Three races ...

Glencoe Marathon – Sunday 5^th October 2014

This was one of those events that I cannot remember whose idea it was to enter but with no collusion, found a lot of friends had all entered as well. 

The Coe is a location I have a lot of history with, from wild nights in the Kingy and Clachaig hotels, to early climbing adventures on the Rannoch Wall of Buachaille Etive Mòr, Munro collecting and possibly one of my favourite mountain days due to its technical nature – a traverse of the Aonach Eagach ridge is almost perfect winter conditions. The only thing I hadn’t done in the area is run through the glen!

The race starts at the Red Squirrel campsite before heading past the Clachaig and across the road before continuing south on a narrow track. Having started in the first wave of runners, I was torn between taking it easy and running a fast first mile to ensure a reasonable position once we hit the trail, but eventually decided a comfortable pace was the correct decision. The route up to the Devil’s Staircase was mixed terrain - lots of good tracks with enough boggy sections thrown in to help keep the sense of humour in check.

Once on the climb up the Staircase itself, it was time to refuel. The gradient made running inefficient (for me at least) and it was good to lower the pace for a while and give the running legs a rest. Over the top of the climb, it was time to disengage the brain a bit and stride out for the long descent into Kinlochleven. There I met up briefly with my pal Joe who was in cheerleading mode and who shared the news that another friend Richard was sitting around 6^th runner overall.

Down in Kinlochleven, I got some shouts of support from my brother in law and niece along with other family friends before grabbing some food at the aid station and continuing out of town and onto the second big climb of the route up to the Larig Mhor. Maybe not the most enduring human quality, but I gained a degree of comfort from passing other runners who were struggling a bit with the return to relative altitude. Once in the Larig itself, it got a wee bit confusing as we began to catch some of the half marathon runners who had started at Kinlochleven. Passing folks was fine but any time another runner cruised past me it was difficult to tell which event they were competing in.

With the last aid station out of the way, there was “only” the section down into Glen Nevis to go. I’ve run this part of the route a number of times before and always feel it is more challenging than it should be with some “alpine flat” style undulations – the type of short inclines that you should be able to power over with fresh legs but which actually kick the stuffing out you on tired ones.

With around 2km to go, I increased the pace a little and instantly felt like the contents of my stomach were going to go trailside. I reckon the cause was taking on too much fluid at the last aid station but regardless, a slight decrease in pace was going to be better than having to stop to spew. Dropping down the last descent into the finish field, I had a quick shoulder check to see if a wee sprint was in order and relieved to see a smile would suffice.

I was over the moon to finish under my 4:45 target in an official time of 4:39.

Huge congrats to all who were running but especially Richard, my sister Irene, Gordon and #trailteam2014 teammate Kirstie all of whom were running their first marathon!

Pentlands Skyline - Sunday 12th October2014

A quick check of my notes reminded me that this was my 7^th time toeing the start line of the Pentlands Skyline. Possibly of more concern was the first was back in 2003 – who knows where time goes?

Knowing that I had 16 miles with 6200ft of climbing ahead and being curious as to how the legs would feel after the Glencoe marathon the week before, I opted for a conservative pace to start with. The weather was perfect, warm enough to permit a vest and shorts but with a spare layer in addition to minimum kit requirements in case the tops were chilly. After the climb up Caerketton, folks adjusted their pace to suit with some racing ahead and some being happy to enjoy the views out towards the far away kips, which indicated the furthest point south before dropping onto the drove road and heading back around the western side of the Pentlands.

It was great to see my pal Ellie at the Flotterstone water station and I stopped for a brief chat before continuing. 

A micro route choice of taking a slightly higher line rather than contouring round a small hill helped me gain a place by a couple of seconds before the slog up Turnhouse Hill. It was nice running out over Carnethy and Scald Law with scenic views out over the route before the wee out and back diversion over South Black Hill. Descending off of West Kip, I was looking forward to some water, having decided not to carry a bottle. For the second week in a row though, I drank too much and had stomach issues for a while afterwards, losing a number of places as we continued onto Hare Hill and Black Hill. 

By now, if the wheels weren’t exactly off, I was in need of stabilisers and keeping my race position has been replaced with keeping going. I was grateful for some shouts of encouragement from other runners as they passed by and disappeared into the distance. The Adventure Show were out filming and a short moving interview helped divert the dark thoughts for a wee while. Thankfully, I discovered a second wind and felt better for the final descent and even managed to hold my position against another runner in a red vest for the last 100m. I must admit to being a little disappointed in my finish time but considering it is still quicker than my first race back in 2003, and the week after another tough race, I shouldn’t really complain too much!

A history of sorts:

·       2003 - 03:40:10

·       2008 - 03:15:14

·       2009 – 03:02:55

·       2010 – 03:14:59

·       2012 – 03:29:34

·       2013 – 03:28:22

·       2014 – 03:31:18

Antonine Wall Trail Race – Sunday, October 19th,2014

With the high mountain summits pretty much stormbound, at the last minute I decided to pick up an entry for the Antonine Wall Trail Race. The wall itself marked the northern point of the Roman Empire. The Romans only stayed there for eight years after it was built before retreating south to Hadrian’s Wall. Rumour has it they couldn’t stand the continual wind and rain.

Last year, I ran the race in my Luna Sandals which felt appropriate given the history of the area. It was great fun and I enjoyed the expected shouts about running in flip flops but it wasn’t easy maintaining grip through the mud and steep / wet descents and with even more rain having soaked the course this year, I opted for my Berghaus Vapour Claw trail shoes instead.

Sometimes, conditions are bad and you moan about them. Other times they are so bad all you can do is laugh, and in the time between the race briefing and the start, that is exactly the reaction everyone was having to the increasingly heavy rain. Fortunately, the skies did let up long enough for folks to leave the relative shelter of the gazebo and actually start running. The double track along the side of the railway allowed the field of runners to spread out a bit before a sharp turn over a bridge and into the mud. I watched a fellow in front of me trip, recover, run another few steps before tripping again and rolling a couple of times before jumping up and continuing to run. I noted that I was glad of my shoe choice as I tried not to do the same. The next few miles were gorgeous with a fair amount of leaf fall coating the trail in a range of colours. The course has a huge number of twists and turns and was thankfully super well marshalled. If any runner was grumbling about the rain, it was worth considering that we only had to run in it.

Between the six and seven mile point, there is an area called Dumbreck Marsh. From last year, I remembered this including a lovely little section of boardwalk which goes through the nature reserve, but this year it was fully submerged in water which varied in depth from ankle to knee. One fella tried running with his knees up like a dressage pony which looked tiring, so I simply waded until able to run clearly again. The fact this was on the approach on a water station seemed cruel and I thanked the marshal for his kind offer of more water but decided to run on without taking him up on it!

A short hill warmed the feet up a bit before another few miles of reasonable pace helped close the distance to the finish. The last big climb up Croy hill saw me lose a few places but not by much and I was pleased to regain all but one just before the deep mud indicated that we were on the homestretch. Back onto the good path alongside the railway, I was happy enough just to hold position and get across the line. 

Huge shout of thanks to all involved in organising the above events. Pretty obvious but without folks prepared to give up time and create races, the runners wouldn't have anywhere near as much choice of event !

Currently, I am weather watching to see if a wee rest period of simple mountain days is on the horizon before a return to the Tinto Hill Race in a few weeks.