap me for the hundredth time it felt. But they never failed to encourage you. The 50 K runners gave us a boost as they joined us. They were allowed to lap us and seemed impressed by the efforts of the 100K runners. I kept looking out for Lynne in the 50K but only saw her before she started and after she finished her race. I thought she’s been kidding me on that she ran it but I guess the photos show otherwise! As I passed through the checkpoint yet again and it was great to see Lynne, Morna and Judith holding up their prizes after they’d finished. And they stayed on to cheer the rest of us on to our finish.



As I got to the last 4 laps I hoped I could get by on flat coke and planned to try and not stop at all from now on. I knew I wasn’t going fast but I was moving forward. 2 laps to go and Steven and Scott were shouting at me – “less than a 5K to go!” I thought of my sister Lesley and the rest of the family with whom I’m doing the 5K Race for Life in June. I’ll bet they wouldn’t be thinking “ONLY 5K to go”. But I was! Keep going. The quicker you get to the finish, the quicker it will all be over. I can get my PB. I can retain the Championship title, but only if I keep going. Last lap and half way round Scott appears like a mad man waving the Saltire, shouting encouragement. It was brilliant. Coming into the home straight I saw Mum and Dad with Lynsey and Craig just arriving. I shouted to them that I was finishing. I was handed the Saltire by Val and ran the next 100 yards to cross the finish line with a big smile on my face. I’d done it. I’d achieved everything I’d wanted to and I was done. No need to do it again thank you very much!



I could hardly walk the second I’d crossed the line but what did that matter? It was one of my best running achievements and it would take a while to wipe the grin off my face.



I was so pleased to see Izzy follow closely behind with a smile on her face too, and Debbie next with a smile of relief me thinks. The guys had a great result too and it wasn’t just Adrian who was emotional during the presentation. I felt heart sorry for Sharon and also for Paul who hadn’t had a good run. It’s inevitable that some people will have insurmountable problems during an ultra. We’ve all been there. We just never know whose turn it will be next. Their time will come soon, I’m sure.



As usual, like the Oscars, we couldn’t do it without our support. Val – El Capitano, great job keeping us under control, Ken and Sue deserve a knighthood and dameship in my opinion, Scott, John (my official photographer) Fiona, Gillian and Steven (who already is a Saint). Massive thanks. Also to those who supported on the sideline and in the race- Stevie, Pauline, Helena, Angus, Lynne, Simon, Morna, Judith, Phil Alan. Team mates and their partners etc etc the list goes on. And of course Adrian and his crew.



Fab day. Not in a hurry to do it again!

STOP PRESS - A top class male athlete runs the ladies only Smokies 10!

After about three weeks of just slightly more than zilch running I had a very gentle run up and down the hills and mud of the clubs Festive Forest at Blairadam which was postponed from December on the 26th February, it gave my duff Achilles tendon a good stretch without aggravating it, I went to the club training last week and gave a gentle effort to the sessions, my tendon was still tight, I ran cautiously but giving it a wee test, it feels loads better but I don’t want to undo any healing by battering out at the Smokies 10 also I wasn’t sure of my fitness since I’ve also had a wee chesty cough which I thought was perfect timing, if I wasn’t running due to a wee injury I might as well not be running with a wee illness at the same time, two birds with one stone so to speak.


I set off happy that what ever happened during the race it would still be better than last years painful plod with a bad back slightly spaced out on painkillers.(Last year's report) I kept a short easy stride so as not to stress my tendon but felt I was working with a slightly higher leg turnover then my usual. I then got an image in my head of William Sichel with his easy, economical and very effective style. That’s it, I thought, I’ll do William. So I focussed on my form, keeping my posture upright and relaxed, an easy short stride with minimal movement. I didn’t push the effort but concentrated on the cadence. I’ve used this technique of adopting the style of a top runner before, many years ago while running The Two Bridges I had the long loping legs of Liz McColgan, I didn’t bother with her humfy shoulders though. It was working well until I caught my shuffle butt reflection in a bus shelter at Bo’ness and that spoiled my delusion! There are no bus shelters on the Smokies 10 route so it worked beautifully, a good steady 10 miles without stressing myself, doubt I could keep it up for another 990 miles though!

Afterwards the tea, rolls and cakes were in abundance and the goody bag was of its usual high standard, a wee bottle of wine, t-shirt, shower gel, cereal bar, crisps and a bottle of water always good value with an entry fee of around £12. I also had the bonus of a technical t-shirt as a spot prize. Pauline said that this was her 20th Smokies, I have missed a few so I think it was my 18th. A visit to Arbroath isn’t complete until we’ve stopped at the fish shop to buy Smokies for tea, a great day out.

I hope Mr Sichel doesn’t have a patent on his style, I think I’ll do a William again.