West Highland Way Race 2015 Race Report

Time is important, very important. Its 00:59 on Saturday the 20th June 2015. I am on the start line of my second West Highland Way Race. Last year I ran the 95 mile race in 23 hours and 10 minutes. I wanted, craved, desired, obsessed over getting under 23 hours. Those ten stupid minutes bugged me, they stopped me enjoying the success of enjoying completing the race. Time was important.

Marc and me at Start

Milngavie to Drymen

The race began exactly at 01:00. We were off under the tunnel. I had a plan to run faster than last year and waste less time at checkpoints.

I also had a plan to follow my heart rate monitor and follow it to 140 beats per minute. I had used heart rate successfully in the Highland Filing (53 mile) and the Kintyre Way (35 miles) inspired by Robert Osfield who was also running the race. The second part of the heart rate plan was, that if I didn’t like the readings on the heart rate monitor – then I was going to ignore it and run by feel.

As I ran My heart rate was too high – so I ignored the heart rate monitor. Was that a mistake? Would I get pacing right?

The first section of the race is in the dark, with everyone with head torches. You can’t look at other people without blinding them with the light which makes me feel more disconnected from the conversations when I cant see who I’m speaking to. I remember having a brief chat with Sean McMinn and Katy Hall and then set off trying to run a little faster.

It was early on in the race, near Carbeth huts, that my stomach started causing me problems. I am pretty sure it was because I ate too much through the day. I am used to running in the morning in a fasted state and have always hated running with food in my stomach. By the time I reached Arlehqaven I was rushing for cover behind bushes. My stomach continued to grumble.

I met Marc Sweeney, my support Crew, at the Beech Tree and passed on a hurried request for toilet paper. This was going to be a long day.

The next section to Gartness is fairly easy running with a lot of flat sections and it can be easy to get carried away, but I tried to keep a steady pace and keep eating despite what my stomach was telling me. I found more bushes to hide behind.

From Gartness to Drymen its all on public road with some big climbs that are better walked. I had to jump over a barbed wire fence and find more bushes. These constant toilet stops were making me feel like a yo-yo. I would pass people, then they would pass me when I took a break, then I would pass them, then they would pass me, then I would pass them.

I ran straight past Drymen as the plan was to meet Marc at Gharadbhan Forest a few more miles later. I met Marc handed back my head torch, got some more water, sticky rice balls and toilet paper and set off for Conic Hill.

Drymen to Balmaha

I was starting to panic. I was starting to loose time with the regular bush-breaks. I started putting more speed on my legs and running some of the climbs I planned to walk. I had another bush break.

The run towards Conic was really nice, it was still low light but it is a magical time to be up and running at around 4am mid summer. I mixed walking and climbing on the way up conic and then enjoyed using gravity to speed down the descent into the village of Balmaha.

Marc met me again and gave me more water and food. He said I was doing okay. I knew I had lost about ten minutes. Marc ran through the car park with me and then I was on my own again.

Balmaha to Rowardennan

This is the start of running along the shore of Loch Lomond. I love Loch Lomond. I used to live on the edge of it in the village of Luss. It always brings happy memories. I was starting to enjoy the race.

I met Fraser McCoull and we ran together for much of the section to Rowardennan. It was great to have company and the miles drifted away pleasurably. We passed Sandra McDougal at one point and she sagely advised us that we still had a long way to go. I was concerned at this point that I may be running to fast and be unable to pay the debt later in the race.

Marc met me at Rowardennan and gave me some home made Birchermuesli. Normally this tastes wonderful – oats, cream, yoghurt, grated apples and cinnamon. Today it was barely tolerable. Marc said our mutual  Jamie Aarons was flying. Jamie and I had discussed sharing Marc as crew, given our speed difference I am glad we didn’t. This was the last time I would see Marc so we gave each other a massive hug and I set off. It was a manly hug by the way.

Rowardennan to Inversnaid

I decided to keep pushing slightly faster than I originally planned. My stomach was feeling good-ish now. Lets push and see what happens. I broke up the climbs by running 20 steps and walking 20. This 20/20 helped eat up the climbs until the more technical later section.

I don’t remember speaking to any people through this section. I did get passed by a male runner when I had a bush-break. Maybe I passed a few folk a mile or two before Inversnaid Hotel – but my memory is vague. I remember enjoying the running.

I arrived at Inversnaid and picked up some more water in Salomon Soft Flasks. The helpful Mountain Rescue guy asked what I wanted to do with the old bottles. At £18 a bottle I was definitely keeping them.

Inversnaid to Beinglas

This is my favourite section of the race. Last year I got behind a train of people and moved slowly trying to preserve myself. This year I was determined to move over the rough rocky technical ground at good pace. I passed a few runners on the section. I came up behind Myvanwy Fenton May and she let me pass. Myvanway and I had met at one of the Fling training weekends so it was great to catch up. I pushed hard on the rocks and expected to pull away from Myvanway but she kept with me to Beinglas. It was fantastic to have the company. Myvanway said she would stop for a shoe change.

At Beinglas, I met Susan my wife, for the first time in the race. She had had a handover with Marc at Balloch.  I decided I wanted flat coke and water. I couldn’t eat the bars that I had been given. Susan had to fill one of the soft flasks with coke, unfortunately rather than use an empty bottle she poured out my scarce water by mistake.

Beinglas to Auchtertyre

With our respective shoe change and bottle filling Myvanway and I set out of the checkpoint at the same time. We chatted away walking the climbs and running the descents. Myvanway stopped for a break and I started running with Robert Osfield who had just arrived.

Robert was the person who inspired me to try running to heart rate. At this point in the race I was largely ignoring my heart rate – I still didn’t like the high figures it gave me. I felt good so I pushed on with my pace at about 153 rather than my planned 140 beats per minute.

Robert and I chatted all the way to Auchtertyre. The conversation ranged from heart rate, diet, health, family and illness. Roberts wife had been ill at the start of the week and he had picked it up on the Wednesday. I could hear it in his voice that he was not 100%.

It was fascinating running with him as he was carefully tracking his heart rate. He took the climbs very easy and ran hard on on the descents. It felt super-easy and we ate up the miles effortlessly.

When we arrived at Auchtertyre, I saw Shona Young my support runner. I was delighted to see her and gave her a massive hug. Last year I was allowed a support runner from Auchtertyre, but not this year as I was moving faster and still within 4 hours of the leader. Susan gave me flat coke and water and off I headed.

Auchtertyre to Bridge of Orchy

I started noticing my toes felt crushed in my Hoka Stinson shoes. These are my biggest shoes, and if my feet swelled that much at this stage I was concerned. I saw Susan again at Tyndrum and let her know I would change my shoes at Bridge of Orchy.

At Tyndrum I also met my friends John Kelly and Jo Sahal who bought me an ice lolly. John had no cash so bought lottery cards to get to the minimum £5 spend – he later found he won £25.

As I was leaving Tyndrum, Race Director Ian Beatie was briefing the relay runners to give the full WHW runners a good welcome on passing, so I got the most enormous cheer as I passed between the group. Susan Nash one of my work colleagues was in a relay team so she ran to give me a hug.

I ran by myself for a few minutes until the relay runners started passing. This was a nice experience as everyone of them was highly complimentarily. It was wonderful looking at their long deer like strides compared to my ultra shuffle.

I ran by myself for around five miles trying to eat through the climbs with 20/20 run walk steps. At this point I became aware of a non-relay runner behind me. It was Myvanway! We had a good chat for those few miles. At one point we saw a runner ahead and we had a beer bet whether they were male or female – I won.

Getting to Bridge of Orchy

At Bridge of Orchy I met Susan and Shona and changed my socks and into my Salomon shoes. I was wearing thicker merino wool injinii socks than normal and with the wet they had swelled causing the discomfort. New shoes and socks felt much better – not brilliant but better. I also change from a long sleeved t-shirt to a tank as it was getting warm.

Shoe Change Pit Stop @ Bridge of Orchy

I asked if Shona was allowed to run with me yet – but the answer was no. I felt pretty down. The run from Bridge of Orchy to Glen Coe was my least favourite section. I wanted company.

Bridge of Orchy to Glen Coe

I started the lone climb out of Bridge of Orchy to Jellybaby Hill. I really felt the heat and largely walked the climbs. I saw Debbie Martin Consani and Fiona Ross running the opposite way and Debbie stopped to give me a hug which helped lift my spirits.

I made it to the top of Jelly Baby Hill where its is a tradition that Murdo McEwan hands out jelly babies to every runner. Murdo told me that if I caught up with the two female runners ahead it would help me. This turned out to be sage advice.

On the descent to Inveroran Hotel I met John Munro. I was feeling pretty low so I nearly asked for a hug, but before I got the chance, John told me to get on my way.

Susan and Shona knowing I was a bit down met me at the hotel which was lovely.

Descent from Jelly Baby Hill

I pushed on to Victoria Bridge and the start of the Ranch Moor climb. This was the part of the route I was dreading as it’s a long slow climb which I walked the majority of last year. I could see a runner ahead and it looked like Myvanway. I slowly caught up doing my 20/20 step run walk.

Myvanway said she didn’t know what to do, she had just found out she was third lady. I looked at her and said “lets race this”. We started running together working through the climbs and keeping each other company. This turned out to be my favourite section. I was concentrating so much on helping Myvanway keep her position that I forgot about my own troubles.

We passed Robert Osfield who was struggling with his stomach after a bad ice cream at Tyndrum. I suspect his illness was kicking in too.

We arrived at the Glen Coe checkpoint just after Lorna McMillan who was second lady. Lorna was having a tough day with sleep deprivation. Myvanway was in an out of the checkpoint in a flash moving into second position.

I met Susan and Shona. They both looked very relaxed, but it turned out they had only arrived a minute before. I had arrived at Glen Coe 20 minutes faster then they expected. Thanks Myvanway!

Glen Coe to Kinlochleven

Shona was now allowed to run with me!  We took it easy for the run to Kingshouse Hotel as I had a milk drink and some custard at the checkpoint I was feeling full and lethargic. Shona kept me moving, walking the climbs and running flats all the way to the base of Devils Staircase.

Shona is a wonderful support runner. As well as being one of my favourite people to run with, she is both massively considerate and tough at the same time. If she needs to kick my butt she does. If she needs to lift my spirits with a funny story she does. If I need to eat or correct my running form or breathing she coaches me.

We walked up the staircase all the way to the top, admiring this wonderful mountainous landscape. It was nice running the descent and Shona kept me entertained with stories. We kept pushing and passed a few runners.

We arrived in Kinlochleven checkpoint just behind Myvanway and her support runner. I got weighed and told to eat and drink more as I was on the border line for weight loss. I felt fine. We changed my shoes to my second pair of Hokas. I had a protein shake. Grabbed the head torch and set off. Much, much more efficient than last year.

Susan told me I was on schedule for 20hours 15 minutes. I had been aiming for 21 hours 30 minutes. So I could even afford to have a few problems on route and still beat my projected time. I could even walk the rest of the way and still beat last years time of 23:10. That had a wonderful calming effect.

Kinlochleven to Fort William

The climb out of Kinlochleven is the hardest in the race and seems to go on for ever. It did not disappoint. I felt full from the milk drink and very hot on the climb.

Shona and I started pushing the descents and working our way up the climbs. We were both looking forward to meeting Jeff Smith at the top of Lairgmor. Jeff had laid out this high point with prayer flags and saltires. We could see it glistening in the distance tempting us to continue.

Seeking the Prayer Flags

Shona and I had our photo taking and I grabbed a drink of IrnBru and we set off on the descent.

Shona and me on Larigmor

I was now feeling good again and I could run. And run we did. We started eating up the terrain. We passed Myvanway and her support runner and kept moving. Shona said that would be the last we would see them, but I knew how strong Myv was.

We kept pushing through and arrived at Lundavra. Shona kept me moving, beckoning me to keep running.  We continued through Nevis Forest. It was wonderful running in the the daylight compared with the night section last year where I had broken headlamp and a inadequate back-up. The forest was not spooky in daylight.

A couple of runners came towards us in the opposite direction. A few minutes later they came back with two other runners, one of which was a WHW runner. They were moving fast to get in under 20 hours (which they did). Shona said they are men just let them go. I think Shona thinks I’m female.

We came out of the trees and started the final climb toward the forest road descent through Nevis Forest. I looked behind to see Myvanway coming out of the trees maybe 200 metres behind. I felt if I could get to the road first, then I could get to Fort William first. The problem was I was shattered.

Step by step made it up the slope to the road. I looked at the watch we had 4 miles to go and only 30 minutes left to come under 20 hours. This was not going to be possible. But I was going to get as close to 20 hours as possible. Lets go.

Shona and I pushed on the descent. It felt very fast but the GPS watch only shows 9 minute miles. Shona kept me running at a steady pace and we arrived at Braveheart car park, with one mile to go. I looked at my watch we only had 5 minutes to get under 20 minutes, but unbeknown to me Shonas watch showed ten minutes to go. Shona said “The final mile is the mile that counts” and we started running as fast as I could go. I concentrated on form and breathing slowly and ran.

I ran into the leisure centre car park, put my data card on the dibber before weakly collapsing into a chair. I felt sick. Susan asked if I wanted to know my time and position. I said no – I wanted to know when I felt better.

WHWr Finish Line

A few minute later thanks to a cup of seat milky tea I started to feel better and realise what I had achieved.

The Lesson

I was wrong, time is not important. I had become obsessed with those ten minutes over my target time last year. I was focusing on the wrong thing. Its what I did with the time last year that was the problem – I had not tried hard enough, I had not pushed myself enough, I finished with more to give. This year I gave it my all, I did my best throughout the race, I believed in myself, I enjoyed the race more.

I finished in 20 hours and 3 minutes. I came 16th out of 187 runners. My friend and race companion Myvanway came in 2nd female in 20 hours 5 minutes.

Time is not important. It is what you do with the time and the people that you meet on the journey that are important. Personal achievement comes in the effort you put in, the problems that you solve, the enjoyment you seek and the struggles you endure. Like everyone involved with the race I am a different person today than I was on the start line.

Thanks

• Marc Sweeney for all your support in helping me at race registration, calming me on the startline and supporting me all the way to Rowardennan. It’s great having your experience on hand. I hope we can train together more in the future.
• Shona Young for doing a brilliant job as support runner from Glen Coe to Fort William, helping me a achieve a time I of which I could only dream.
• Susan Chalmers for all the support throughout the year allowing me the time to train around time with the family.Thanks for the support with food and preparation before the race – sorry I didn’t eat much of it. Thanks for being a great crew chief, wife and friend.
• Marge & David Bainbridge (aka Nana and Grandad) for looking after my two precious girls whilst Susan and I were at the race.

WHW Race Splits

Lessons from the 2014 West Highland Way Race

On the 21st June I ran the 95 mile West Highland Way Race. I finished just ten minutes over my hoped for time of 23 hours. This was my first time as this distance with the furthest I had run being the 53 mile Highland Fling. Overall the day went really well, with a lot of things going well, and a few aspects I could improve to better my finish time.

What Went Well?

1. Crew. I was utterly delighted with my entire crew. Marc, Susan, John and Jo were all brilliant, attentive, supportive and on time at every checkpoint. Liz and Shona my support runners were completely different characters but gave me exactly what I needed at the right stages of the race. Liz was a ball of sunshine at the difficult midpoint. Shona kept me focused on the task keeping me eating, drinking and running when I needed. Everyone was great company to me the Zombie Runner.

2. Feet. The race was blessed with both a dry course and dry weather, which meant my feet were dry for the whole race. That said I think the preparation on my feet worked really well. I pre-taped my feet with RockTape Kinesio Tape. I used 2Toms Anti- Blister powder to give my feet a friction free surface. I wore Injinjii socks which protected my toes. At one point my little toes started swelling – so I stopped and applied Waitrose Baby Bottom Butter which solved the problem. I ended the race with no blisters, all my toe nails and minimal feet swelling.

3. Hokas. From Rowardennan (27 miles to 95 miles) I used Hoka Stinson Trail shoes. These worked great and helped reduce the impact of the run.

4. BawBags. I used BawBag Cool De Sacs underwear and lightweight unlined shorts which worked perfectly. Absolutely no chaffing.

5. UCAN. UCAN is a SuperStarch which is easily absorbed by the stomach which avoided GI problems and gives a slow steady stream of carbohydrate into the bloodstream. One 500ml drink lasted me a couple of hours. It is not too sweet so was easy to drink.

6. Two Crews. The early morning crew covered to Rowardennan and the late crew covered from Auctertyre. This helped reduce the length of the days for folk – which were both very long.

7. Time Avoidance. I briefed the crew not to discuss time or distance with me whilst I was running. This allowed me to run my feel and not get stressed about time. This made the experience more enjoyable for my first attempt at the distance. For the future I think I need to be more conscious of time if I am to improve my speed.

8. Pace. I was very conscious of my breathing rate and made sure it always felt easy. This allowed me to get to the end in good shape, but I feel for the future I can push harder from much earlier.

9. Hand Bottles. I had two new Salomon Soft Flask Park Hand Bottles which worked great for UCAN and flat Sprite.

10. Endurance Training. The training programme I used was great for building Endurance with training heavily focused on long runs.

11. Bouldering. I started indoor rock climbing / bouldering as part of training which built upper body strength and core strength.

 

What Can Be Improved?

12. Simplify Food Selection. I had a massive selection of food, but ended up using largely UCAN, Coke, Sprite and Gels. At the later stages of the race I was in no mood to eat solid food, so liquid calories were the best solution. Next time I can simplify the food selection, making it easier for the crew. Some solid food would be good but it needs high levels of moisture / liquid in it. Next year I would expect to use: Bircher muesli, Bone Stock Soup, UCAN, Gu Gels, Ginger, Watery Mince, Eccles Cakes, Bananas.

13. Two Packs, Four Bottles. Time in the aid stations could be reduced by having two back packs and extra hand bottles. This will allow the support crew to get everything ready and I just need to grab and go.

14. Hill Climbs. I am slower walking up hills than other similar speed runners. This is in part a training need and in part a need to push my pace.

15. Play to Strengths. I am faster than similar paced runners on technical terrain and on descents. A few points on the race such as Conic and north of Inversnaid, I held back with other runners. I think this put additional strain on me as I was holding back rather than playing to my strength.

16. Pacing. Now I know what to expect I think a pacing strategy will help me next year. Next year I think I should be able to be up to two hours faster. A heart rate monitor may help.

17. Peaking Early. Although I was in good shape for the West Highland Way I suspect my training peaked at the Highland Fling in April.

18. Mid-Week Training. My mid week training was largely un-focused. Next year I need to put greater emphasis on interval training, speed work, hill sessions, threshold sessions.

19. Strength Training. Once a week I would like to get some focused strength training for my legs and upper body.

 

West Highland Way Race 2014 – A Wonderful Adventure

WHW Race Briefing (Stuart & Marc in lower left corner on wall)

I always find writing a difficult process – enjoyable when I get the random thoughts in my head down on paper, but it is difficult none the less. Running, however, is simpler, you just place one foot in front of the other until the end. You need a pair of shoes, shorts and a t-shirt then you are good to go. Whilst running can be simple, sometimes it is a challenge, sometime you need help, sometimes it hurts, often times it lifts my soul and helps me understand a little more about myself and the world around me.

It is 7:15pm, I am 41 years old, and yet I am being force-fed by a 6ft man mountain who is making airplane noises at me so that I will open my mouth while he stuffs a teaspoon of minced beef down my throat. By this point, I had been running for over 18 hours and had covered an exhausting 80 miles. This might seem desperate, but at this point I knew I could complete the race as the toughest mental sections had passed.

The 2014 West Highland Way Race started at 1am on the 21 June at Milngavie and for me ended  successfully at 10 minutes past midnight on the 22nd of in Fort William. It is an epic race that has been run since 1986. I remember walking the West Highland Way route in the early 1990s as a student and taking 7 tough days to walk the route. My friend Andy talked about some of his RAF colleagues who had run the route in a day. This seemed a superhuman effort to me, only achievable by the super elite of the military.

Fast forward about 22 years and a mid life health kick later, I am standing on the the start line at  Milgnavie just after midnight with shy of 200 runners looking to run the route in the allotted 35 hour cut-off. I am standing with my training partner Marc Sweeney. Marc and I have run a lot of miles and shared many conversations in the last two years. Marc had aspirations on the West Highland Way Race for the last two years but he had been injured last year and this. He kindly agreed to support me for the first night section of the race until Rowardennan (27 miles). It was great to have Marc there, he always keeps me calm. He also kept me warm by lending me his down jacket whilst we waited for race briefing. As we were listening Marc and I got a hug from Sharon Law whom we had met at the Fling Training Weekend. Another person we met at the training weekend was Katie Hall who was the ‘Angel of Death’ who was to cut the tags off all those that Did Not Finish (DNF).

I was chatting to Katie so much I forgot to line up for the race and had to squeeze through the crowd to get to the race start line after the hooter had gone. There is something special about running through the tunnel at Milngavie Train Station in the dark, it helps to mark the start of this epic journey.

One of the aspects I love about ultras is that they are super-friendly. However, I found that because of the dark, or maybe it was because of nerves, but people talked less at the start of this race, than in others I’ve run. The evening was absolutely beautiful, the perfect weather and temperature for running. Not long into the race I noticed that my insoles of my Salomon shoes had moved backwards which meant I was likely to get blisters on my toes. I stopped to adjust the shoes but by Carbeth is was a problem again. I had had the problem previously with these shoes but thought it was solved with some new insoles. I phoned Marc and asked him to look out my other Salomon shoes when we met at the Beech Tree at around 7 miles into the race.

One of my favourite sections of the course is between Carbeth and Glengoyne Distillary, the views over Drumgoyne hill are beautiful in daytime, but at night it is absolutely breathtaking with the deep rich blue night sky and the fringe of orange clouds caressing the mountains on the horizon. I started running with Alan Robertson one of my friends and heroes. Alan was talking about running in sub 26 hours, he finished in 24hrs27 coming first in the over 60 category. He said he wasn’t being competitive, but I reckon his pace increased a mile per minute as soon as I started running beside him.

Marc met me at the Beech Tree and had the shoes looked out so I was quickly able to get back on the road.

As I ran along the old railway sections I started chatting with Bridget Halewood. She had run the race a couple of times before. Just before we arrived at Gartness, I saw a beautiful shooting star fly through the night sky. I ran with Bridget to Drymen where she met her crew. I continued to Garadbhan Forest where Marc met me to give me some rice pudding. I should have given him my head torch at this point as I didn’t needed it after that. It was 03:30 and it was already nearly daylight. The climb started towards Conic Hill. I took the opportunity to walk the climbs to keep my legs rested. On the way up Conic Hill I spoke to a California lady who was doing the race with her husband with the aim of qualifying for the Western States 100 mile Endurance Race.

As we crested Conic Hill I phoned Marc to update him on my progress and request a few items to be looked out. I ran cautiously down Conic Hill to try and preserve my quads, but think that was a mistake as it seemed to impact on my muscles more than my normal run speed! I spoke to a lovely Irish fellow on the way down who had lived in Sheffield for many years.

At Balmaha, Marc gave me my Brichermuesli for my breakfast which went down a treat. The midges were starting to bite so I hurriedly tried to use some SkinSoSoft, but the spray mechanism failed so I used the evil DEET spray instead. After a quick hug I left Marc and headed up the shore of Loch Lomond.

The loch shore is beautiful and I took opportunities to walk on any steep uphill sections. As I arrived at Sallochy I was able to use the toilets. Stomach issues can ruin day many an ultra runner, so I was delighted to find that I was in good shape. My main memory of this section of the run was the roller coaster of ups and downs. The midges were also starting to be a frustrating problem. Having seen another runner wearing a midge net I decided to test mine and found that it was absolutely fine for running.

I had phoned Marc to look out my Hoka Stinson shoes. My Salomons were working fine but they were my old pair and I felt they weren’t offering the support they used to.  Marc complemented me on my steady breathing, as he had seen several people who seemed to be working too hard. I gave Marc a final hug at Rowardennan, as this was the last time I would see him.  At the next aid station I was going to be met by my wife Susan and my friends John Kelly and Jo Sahal. Marc met them at Balloch gave them my boxes of kit and advised them that I wasn’t eating and drinking enough.

From Rowardennan I started using a new SuperStarch drink called UCAN, which on paper seemed to offer a perfect nutrition that is easily absorbed by your stomach and giving a very slow release of carbohydrate into the blood, so avoiding sugar spikes, helping to aid the natural fat burning process. The problem was that I had not had time to test this product on long training runs.

From Rowardennan Youth Hostel there is a climb through the forest which gave me a good opportunity for a walk and to eat some food. I had some home made sushi rice cake and a polenta cake. On the descent down I started speaking to Richard Harrison. Richard had previously run Ultra Tour de Mont Blanc. Richard and I were destined to meet several times through the race.

At Inversnaid Hotel I collected my drop bag and unexpectedly met Grant O’Donnell who was one of the mountain rescue crew. Grant is a retired police officer that I used to work with when my job with the Forestry Commission covered the National Park.

The section from Inversnaid to Beinglas Farm is very technical and rocky and is often spoken about as the worst section of the route. It is, however, my favourite section. I like jumping from rock to rock and using my hands to pull myself up some of the rock sections. After a while I caught up with a runner, Jo, who asked if I wanted to pass. I decided to hang back and chat so that I didn’t abuse my legs on my favourite section. I only realised much later that this was Jo Rae. I had run sections of the 2013 Devil o’ The Highlands with Jo, but her dark hair confused me as last year she was blonde! Richard Harrison caught up with us as did a few other guys, but we all decided to run steady with Jo on the single track section.

Stuart arriving at Beinglas

As the path widened I pick up my pace a little and pushed on to Beinglas Farm. The midges by this point where biting hard so I needed the midge net. I arrived at Beinglas a little grumpy, in part because of the midges and in part because I knew I still had about 55   miles to run. Susan met me and showed me where John and Jo had set up base with the chair. I decided to do a sock change at that point. Susan had some soup prepared which was thicker than I wanted, so I asked for my mince beef instead. As I said, I was a bit grumpy. John did say I got less grumpy the closer I got to Fort William.

Susan, Jo and John Mixing it Up

I set off towards Auchtertyre. The next section had a fair bit of walking uphill which gave me time to eat. I always felt guilty for walking uphills but I knew it was the right thing to do. I played a game of cat and mouse with another runner who didn’t want to acknowledge me. He was stronger on the ups and I was stronger on the downs. It was good to have someone to duel with. I overtook him at the infamous ‘cowpat alley’ which is exactly what it sounds – except it was all dry and desiccated under the sun.

The section from Crainlarich is a mixture of steeps ups and steep downs through the forest and there are some lovely bits near the river. I was conscious that this was about as far as I had run before and kept back on the climbs. The descents were a little painful but not too bad. I passed a few groups of backpackers on the route, but it did surprise me how few walkers I saw on the whole WHW route.

I phoned Susan a few miles from Auchtertyre Checkpoint (Mile 50) and said I wanted to change my top and socks. She told me my support runner Liz had arrived. If I was on target time then I did not expect to be able to run with Liz from this checkpoint. However I had strictly instructed my crew not to discuss times or distances with me. At the checkpoint I was offered more of the thick soup that I didn’t enjoy and I said ‘can I not have my mince’. Susan told me it was not ready yet. To my surprise I was allowed to run with Liz, I would have thought I was behind schedule but Liz blurted out “And you are exactly on schedule” to the embarrassment of the rest of the crew. It was good to know actually otherwise I would have been concerned I was way off target pace. You are not allowed a support runner if you are within 4 hours of the leader. As it turns out a battle at the front was making this a course record year. I had another successful toilet stop – stomach still in good nick.

Liz and I set off towards Tyndrum, this was only a few miles and Susan and John met us with a lovely selection of ice creams. I had the best tasting Solero ever. Liz was great fun. A  little ball of sunshine that kept me going with stories about work (we both work for Forestry Commission) and her family. This point in the race was significant as it was further than I had ever ran before, yet I still had to run a further 43 miles. Liz kept this daunting thought from my head as we headed towards Bridge of Orchy. I met Jo Rae again but she was having stomach issues and was planning to pull out soon. I reassured her that she was still running strong but she called it a day at Bridge of Orchy. My memory is not good with  details, so although I knew the course well, I was constantly surprised when I went round the corner to find that there were still several miles to get to the next checkpoint. My GPS watch had a false reading at some point in the run and reckoned I had run 584 miles by this point – this was good as it stopped me fixating on distance.

Liz and Stuart arriving at Bridge of Orchy

I was walking one of the climbs when my friend Elspeth Luke came running past saying “Hello, I am feeling strong, so I am going to push on”. I desperately wanted to push on too, but the sensible part of my brain (and Liz) told me to relax. I fell on my hands at this point but was saved from injury by my hand bottle. I didn’t see Elspeth again until the finish she had a storming run knocking almost six hours off her time from last year.

Liz and Shona discuss the virtue of Hokas

Liz really seemed to enjoy the run and offered to keep running till Glen Coe if Shona wasn’t available. Liz and I arrived at Bridge of Orchy met by Shona and John. I had met Shona on the Devil o’ The Highlands race last year and we ran the last 9 miles together and just really hit it off. Shona is super strong and I knew wouldn’t put up with any nonsense from me as I got tired in the later stages.

At Bridge of Orchy Shona and I met Richard again and we talked on the climb up. His support runner hadn’t arrived off the train yet. Shona and I then pushed on the descent and up towards Glen Coe. It wasn’t long before Richard caught up and pushed on hard to  Glen Coe. He was faster on the climbs than me but I couldn’t seem to make up time on him and I think he was probably ten minutes ahead of me at the next check point. The journey to Glen Coe seemed hard-fought, but stunning nonetheless. Shona did a good job of pushing me to run when I needed. We passed a runner who was taking a nap at  the side of the trail. His support runner found it amusing whilst he  took guard over his runner.

Stuart progressing slowly toward Glen Coe

The route rolled up and down and round the mountains, but eventually we got sight of  Glen Coe. We arrived to be greeted by Susan. Susan had got me some mince. I later found that we had both forgotten the mince at home and Susan dissected a lasagne at the Cafe at Glen Coe to give me the mince I had asked about at the last two checkpoints. The problem was I was in no mood for solid food, so Susan started force feeding me whilst I changed my socks. John complained again that I was not drinking enough. I grabbed two hand bottles one with flat Sprite and one with UCAN. I felt shattered at this checkpoint, but my crew later said I was in good spirits.

Stuart getting force fed by Susan “You will eat this mince”

Shona and I set off from Glen Coe to Kingshouse Hotel. My quad muscles seemed really tender but running was still possible. We went past the hotel and along the public road before weaving up a track towards the Devils Staircase. The Staircase is one of the steepest sections of the route but I took it as an opportunity to walk and  enjoy the scenery. Richard caught up with us about half way up along with his support runner. Shona surprised his support runner  by asking about his train journey. The four of us chatted up to the top of the Devil, where I stopped to tighten my shoes (with Shonas help). I love downhill, so we were able to make some ground. I was breathing a little hard at some points so Shona encourage me to lower my arms to take pressure off my heart. You’ll note she did not get me to slow down. Shona discovered how heavy my pack was thanks to Johns desire to make sure I was drinking and eating enough. The run to Kinlochleven is really nice with some good steep sections which we ran down. At this point  my confidence about my ability to complete the race kept improving. Shona and I had bets about how long it would take to get to Kinlochleven, Shona reckoned it was 20 minutes, I thought 25 mins but it was nearer 30 mins.

Stuart flying towards Kinlochleven

Kinlochleven is one of the major weigh stations and the last Checkpoint before the finish. I had lost no weight, in part because I was still wearing my super heavy pack. There was more of that mince that I didn’t want but John force fed me despite my grimaces. I had a banana which went down a treat. We packed my Silva Runner Headtorch for the night section. I had another sock and t-shirt change. It was at this point that I heard that Paul Giblin had beaten his own course record by 40 minutes – a stunning performance.

John force feeding Stuart “You will eat this damn mince”

I started shivering as Shona and I set off for the final leg of the run. Shona demanded that I put on her hat and gloves. I had my own, but I wasn’t saying no to Shona. I knew I would say ‘no’ – only once to Shona and I needed to save that for the right moment. The climb out of Kinlochleven soon warmed me up. The good thing is that once you get up the hill, the majority of the rest of the route seems to be downhill. This section of the route is also where I first met Shona so it held good memories.

Stuart at Shona arrive at Wilderness Mountain Rescue Post (9 miles to go)

We met Brian McFarlane and his father. Brian had supported his father last year and this year the roles were reversed. Brian and I met at the D33 this year, where we ended up having great conversation whilst injecting an extra minute per mile to our pace for the last  five miles.  We had a quick chat with the lovely guy from Wilderness Mountain Rescue. When we looked at ahead Brian and his father seemed to stormed ahead of us. I commented on their fast speed when Shona made a quip about “Brian the Snail” and forced me to pick up my pace. At earlier stages Shona asked me whether I was ready to run, but now she just started  running and I dutifully followed. We caught up with Brian when he stopped to get a drink and Shona and I pushed on.

The run to Landuvra was really nice running but common with the previous stages, it took a lot longer than I expected. There were loads of corners. At Landuvra we had a quick chat with John Kynaston who said we would be about 1 hour 40 to the finish. The time was 22:30 which meant I was going to be slightly behind my 23 hour schedule – this was the first time I allowed myself to think about my finish time. We set off with some determination.

After a few miles it started to get dark. I had heard that the dark really slows people down but I had a 550 lumen head torch so I was comfortable I would be able to push the pace. However my head torch would not switch on. I had an emergency Petzel E+ headlamp which Shona insisted she used and I took her head torch (with low battery power). I was grumpy about my faulty head torch but Shona rightly kept me focused on the task. I was struggling to see properly and had to slow my pace through the forest. Shona insisted that I ran. “You can run but I am not” – okay that’s me used my one ‘no’. Glad I save it! Once we were out of the forest visibility was reasonably good so I was able to push on, especially once we got onto the forest road descent.

It felt like Shona and I were absolutely flying. Shona offered to support me again next year and we chatted through when she would do the race. Its a wonderful feeling running at this point where you know that a long-held ambition of completing the West Highland Way Race was now an absolute certainty. We arrived at the Braveheart Carpark which signals the last mile of the route. I couldn’t believe how good I felt at this point in  the race. I felt like I could run another 20 miles, 40 miles.

We hit the outskirts of Fort William and kept pushing the pace. We saw Susan, which meant we were close to the finish at the Leisure Centre. I ran to the centre doors and had my timing chip recorded for the final  time. I had finished in 23 hours and 10 minutes in 60 place out of 196 starters.

Arriving at Fort William – 95 miles complete

Shona commented about how lucky I had been. I had been strangely looking forward to hallucinations and soul crushing lows within the race. These did not come. I was tired at points but had managed to keep a positive spirit. It was a fabulous adventure, where I discovered that my personal limits are further away from me than I had ever imagined.

Finish with Shona Stuart & Susan

 

Thanks

I used to think running was a solitary sport, but Ultra running and especially this race is a team sport. My wife Susan and my girls Rosalind (6) and Alana (2) have supported my training schedule. Susan was fab pre race and during the race in getting food and other stuff ready. My Mum looked after the girls during the race. Marc has been a constant support through all the training runs we have done over the last two year as well as doing the unglamorous first night shift during the race. I look forward to many more training runs as he trains towards running the WHW race next year – third time lucky. John and Jo were brilliant throughout the day. John had been training especially to support me until he got a stress fracture – real friendship. Liz was a brilliant ray of sunshine in the middle of the race which is normally my worst point in any race. Shona ran the last 35 miles with me and was the perfect task master / friend that got the best out of me. Finally I want to thank all the family and friends who sponsored me for the ME Association, together we raised £1,374.96

Fish & Beer Supper at the Real Food Cafe, Tyndrum

 

 

 

End of Lottery Season

Ultra running is in a period of growth. There a lots of new races internationally. The older famous races are showing increased demand. Some races such as Lakeland 100 deal with this demand on a first come, first served basis with the  race selling out in days. Other races have a more relaxed application period, but then subject their applicants to a wait period as their name goes into a lottery. The lotteries were recently announced for Western States 100 and Hardrock. Western states had 2295 applicants for 270 coveted spaces, giving less than 8% chance of getting in.

That brings me to my own lottery for the West Highland Way (WHW) race, a 95 mile ultra through some of Scotland best scenery. The WHW race has both a qualification round and a lottery. I was pretty certain I had qualified as I had run both the Highland Fling and the Devil o the Highlands this year, which individually were regarded as qualifying races. But the lottery, well, that I had no control over. There were 304 applicants for 265 places – so not the big lottery of Western States. Of those some withdrew and then 27 did not qualify which left 9 unfortunates who would not get a space. 

Monday was decision day. Race Director Ian Beattie updated Facebook to say he was sending emails to let folk know. But my emails not working… Other people note a problem with Outlook. Someone else says you can log into the SI race entry system….. I think I am in, yes, yes I am in. But what about Marc my training partner, he entered last year but had to withdraw due to injury. Oh, I have a missed call from Marc. But what if he hasn’t got in. He’ll be gutted. Who will I train with? I can’t phone if it’s bad news. The website now has the runners list. Yah beauty, Marc has a place too.

Now I can breath. I’m in. I’m in. Marc’s in. We are both in. Now the training and obsessing starts for six months till 1am on 21 June 2014.

Edited with BlogPad Pro

Seven Reservoir Half Marathon (Pentland Hills)