The Devil 2010 has passed and I did not run it myself as planned. Instead I was enjoying the supporter's role again. The past 5 weeks have been rather stressful and I really had not ran much at all. I still thought I might just be able to finish it though. Then my achilles tendon played up and I had to withdraw from the start. I have done a few shorter runs since (really short i.e. 5-6K) and it is better. Moving house just 5 days before an ultra is not the best idea but we had not much choice. We got the keys to our new home on the 1st of July (so arranged that it would not collide with the WHWR!), 14 days of coordinating joiners, workmen, painters etc and we had new windows, a fireplace, new bedroom, (nearly) finished new floor and a couple of new carpets. With all the cleaning and packing we were already exhausted.Then a long planned holiday in Glen Affric with nieces, nephews etc took us away from it all, only to come back and have 2 days left to pack everything for the removal van. Needless to say not much running for Thomas either, instead some pulled rib cage muscle from moving furniture. 3 days before the race he was unsure if he should in fact run. By then I was looking forward to supporting him and catching up with everyone else running and supporting. It would do us good to get out there and fight with the midges! So off we went and had a fabulous day! Well I did while Thomas was struggling a bit but kept going. He had given me a rough time guide and was falling behind it for a 6:30 time. At the bottom of the staircase he squirted an already opened gel that was supposed to go straight into his mouth into his bumbag. And blamed me for it of course! The joys! When he looked very tired in Lundavra he mumbled something about hoping to keep his position, I looked back and saw No 7 right behind him. You better get a move on then as No 7 is already here - so off he went with 2 more gels. I did not really expect him to arrive in 6:30 but in fact he arrived after 6:22 and still in 6th position! So really well done! We decided to stay for the prizegiving as a few friends had done great and would be receiving prizes. So we spent the time waiting (that's the problem if you are too fast! You have about 3 hours to wait...) and catching up with the pacepushers' adventures (Caroline's trip to Nepal and India and Neal's Navy stories). At last Neal had been out on the trail again (where he belongs!). We saw Sharon and Debbie finish 2nd and 3rd, Marco 4th and Graham Harcus 5th and 1st supervet. Suddenly at the prizegiving Thomas' name was called up and to our surprise he had won the 1st vet prize. George Cairns the only other vet in front of him had received the 3rd overall prize! Great! And for the 1st time he has brought home prize money!! £40 in vouchers for the Sweat Shop. Not bad!
What next? Well the CCC on paper, but I am not sure if this is still realistic. I know I have not done my homework due to a lack of running. I won't be able to sqeeze it in either. I am looking forward to the great scenery and hopefully sunshine though. We have long given up on the idea of running together as we have obviously a completely different pace. I am just a bit scared to run through the night on my own over high mountains that I don't even know. So at the moment I am thinking of starting the CCC, aiming to keep going throughout daylight, taking it easy and enjoying it without getting timed out too early. And then wait and see. Maybe it is possible, maybe it is not. But if it is not then I will have hopefully enjoyed a great day out and soaked in the atmosphere. By the way No 7 (Richard Galbraith) is also running the CCC. The house move has come in the way, but when we booked all these trips and races last year we did not even think about moving. When the house came up though we could not let it pass by. And with the big one done and dusted in June, and the move last week everything else took 2nd place. So bring on Chamonix. I can't wait to see it all for myself even if I have a DNS or a DNF.
What can I say?! Thomas finally achieved his dream and conquered the WHW Race – a dream that started over 3 years ago and got him into ultra-running. A dream that had turned into a nightmare in the past 2 years with his 2 DNFs. I am so happy for him to have finally done it and I am so proud of him.
It was a very emotional weekend for me. He started well running his pace and none of the injuries he had dealt with over the past 4 weeks seemed to cause any problems until Rowardennan. So we left for our journey round the loch to Beinglas. I was on tender hooks the whole night and day as I knew anything could happen anytime and threaten his run. When we were waiting for him at Beinglas Marco’s support team called over that they had got a message that Thomas had hurt his shin again and he would be arriving a bit later! I could not believe it! I ran to the car to get the 1st Aid Box and when he arrived we iced his leg, gave him some painkillers and he ran on. 4 weeks ago this shin problem had halted our run and I knew it was very sore on the downhills. I felt completely deflated after he had left and did not think he would be able to finish this race. From then on Nancy had to support the runner and the other half of the support team! I was tense the whole time waiting for his call to be picked up somewhere along the route.
At Auchtertyre he arrived but did not mention pulling out and we did not ask! After being weighed he just kept running on. At Tyndrum he looked very sore going up the hill and again I was getting even more concerned. He ran into Bridge of Orchy and the plan was for me to meet him at the support stop, change his bottle, gels and find out if he needed anything else. But I felt I did not make a good job out of it and we changed tactics after that. Nancy would meet him, do all the talking and supply him with what he needed – and she did great. She cheered him up, he even joked and carried on without questioning anything. I think in my mind I was getting more worked up and was already thinking about Glencoe where he dropped out twice before and I so wanted him to get past there. So when we left the Bridge of Orchy car park I drove along the A82 until Nancy said, are we not supposed to turn left here towards Victoria Bridge? In my mind I was already heading to Glencoe! So I turned the car and Nancy waited for Thomas at Inverornan and I kept in the background.
Change of socks and shoes at Victoria Bridge and a backpack with a bladder to get him across Rannoch. The fact that he decided to cross Rannoch was a good sign for me as I knew then that he felt he had a chance to keep going. So now we were ready to head to the Ski Centre. The weather was fantastic (for supporters as the wind kept the midges away and the sun was shining), the views absolutely amazing. So we sat at the ski centre car park waiting for him. Marco’s support team was there again and once again they sent me into a panic. Nancy was looking out for Thomas on the path while I was in the car park. Suddenly Marco’ supporter shouted and waved at me to come down – and I thought, OMG what’s wrong now? Nancy is already there so why do they need me? But he hadn’t realized that Nancy was there for Thomas and just let me know he was in sight! Pheww! Not again at exactly the same spot 3 years in a row! I had just had a phone call from Jens Lukas (winner in 2008). He and Maya kept phoning and texting during the day to support Thomas and wish him well. Thanks guys. That was great. He had just said to me, you have to get him past Kingshouse. He cannot stop there. Yes, that was our mission. He actually was not too bad and ran on. When he had left the car park Nancy and I cheered and hugged as we felt one mission was accomplished! Off to Altnafeadh – new territory for us!
When we sent him on his way up the Devil’s staircase to Kinlochleven I was still scared that his injury could get worse on the steep downhill into KLL. I was relieved he was running towards KLL though but I still did not think about a finish. I was looking forward to KLL where I knew Caroline, her dad and Neal would be waiting (and marshalling). They would help us to spur him on if there was any problem. He arrived about 30min later than expected, it didn’t help to calm my nerves but again I tried to stay in the background until he freely shared his anxieties about a possible fractured leg with Caroline, Neal and the race doctor! It did not help that Nancy handed him his painkiller (Diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory at the recommended daily dose!) right under the eyes of the race doctor (to her defence she did not know who he was). From his medical briefings I know that he is not keen on the use of these anti-inflammatories in ultra races. And I guess people do abuse them and take a dose that is too high and are not aware of the risks. But both Nancy and I knew very well what we were doing and kept a record of times and doses given to not exceed the daily dose. So I quickly tried to guide him away from the scales and the doctor to the car to get him sorted for his final leg into FW.
He left and I decided that NOW a finish seemed possible even to me and we stopped at the co-op to buy some sparkling wine for the finish! I sent a few texts to people who had been sending messages of support, especially the club was keen to find out how he got on. They were all at Glen Massan for the annual BBQ. Off to Lundavra to see him for the final time, last remote chance for dropping out though that was now highly unlikely! But no! we arrived with 5 min to spare to the earliest expected time of arrival, thinking he will have slowed down by now. Before we were able to unload, a guy came up and said, I would not carry all this up to the checkpoint. You have missed your runner! What? Yes he ran through 6 min ago, looking strong and running fast. What? I asked him twice if he did not mix us up and made Nancy go up the hill (sorry!) to check with the marshals as I did not believe him. But it was true. How can that happen? Well, now it was sure that he would finish. No doubt left even in me! So we better get a move on so we won’t miss his finish!
We arrived at the finish and I realized that only 3 people had arrived. (My race favourite had won! Richie Cunningham in 16h 36min – what an excellent performance! I was so pleased for him.) I had not paid much attention to positions at all and thought at KLL that a sub 20 finish was not possible for Thomas, but what was going on now? Again Marco’s supporters told me that he was running fast, maybe even catching Marco on the final stretch. I could hardly believe it. But I knew he would not overtake Marco on the final stretch if he did catch him. If that happened he would run in with him together. As it turned out Marco too had more in his legs at the end and sprinted to the finish in 5th place! Superb! Then we waited for Thomas to appear. Finally the moment we had waited for for 3 years. I was in tears before he was even in sight. And that was not the first and last time of the day.
Watch the video of his finish for yourself. He ran up to me first to hug me and people shouted at him to run to the doors, the official finish. And there he was, a WHW Race Finisher! In 18H 49min and 6th place! Absolutely fantastic!
The prize giving the next day was again an emotional affair for me. Thomas was just so happy to be finally called forward to collect his goblet. And everyone involved in the race who knew him, from runner and marshal to supporter, was so happy for him. They clapped and cheered and hugged him – it was fantastic to see. Thank you all.
I know Dario would have been so happy for him. He kept encouraging him and knew that one day he would be there at the finish and one day he would collect his goblet. It is so sad though that he could not receive it from Dario himself. I would really like to thank Gilian at this point. I think she has shown tremendous courage and strength to be there at the start, the finish and the prize giving. She knew about Thomas too and was so happy for him to finish. I personally felt it was very important to have her there, to share this moment.
And I think everyone in the committee has done a great job to continue the legacy of this race. Thank you!
Just wanted to wish everyone involved in this year's WHW Race good luck! I hope for the runners that they'll achieve their dreams. If you were lucky enough not to have had any problems in your preparation, go for it, whatever your goal is. If you've had a few hickups, I hope that everything can come together and you will still have a good race. And if it comes to the worst and for some (unforeseen) circumstances you can't finish the race, don't despair. It's not the end of the world but only the end of your run. And there will be other runs. (I know people don't like to hear this, but given our experiences I thought I should mention it :-)) For those involved in planning, organising, marshalling, supporting. Good luck to you as well. I hope there won't be any big problems along the route. And I'm sure the commitee has been working hard to ensure that the race will start and finish in the unique spirit that Dario created. Thank you for that in advance!
To my own surprise I put in late entries to 2 of the 10K races of the Polaroid Series. A few girls of the club were doing them so I tagged along. Secretly hoping to better my Women’s 10K PB of 48:55. It did not happen. I am very pleased with my runs though. The Dumbarton 10K was very hard, it was hot, an evening race and my legs felt very heavy. I think I did not eat right during the day and lacked energy and had done a rollerblading session the night before. I still got a 49:06 so that was good. Today was the Vale of Leven 10K. Apparently the hardest of them all and rather hilly. The weather was much better with a light drizzle all the time and my legs felt good. I had done a speed session in preparation this time. I actually enjoyed the race and was surprised to get 49:49. I did not think I could get under 50 due to the hills. So I am pleased to have 3 recent 10Ks all in sub-50.
I met Davie Hall out to take pictures and one of Debbie’s support runners, Jill (I think, sorry, I’m not good with names).
But don’t get me started on this year’s WHW Race preparations! The past 3 weeks have been a rollercoaster of injuries, improvements, new injuries and a “nearly-call” to withdraw from the race. I wish he just had taperitis, but there was not much to taper from as instead he had picked up tendinitis and muscle strains. After deciding it was probably not meant to be this year we emptied a bottle of the Fling’s Finest to celebrate his great performance at the Fling and toast to other challenges to come. As he could not bring himself to call it off officially he kept a glimmer of hope “just in case”. As his sport masseur is now back from his 2-week-sick leave that coincided with Tom’s injuries, he has already had a few sessions. And he has been able to run uphill. If only all the 95M were uphill! Anyway, to cut a long story short and not put you through what I had to endure, he is much better now. His “test run” yesterday went o.k., he has got some miles to taper from and the race is on again! Don’t blame me if I only believe this was a good idea when he has reached FW’s Leisure Centre on foot! How I am looking forward to a one week spell of taperitis now! At least it is only one week!
We had a perfect plan for our 3-day-tour of the WHW. It just did not work out.
2 days before we were setting off Thomas did not feel too great, probably some viral illness and we were not sure if he could run. But of course he did, he set off for his 1st leg from Milngavie to Beinglas with Marco keeping him company until Drymen. I realized he was struggling already in Balmaha as he was rather slow but he carried on. Then I suggested to drive round with me from Anchorage Cottage to Ardlui and take the ferry and have a good rest before the next day. But no, he wanted to “get the miles in” and off he went, well shuffled as far as I could see it. Anyway, I took the ferry across from Ardlui, a wonderful ferry ride in beautiful sunshine. When I had phoned to see where he was he hadn’t even reached Inversnaid! So when I got across rather than walking straight to Beinglas and enjoy a glass of wine in the sunshine I started to walk towards him, and walked and walked. I must have been half way to Inversnaid when he finally came into view. He was walking at snail pace. Well what can I say?! It took us a few hours to get to Beinglas, being overtaken by walkers (!) with heavy backpacks. Where have I experienced that before?! Flashback! WHW Race 2009! Well the path was empty and quiet by the time we approached Beinglas. It took him 10 hours! My Fling time incidentally! The only reason I had taken the car up was because he was supposed to run at his own pace and as I would be hours behind I decided to skip the 1st leg. I need not have worried!
We had a nice meal, met Lorna and her friend from the club who was walking the WHW and then had an early night. The next day we were going over our options. But he felt “fine” again and the weather was superb and he wanted to run. So we set off together and stayed together until just above Crianlarich forest where he was itching to get away.
Then on a downhill section injury struck! I was running downhill towards the bridge trying to take a few photos but he didn’t follow me. I thought he must have fallen and was just about going back when he came. He felt a sudden pain on his right shin and could hardly walk downhill or lift up his foot! I could not believe it. As we were close to the road and the cottage turnoff I said that’s it, we are getting the car and calling it a day. But no! He wanted to put his feet into the stream first to see if it got better. Well. It didn’t and he reluctantly followed me to the roadside. We got a lift back to Ardlui, into the car and drove up to Kingshouse. You can imagine the mood! The injury was iced and rested.
I was itching to do some exercise myself and was looking up our favourite munro, the Buchaille Etive Mor.
Then at 15.30 I decided I would go up to the top. Thomas thought I could get there in maybe 2-2 ½ hours and would make it back in time for a bar meal. So off I went and had a great climb. The views were absolutely stunning, I was the only one on the summit and got there in 1h:27min!! I was rather pleased with myself. I got back down and arrived 2h:30min after setting off from the car, I think this was my quickest ascent/decent yet. Back to KH where Thomas was enjoying the sunshine too and a few beers!
The next day I then ran from the Staircase to Fort William on my own with Thomas supporting me in the car. I met him at the Ice Factor where he had met up with Peter who was trying to cheer him up! Again I had a great run but in the back of my mind I was worrying about Thomas and really thought that he had ruined his chances for this year’s WHW. I just could not face to wait another year for his finish!
We settled into our B&B which is right at the end of the WHW (and actually ran by Craig Mitchell’s parents, winner of the Lhairig Mor race). We could see walkers coming past and even saw the few runners who were out training on the route. As this is the B&B we have booked for the race I felt like I had a flashforward. Looking out the window seeing everyone else running towards the finish and Thomas injured next to me! Not a nice feeling! And I knew then that I could not face coming up to see the finish if he indeed could not start the race. Sorry to all my friends but at that moment I felt like I could not do it again. Thomas on the other hand was already planning to come up and stay in the B&B himself. (Maybe I would come along as well in the end …)
Anyway, I had a closer look again at the injury myself and it looked like a muscular problem in the Anterior Tibilias muscle. I applied some massage, Ibuprofen and by the next morning it felt slightly better. We had also arranged an emergency appointment with his sports masseur that evening who diagnosed a grade 1 muscle injury. He advised to give it a few more days and then start back running mid week. GOOD NEWS at last!
So we are still on for the race and there is hope yet that this year he will deliver what I know he is capable of. But if there is any injury doubt at all he will certainly not start.
This is my new 10K PB!! I can’t quite believe it. I have been trying to get a sub-50min for a while. Last year I was chasing faster times in my 10K, HM and Marathon and had my training geared up to it, but it never happened. So this year with all the ultras I didn’t even bother trying. I nearly did not enter the Women’s 10K race, but as so many girls from the club were doing it, I decided 2 weeks ago that I would go along for the fun! With hardly any speed training at all apart from one single session 1 week ago with 3 fast 1K intervals I went along to yesterday’s race. My plan was to try and stick with Yvonne for as long as I could as she had just got a sub-50min on Wednesday in Troon. So we all lined up and I found myself near the front of the field next to Sharon and Debbie! What was I doing there? Off we went and I kept up with Yvonne, I even saw Debbie just in front of me during the first 1K and thought this was way too fast. And it was! 4:42. We settled into a more relaxed pace and I did not look at the watch again until halfway, 24:55. So just under 50min pace. I felt really good and relaxed but I could see that Yvonne was working hard. When we turned into the park and the inclines started she told me to go on. My legs felt great, I felt relaxed and knew I could go a bit faster. So that’s what I did. And as the inclines started I went past runner after runner and kept overtaking them even on the steep incline just before km 8. Me overtaking people?! So when I reached Km 8 in just under 40min I knew I could get a sub 50. Saw Marco and Cairn again near Km 9, a quick wave and onto the last Km. When I got closer to the finish and saw the clock it was still showing 48 something. So I gave all I had and sprinted to the finish line and managed to stay under 49min! I crossed the line, threw my arms into the air and ran up to the first Glenpark girl I saw (Fiona) and screamed my time into her ear while she was trying to get her chip off. She got quite a fright. My next victims were Sharon and Debbie who had crossed the line a few min earlier of course. I was very happy!
Now that the dust has settled on my Fling-finish and the bottle of sparkling has been emptied, how do I feel one week after?
First of all a big thank you again to Ellen & Murdo and all the other organizers, marshals and supporters. It was a great race and I need not have worried about my drop bags as everything was where it should be and I was given my bags without delay every time. (Not that I need to have worried about any "delay" given my time!) I thought the timing chip was brilliant, so small, comfortable around your wrist and no need to attach a number to your shirt.
I am still proud of myself that I have actually finished the Fling and in a good time for me. I'm not into statistics really, but I was quite happy to see that my best placing for each section was in fact the last one with my worst being the first. So I guess I was pacing myself well given my "limited ability" ;-) .
But my sense of achievement is even bigger because I managed to do it just with my drop bags, carrying a far too heavy bag pack (weighing between 1.5-2kg) and without anyone particular waiting for me on the route (apart from Caroline who was marshalling at Drymen). My total stoppage time was 45-50min taking 15min at Balmaha getting a bit quicker with sorting myself out and only needing 10min at the other stops and a bit longer again at Beinglas. For me it was a bit of a self-experience adventure and it went well! I ran most of it on my own apart from some miles towards Drymen where I was chatting to a few people. And I really enjoyed the experience. It was great to be part of the race and seeing the other runners, getting from checkpoint to checkpoint, hearing encouragement on the way and then being on my own again, enjoying the great scenery, the weather, the fact that I was actually running this race. Don't get me wrong I would have enjoyed company as well, but as it happened noone else was moving at my pace.
I was doing it to prove to myself that I could, Thomas always believed I could and kept saying I was "made for endurance events"! There was one point after Balmaha when I thought why again are you doing this? You can enjoy a great day out running in the hills even if you "only" cover 30M, why do you have to cover 53m?! My achilles was beginning to hurt and I was worried about the damage it might do. But I blocked these thoughts out and just kept moving forward and soon forgot all about it while I enjoyed being part of the race as a runner.
Talking about it to your family and colleagues though brings you quickly down to earth as they just can't get how you would ever do anything like it. At work some girls are just getting themselves fit enough to walk the 5K Race for Life so 53M is just far too crazy. My sister's comment was: "So you took 5 hours longer than Thomas for the SAME distance?!" I guess that sums it up! :-)
I had a great run with 2 girls from the club yesterday, 7.5M around the Greenock Cut, and they wanted to know everything as Yvonne had been to the finish and saw Thomas coming in. That was great and I could relive all the excitement again. And Thomas is working hard to get them to enter for next year!
And yes, by the way, I am running again, my legs feel fine and they have been since Thursday. So that's good news! But I will also be back on my rollerblades next week for the 1st time this year. The Lochwinnoch Loops have started again so I will use it as cross-training.
Our next adventure is a 3-day WHW tour in 3 weeks. Given our time difference though (thanks sis for pointing it out!) I have decided to skip the first leg to Beinglas and take the little ferry from Ardlui, walk into Beinglas and spend a leisurely afternoon until Thomas arrives. After all I'm not training for the WHWR!
And at the moment I think I won't be in the near future either. Walking/running along the loch side and then through Crianlarich forest later when everything was hurting I was in total awe of all those who carry on after Tyndrum in the WHWR with another 42M in front! Incredible! Mind you it is just 2 years nearly to the day
that I ran my first marathon and thought that was incredible! So don't quote me on this.
I'm looking forward to the Devil though. I love the route and I now know I can do it, it is "only" 42M after all! :-)
Then comes our biggest adventure yet, the CCC! And it is really more a "holiday madness" thing, while we are there, why not give this a go?! I knew if I could not finish the Fling then I could forget the CCC, but given that I have - well, we'll see what happens. I have one big advantage over Thomas (yes I have!), I know I can carry a heavy bagpack over at least 53M, his featherlite hipbelt won't do for that race! :-)
