I set my alarm this morning for 4:45, giving me plenty time to eat, drink, get dressed then check my bags once more. Dougie was going to be picking me up at half 5, 5:25am Bongo sends me a text asking when Dougie was picking him up, I didn't know this was part of the plan and at the time neither did Dougie due to some crossed wires on WhatsApp. Anyway, it came to half 5 and there was no sign of Dougie, I gave him 5 minutes before giving him a call. He had slept in! So the new plan was to meet at the Co-op at 6am... 6:15am arrives... me and Bongo freezing our nuts off and still no sign of Dougie. If I wasn't nervous enough at the thought of running 33 miles I was now even more so at the prospect of missing registration. In fairness though, Dougie did have a nightmare the night before losing his bank card so had to get an emergency withdrawal first thing in the morning. On top of a busy couple of weeks at work I don't think he felt fully prepared. 6:20am, Dougie arrives, we head to tesco for some petrol then off we go.
We had arrived at Immervoulin campsite with 5 minutes to spare before the closing of registration. It was freezing. There was an amazing atmosphere in the camp. Everyone was psyching themselves up for what lay ahead. Us three however were rummaging about trying to sort our drop bags before the start, a quick trip to the toilets, drop bags placed just in time for the pre race briefing. If I'm honest I couldn't hear a word of the race briefing but it didn't really matter, all we had to do was run and maybe try to avoid getting hypothermia (some of us found that last part easier than others). With the briefing over we had just enough time for a pre race photo.
Dougie, Bongo (Ally), Chris
We made our way to the start line, gave our final good lucks then off we went up the first hill. Me being the slow one of the group started hiking up the hill, Dougie and Bongo went on ahead. I found it really easy to get distracted by the stunning views and many different geographic features along the sides of the trails and had no doubt I was going to love this race. The scenery got better and better as the race went on, the freshness in the air and the positive attitude of the other runners just added to the amazing atmosphere around the route. Walk the hills, run fast downhill and stick to a comfortable pace on the flats was my only plan and initially it was difficult to get into any rhythm until I made it to the long stretch before the viaduct. At the 12 mile checkpoint I took a roll on honey and nutella, a swig of chia seeds in water (I had previously read Born to Run, so gave this a go), a swig of coke then off I went once more. I always had an idea from blogs etc that the forest section was going to be 'hilly' but had no idea to what extent. Everyone around me seemed to have adopted the same strategy however I made up some ground by the Fozzy method of taking the downhills, lean forward and run like f**k. About halfway through the forest section the heavens opened. I wasn't in anyway phased by the rain, I just put on my waterproof jacket and carried on with some Swedish House Mafia to keep me company (not my normal style but it woks for me on my long runs). Checkpoint 3 I the temperature dropped significantly, I had 4 layers on but still felt it, I cant imagine how anyone wearing only one layer (Dougie) could cope with the cold. Shortly after this section I met Pauline (Carnegie Harriers), she told me she had ran 70something (exhaustion doesn't do my memory any favours) ultras before this one, its almost impossible not to be inspired by runners like her.
The conditions remained horrendous as I found myself running alone through the short section before checkpoint 4. I arrived at checkpoint 4 to meet with Rosemary Hunter, she very kindly ran with me until the end of the race, I absolutely appreciated the company. At this point I managed to catch a number of other runners who had passed me earlier on in the race. My walking the hills plan turned into walk anything with an incline higher than 1%, however my 'run like f**k' on the downhills plan was still in action. My legs felt like new on the downhills which to me seems unusual but certainly not unwelcome. I passed another 6 runners before finally spotting the stream just before the end. Over the shoogly bridge then over the finish line in 6:07. I had completed the hardest challenge of my life and was over the moon, and having to hold back the tears as I picked up my goody bag. Rosemary put a hot cup of coffee in my hands, I cant thank her enough for running with me to the finish line, it just shows how generous, selfless and understanding runners are. I started the walk back to the start line to find out how Dougie and Bongo got on. As I walked round the corner Dougie nearly knocks me down (slightly exaggerated here, however given how my legs were feeling he could have been a half mile away and I wouldn't of been able to move myself out the way) on his way back to pick up his goody bag which he missed as he crossed the line. We collected our drop bags then headed for home. I had forgotten a change of clothes so was soaking wet and Dougie was sitting in his work clothes with the heater on full trying to recover from the hypothermia he got around mile 18. We were all over the moon and exhausted, Dougie finished in 5:23 with hypothermia, Bongo in 5:30 and myself in 6:07. Bongos TinT training must be doing wonders for his strength and fitness as despite running the Jedburgh 3 peaks only the week before he achieved a great time.
It was an amazing experience for us all, a very well organised event and despite the horrendous weather a very enjoyable run (for those without hypothermia). Below are some images from the race. Caption competition!
The conditions remained horrendous as I found myself running alone through the short section before checkpoint 4. I arrived at checkpoint 4 to meet with Rosemary Hunter, she very kindly ran with me until the end of the race, I absolutely appreciated the company. At this point I managed to catch a number of other runners who had passed me earlier on in the race. My walking the hills plan turned into walk anything with an incline higher than 1%, however my 'run like f**k' on the downhills plan was still in action. My legs felt like new on the downhills which to me seems unusual but certainly not unwelcome. I passed another 6 runners before finally spotting the stream just before the end. Over the shoogly bridge then over the finish line in 6:07. I had completed the hardest challenge of my life and was over the moon, and having to hold back the tears as I picked up my goody bag. Rosemary put a hot cup of coffee in my hands, I cant thank her enough for running with me to the finish line, it just shows how generous, selfless and understanding runners are. I started the walk back to the start line to find out how Dougie and Bongo got on. As I walked round the corner Dougie nearly knocks me down (slightly exaggerated here, however given how my legs were feeling he could have been a half mile away and I wouldn't of been able to move myself out the way) on his way back to pick up his goody bag which he missed as he crossed the line. We collected our drop bags then headed for home. I had forgotten a change of clothes so was soaking wet and Dougie was sitting in his work clothes with the heater on full trying to recover from the hypothermia he got around mile 18. We were all over the moon and exhausted, Dougie finished in 5:23 with hypothermia, Bongo in 5:30 and myself in 6:07. Bongos TinT training must be doing wonders for his strength and fitness as despite running the Jedburgh 3 peaks only the week before he achieved a great time.
Me at the shoogly bridge!
It was an amazing experience for us all, a very well organised event and despite the horrendous weather a very enjoyable run (for those without hypothermia). Below are some images from the race. Caption competition!
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