It has been a long and tough 6 months since I first heard I had got a place in the iconic West Highland Way Race. There had been years of training before that, but the moment I got the place everything got switched up a gear and I have worked my butt off to get to where I am just now. I’m tired, I’m sore, my feet are a mess, I’ve gone through countless pairs of trainers and I’ve had the best tan lines from training runs for months. But I’m strong, I’ve got more power in my legs than I’ve ever had, I’m (just about) mentally prepared and now all I have to do is focus and get to the start line in just under 3 weeks time….
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Tag: ultra marathon
RACE REPORT – The Hoka Highland Fling Ultramarathon 2016
The Hoka Highland Fling 2016
TIME: 10 Hours 36 Minutes and 52 Seconds
OVERALL : 170th/625 finishers
GENDER: 31st/206 females
I’ve been involved with the Highland Fling Race for the past 3 years, but this was the first time I’d actually be running it. In 2014, Jemma and I swept the first half of the race, in 2015 I marshalled at Balmaha after having to defer my London marathon place, and this year I finally got to run this iconic race.
Friday night was spent making final kit choices, catching up with my family and stuffing my face with pizza. I managed to get a decent nights sleep (as decent as 4 hours can be!) and bounced out of bed the minute my alarm went of at 3am. Ouch. I was meeting a few club mates to travel through to Milngavie together and on the walk up the road to meet them was surprised at how mild the weather was. We’d had snow and high winds a few days previously, so these balmy temperatures and lack of rain were unexpected to say the least. I’d worked up a sweat carrying my dropbags up the road at 4am!!
Once we’d arrived in Milngavie we went about our own pre-race preparation and I caught up with Jemma and my little brother who was running not only his first ultra, but his first distance over 21 miles! Big jump, but I knew he’d be more than capable of completing it. Drop bags were handed in to the correct vehicles, hugs were dished out a plenty and before we knew it we were listening to Johnny Fling giving the race briefing and heading to our start pens.
MILNGAVIE – DRYMEN – 12 MILES, 1 hour 46 minutes
I decided to head to the back of the sub 10 hour pen and see what happened. I knew a sub 10 time was probably way too big an ask, but after hearing countless stories of people getting penned in and chugging along slowly for the first few miles, I decided I’d rather be at the back of the first wave and have some room to move than be boxed in going through all the gates. This turned out to be a very wise decision as not once did I feel the route was too busy. And after all… races are for racing, aren’t they? What would my little legs be capable of today?!
Just before 6am, a very slow count down from 10 began…. and then we were off! The whine of the timing chips as they went over the start mat made me grin; I was finally running the Fling! All the miles of the year so far had lead up to this and it was brilliant to be back on the West Highland Way and refreshing the route in mind, seeing as I’ll be back in 6 weeks to race the whole thing….
The first few miles slipped by rather quickly. Before I knew it I was leaving Mugdock park and running past the amazing Carbeth fiddler. Everyone was in high spirits and although I did feel I was going slightly too fast, I decided to stick with it and see how I felt a bit further along the road. I’d turned up to the race wearing a jacket which I had taken off just before we started to run and was wearing a long sleeved top over a vest and arm sleeves, but even with just that at not even 7am, I was getting too warm! I decided to push on and take my long sleeved top off when I next got the chance to walk up a hill.
I ran pretty much the whole way to the road section leading up to Drymen, only slowing to walk a hilly section of road at about 10 miles and to try and eat a banana. Up until now I had only eaten one or 2 shot bloks, so decided to try and eat something with a bit more nutritional value, but as soon as I opened it I felt sick. The texture and smell were really not appealing to me and I managed just over half of it before carrying the sticky remains in my hand all the way to Drymen.
I was looking forward to slowing my pace on the climb out of Drymen. The velcro on my timing chip had been rubbing my ankle for a while so I took the opportunity to duck off the path and fix it while I had a bit of space around me. Heading up the hill into Garadhban forest I slowed to a shuffle up the steeper hills and ran the flats and downs. As I crossed the road into the next section of forest, I heard someone shout my name and looked up to see Sue from my club out taking photos. So lovely to see a smiley face at a random point in the race!
The section up to Conic hill was where I had my first struggle. Not even 17 miles in and already my mind was playing games with me. Why was it so warm? I really should take a layer off, but it’ll be cold slogging up Conic, so I might as well keep it on. Why am I running up hills? Idiot. Why is my top wet? Oh great, my bottle has sprung a leak….
.. and so on all the way to the top of Conic hill. I met a few familiar faces on the ascent and exchanged some chat with others who were also feeling the burn on the way up. Just before I reached the summit, I heard someone yell my name and I looked up to see the amazing Ruth Howie cheering me on. Ruth is part of my support crew for the West Highland Way race (which is now less than 2 months away…. yikes!), and it was so lovely to have pop up and support at various locations throughout the day. I’m sure if I’m having a low point on race day, she’ll find a way to pull me out of it with her awesome enthusiasm!
Once over Conic hill, the first low passed. I was in and out the check point a Balmaha within a matter of minutes, stuffing my face with strawberry laces and poweade as I left. Real food still wasn’t appealing to me and all that I’d managed to eat between Drymen and Balmaha was a babybel cheese. I stuffed my backpack with what was left in my drop bag, even though I already had plenty supplies that I hadn’t yet managed to eat and set off on the next section to Rowardennan. This is usually one of my favourite parts of the route as it’s technical but pretty runnable, but today everything was getting to me. The beach section probably saw lot of swearing, but it had to be turned off for a few minutes as there were cameras about – quick, fake a smile!
I picked up the pace for a good few miles and enjoyed the trails and the beautiful weather until I hit the bottom of the stairs a few miles before Rowardennan. If you know the WHW, you’ll know what I’m talking about! I had nothing in me. A couple of walkers I had ran by not long before breezed by me as I huffed and puffed my way up, one step at a time. I swore at myself for thinking running London the week before had been a good idea, even if I hadn’t raced it. Karen Wallace caught up with me and stopped to check I was OK before bounding up the hill like she had springs in her feet. How I wish I could climb hills like that woman!! Soon enough the slog was behind me and Rowardennan check point was in my sights. I bounced over the timing mat and into the bustling area, was passed my drop bag and perched myself on a rock to fill my bottles and have a harsh word with myself. I was only half way there, yes my legs were tired but this was nothing compared to how I’d be feeling when running the whole thing! I managed to eat part of a cereal bar, a few jelly sweets and some more cheese and after refilling my water, I was on the move again.
DRYMEN – ROWARDENNAN – 17 MILES, 2 Hours 49 miles (race time so far – 4 hours 36 minutes)
The hill out of Rowardennan is a slog, but it was a good chance to catch up on some chat with those walking around me and slow the pace and eat some more. The weather was still stunning and I was glad of the shade of the trees for a bit as it started to get slightly too warm! I enjoyed stretching out my legs on the down hill and technical section and by the time I reached Inversnaid I was feeling tired, but ready to get a move on in this race! My only whine so far happens here and I know it has been said before but I feel the need to repeat it; the lochside is no place for headphones. I was stuck behind a runner for a good mile and a bit who couldn’t hear me (or just didn’t want to let me by!) and there was no room for overtaking on the path around him. Please pay attention!!
After some more cheese (seems to be all that worked for me today!) and a mars bar from the left overs box, some help from Paul from my running club to fill my bottles and a quick chat with Karen, I was on my way to the technical section. I love this section, but this would be the first time I was going to run it on tired legs and I was worried I’d injure myself. I’m clumsy at the best of times, so slowed right down and moved aside when anyone was catching up. My legs were tired, but I was enjoying myself. With the technical section over, I picked up the pace again and bounded over the next few miles of tree roots, rocks and rivers. I started to pass runners who had previously caught up me and was feeling strong again.
ROWARDENNAN – BEINGLAS – 13.5 MILES, 3 hours 17 minutes (race time so far – 7 hours 53 minutes)
I was now ready to get this race finished. I bounded through the check point, grabbed my drop bag and was helped by Norrie Hunter to keep things moving. He told me I’d got there in just under 8 hours and was on for a strong finish, but I knew I had the hills of the rollercoaster approaching so I wasn’t holding my breath! Karen caught up with me here and did her awesome hill bounding thing again as I huffed and puffed my way out of the checkpoint. The path along to the sheep under path was pretty ripe but not too bad, the climb back up the the other side was pretty painful but bearable and the jaunt up to forest above Crianlarich was enjoyable as I passed several group of walkers who all cheered me on.
Nearly there….
The last set of hills arrived and I was feeling good. My legs were feeling strong, my feet were feeling OK, my head was a little fuzzy and I was running low on water, but I only had 4 and bit miles to go! I powered through the forest section, jogging the ups and flying on the downs. I was overtaking people again and feeling brilliant! I crossed the road and just as I was about to cross the bridge before Auchtertyre, someone out supporing cheered me on and asked if I was OK for drinks etc. Amazing!! You were in exactly the right place at the right time! I refilled my water, thanked him and trundled my way round the last few miles. Under the road, along by the river, into the last section of forest and finally, FINALLY, I could hear the piper near the finish line. A quick watch check revealed I was just over the 10 and a half hour mark and I was elated!!
BEINGLAS – TYNDRUM – 12 MILES, 2 hours 43 minutes (race time – 10 hours 36 minutes 52 seconds)
Coming round the last bend I heard Angela cheer me on. I could hear the cowbells and cheers of the crowd and I lifted my head and picked up the pace for a quick run down the red carpet, high-fiving my friends as I did. I was grinning from ear to ear as I received my medal and goody bag and plonked myself on a chair in the finishers area to get my breath back. What a race!! From feeling so tired and low not even 20 miles in, to finishing feeling tired but still having something left in the tank proves to me that I am ready for the big one. With only a few weeks left for big miles, it’s definitely time to get back out there and keep on trudging on!
The Fling is one of the biggest events is the Scottish Ultra marathon calendar and it deserves all the credit and hype it gets. It’s amazingly well organised and runs seamlessly from start to finish. Thank you to everyone involved both on the front line and behind the scenes. Without you this race wouldn’t be what it is. I’ll definitely be back next year to have another crack at it!!
RACE REPORT – The D33 Ultra Marathon 2016
D33 ULTRA MARATHON 2016
TIME: 4 Hours 39 Minutes and 19 Seconds
OVERALL : 84th/335 finishers
GENDER: 9th/98 females
CATEGORY: 6th/35 senior females
The D33 was my first proper race of the season last year after coming back from illness and I’d had such a great time that I was one of many chomping at the bit, waiting for the race entries to open on New Years eve. Fair enough I’d had the cold and wasn’t out partying with all my friends, but when I was presented with number 29 come race day, it showed just how keen I’d been to run this race again!
My race was nearly over before it started. I’d had a terribly sore back all week, to the point where putting my socks on really hurt and I panicked. My training had gone so well up until now, I’d been careful when out running in the hills (apart from one epic face plant in the Pentlands, but at least the fall was broken by mud!) and had been lucky not to pick up any injuries but now, out of the blue my back was in agony! I did very little from Tuesday evening onwards, made sure I’d pre-warned the kids not to climb on me during their swimming lessons (most listened, some just think I’m a tree!) and went for a massage after I finished work on Friday and kept my fingers crossed I wasn’t going to get home and have to send that dreaded email to Karen saying I couldn’t make it….
I don’t know if something had been trapped and during the massage it popped back into place, or if the rest had done me good but the walk home on Friday was totally pain-free as if nothing had ever been wrong! Hoorah! Still not counting my chickens, I decided I’d go up anyway and if I was still sore on Saturday at least I’d be there to help out and cheer on my team mates. My in-laws have just bought a shiny new motor home and had very kindly offered to take me up to Aberdeen for the weekend and combine it with a trip to Inverurie to see my brother and sister in-law. So at 4:30pm with all my kit packed and food packed for drop bags to be made up on the journey North, I bundled in to the back of the motor home and we were off.
After a few stops, we reached Inverurie sometime after 8pm and settled down with my pre-race choice of pizza and juice, and then soon it was time to think about getting to bed ready for my super early start. I was feeling good, my legs felt strong and I was well rested and now pain-free. What could I pull out the bag on race day? I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but I’d used the online race calculator to look at splits for a 4 hour 50 minute finish and I hoped to stick to the splits through the check points as closely as I could. It would be fast, but it would be a good test to see how my winter training was going and even if things didn’t go to plan, it was all just a build up to the long-term goal of the West Highland Way race in June. Priorities for this race would be: 1)Finish pain and injury free 2) finish with a smile 3) finish under 5 hours. As I drifted off to sleep in the motorhome I felt strangely calm. Probably because I’d told myself if anything hurt I would pull out and there was absolutely no pressure on me.
After some crazy dreams about pirates (?!) I woke up at 6:30am and hopped out the van to the shower block to go and get ready and noticed that I wasn’t sore, bigger hoorah! I quickly got dressed, fixed my hair and then once again (as always) struggled to eat breakfast as I was still full from the pizza! I’d decided to travel very light and just run with a hand-held bottle as I found over longer distances my waist belt could hurt my back and my Salomon back pack sometimes rubbed my shoulders. I wasn’t intending to eat much anyway so put everything I needed (shot bloks, a gel and a bit of flapjack) in the little pouch on my new Nathan bottle and had drop bags with Powerade, Haribo and more gels to pick up if needed on the way.
I got dropped off at the park just before 8am and went about registering, saying hello and catching up with people I haven’t seen in ages and then went to join the toilet queue, once again to come out just in time to finish faffing about with my kit choices, drop off my bag and get to the start line for the pre race briefing. I finally caught up with all the other Wee County Harriers who were running and after a quick race briefing from Karen, a few more hugs and well wishes, the hooter sounded and we were off. Here we go again!!
As always, the first few miles flew by. I was running on my own for a wee while and then David Scott caught up with me and we ran and chatted together all the way until the tarmac track turns into a muddy path at around the 7 mile mark. I’d been keeping an eye on my splits and every time I checked they had said 7:xx Probably a wee bit too fast, but I was still chatting and not feeling like I was pushing to keep up in the slightest, so I just kept it going. We fell into single file as the tarmac track turned to mud and I dropped back a bit and brought the pace down to climb the small hill back up to the road just before the first check point. I’d already had a shot blok and a bit of my juice, but didn’t really need to stop for anything so slowed to take a gel and bin the wrapper then got back on my merry way on the downhill section of road, passing through in 1 hour and 3 minutes. 5 minutes ahead of schedule. Whoops! I started running with a Carnegie Harrier at this point (I think your name was Paul? Sorry I never asked!) who said he’d run behind me before and almost didn’t recognise me because I wasn’t wearing my usual stripy club socks! Sorry, they got binned after the mud bath at Devilla! Don’t worry, new ones are on the way 🙂 Soon after, Paul zoomed off and I ran along on my own for a while, still feeling good and still managing to keep my splits at just over 8 minute mile pace. The rest of the first half is a bit of a blur. I just remember trying to keep my pace steady, passing the lead runner just as I turned off the main road near Crathes and he was flying!! Seriously inspiring stuff! Coming into the car park near the steam and diesel heritage railway starts, I got the most AMAZING cheers from some kids. Thanks guys, you were awesome and pushed me on to the check point at halfway. Seeing the runners coming back towards you is always a fantastic sight and most people are so lovely and cheer you on. Spotting the check point ahead, I picked up my pace getting ready to refuel with juice and Haribo and charged into the check point in 2 hours and 11 minutes. Still way ahead of schedule, but I felt brilliant so was soon on my way back, cheering on everyone as they came towards they check point and smiling as much as I could.
Photo Chen Chee Kong/Running In Scotland
Things were still feeling good. 20 miles ticked by and I suddenly started to feel a bit tired. Nothing hurt, but I could feel myself hunching forward and shuffling a bit more than I had been. I decided to push on and see if I could keep my pace to a run, all the way back through and down the hill at Drumoak and then if I still felt tired I could walk for a bit. A few people I had been passing and being passed by were doing the same and suddenly a few super fast people flew by us. Don’t know if they were running incredible negative splits or were part of the relay teams, but they were fairly moving! I reached the bottom of the hill at around 24 miles and slowed my pace to put my headphones in. I didn’t want to walk and still didn’t feel like I REALLY needed to, but I was still nearly 10 miles from the finish and didn’t want to blow up before I got there so resorted to a run/shuffle up the hill to the beat of the music. Coming in to the last check point I suddenly started to feel slightly ropey. My body was still moving forward, but I was probably wiggling all over the road in doing so. I stopped briefly at the check point to fill up my bottle, stuff a Jaffa cake in my mouth and carried on, zigzagging out of the check point. I looked at my watch; I was still ahead of schedule with less than 8 miles to go, I wasn’t going to let this go now! I carried on my shuffle for a while and then decide to walk briefly to eat some Haribo properly. I was probably wiggling down the side of the path when Mike Raffan and Jeni Rees-Jenkins passed me, looking SO comfortable and steady and asked if I was OK. I muttered some garbage about being well within my time goal and had a bit to spare, which was met with a swift reply to get a move on from Mike! It definitely helped though. I watched them run off into the distance I questioned why I actually was walking. Did something hurt? No. Was I totally shattered and struggling to keep moving? No. Was I making excuses to myself and doubting my capabilities again? Yes, most probably.
I was on the move again with less than 6 miles to go. I passed through marathon distance comfortably and remembered back to how I’d struggled at this point last year. It wasn’t until I looked at my splits yesterday that I realised I’ve actually managed to set a new marathon personal best by 3 minutes. That’s not supposed to happen in the middle of an ultra!! Finally I reached the road crossing and met with a cheering Noanie who guided me across and on to the last section. I passed the old platforms about 4 miles out, the green bridges about 3 miles out and finally I could hear the build in the noise of the traffic as we got further into the city. My mile splits were coming down again but I was pretty much done in and slowed to a shuffle with little over half a mile to go. 2 guys slowed as they passed me and said “we’re not happy about passing you with about 500m to go!”, which both confused and delighted me as I was still waiting to see the greenhouses of the Winter Gardens and was convinced I was still over a mile away! The pace quickened as I came down the zigzags back into the park, I could hear the cowbells and the cheers and I trotted over the line with a delirious look on my face finishing 25 minutes faster than last year in 4 hours, 39 minutes and 19 seconds.
Sandra came over to give me a hug and my medal and I stumbled over to Anne and Brian who were right at the finish line cheering for me. How did that just happen? Whose legs are these?!
I shuffled into the tent, didn’t fancy any food so shuffled back out and down to find the van to get changed and warm. As soon as I’d heated up a bit and my post race queasiness had subsided, I was back up in the tent hoovering up the salt and vinegar crisps and waiting for my team mates to come in. Everyone ran SO well!
Another epic journey completed which brings me another step closer to the WHW race. Just over 3 months to go and I’m still quite a bit away from my target fitness level but I’m definitely getting stronger both physically and mentally as time goes on. With the London marathon in 5 weeks and the Fling in 6 weeks, it’s definitely time to stop with the excuses. Time to put down the cake and get back out there!!
West Highland Way Race Training – Weeks 1 & 2
I’ll be totally honest. I’m exhausted! Battering out high mileage training for the West Highland Way Race and teaching 3-10 year old children to swim for 8 hours a day is pretty hard, both physically and mentally. I knew this would be hard work from the word go, and every single mile I have churned out so far is being ticked off as me being another mile closer to being ready for the hard work I will have to put in come race day. But it’s going to be another gruelling 5 months of hard work before I’m even ready to toe the start line. I’m currently in week 5 of my training plan, but I’ll not bore you with the whole load in one go!
Week 1 (28th Dec – 3rd Jan)
I had a nice rest the week leading up to Christmas after taking a course at work right up until the 23rd of December and not having much time to fit in long runs.
Monday 28th – I had the week between Christmas and New Year off work and decided to make the most of the mild weather and bank some miles on the WHW while I had the free time. I took my dog and ran backwards from the road crossing just before Tyndrum towards Beinglas. My plan was to go all the way to Beinglas Farm and back again, but about 6 miles in I came across a huge heard of cows and had to jump off the path and squelch through a bog to get around them, and then found more blocking the bridge in the direction I was going. So I had to abandon that plan and head back to the car. I’ve had far too many near misses with cows and the dog, so I wasn’t taking any chances! (10.6 miles).
Tuesday 29th – Another day off, another chance to bag some more WHW miles. Minus the dog this time, I drove down to Milngavie to thrash out some flatter fast miles out to the Beech tree and back. Lovely run, so many people out walking and I had great day singing to myself and reminding myself how easy it is to go out way too fast in the first few miles! (14.1 miles).
Wednesday 30th – The weather turned and I was tired, so I went for a short recovery run and then had a good few hours on the couch catching up on American Horror Story! (3.2 miles)
Thursday 31st – Rest and some foam rolling. Quickly abandoned when I re-discovered how painful it was!
Friday 1st – Rest and my first long lie in a long time!
Saturday 2nd – A lovely hill run with some friends from the running club. I haven’t been up the Ochils in months, so it was lovely to get a good leg stretch up Ben Cleuch and Ben Ever in the slush and catch up with friends I hadn’t seen in a while. (7.9 miles).
Sunday 3rd – Another club run with some other WCH friends. Nice steady pace on the flat. (8 miles).
Total – 44 miles
Week 2 – 4th-10th January
Monday 4th – Rest. A nice long dog walk and some beginners yoga.
Tuesday 5th – I decided to break my daily miles into 2 runs today as I really wanted to make the club speed session in the evening, but knew I would be shattered if I did a few miles before and totally knackered afterwards. I took the dog out for a few miles in the morning then gave it my all at the club sessions in the evenings of 8×3 minute sprints. I haven’t pushed myself that hard in a long time and I was delighted with my splits afterwards! I know speed work isn’t high on the agenda just now and I’m reeling it right in the closer I get to race day, but it was good to see I could still pull it out the bag! (10.7 miles).
Wednesday 6th – My new Brooks Ghost trainers arrived, so of course I had to test them out on my mid week steady run! (8.2 miles)
Thursday 7th – I was late out of work and missed my favourite hill reps session, so I took the dog out and did it myself later that night. Much heaving breathing included… (6.7 miles)
Friday 8th – The day everything froze! It was far too icy to do a proper run, so I cut it short instead of breaking my neck! (4.6 miles).
Saturday 9th – Enjoyed a lovely hill run up and around Dumyat with some friends from running club. It was so cold! (11.2 miles).
Sunday 10th – The run you put off all day and then when you go out the heavens open. I was soaked to the core within 4 miles, but decided to carry on, as you can’t turn off the weather on Lairigmor! (10.3 miles).
Total – 51.9 miles
I’m finally getting back to my strength and conditioning training as well after a shock to the system at circuits on Sunday and realising my upper body has given up the ghost! Squats – no problem. Press ups and core work – FAIL!
Time for bed…..
I have a plan..
Coming to the end of another year (really, how did that happen?!) and like everyone else I am starting to think about what next year will hold for me. Not just in terms of running, but work, travel and life in general. The start of this year was a disaster, from getting out of hospital on Christmas day after my burst appendix fiasco and then lying flat on my back for 4 weeks before easing back in to everything in the New Year (a cup of tea to see in the bells; warming if a tad boring!) and finally lacing up my training again at the end of January and getting things back on track.
It seems like forever ago that I joined a few of my team mates on a late January adventure up the banks of Loch Lomond for my first recovery run of the year. It was probably rather silly of me to take on a 30 mile run so quickly, but I felt great and I promised my coach I’d turn back and wait in the pub for them if I felt even slightly sore. Turns out it was the start of an amazing year and I haven’t looked back since.
Which leads me on to the big news. After such a strong year, excellent races and a huge jump in mileage I decided to put my name in for the West Highland Way race ballot. Even when I was helping out at the race this year I never for a second thought I’d be ready for entering the following year, but as the year came to an end and I looked back on how much I’d achieved in a year, I thought why on earth not! So on Monday night, along with many others I sat with everything crossed waiting to hear back about whether I was in or not. Every time my email pinged my heart flip-flopped and eventually the email I had been waiting for came through. I’m honoured to have been lucky enough to be offered a place in the 2016 race and now everything is about getting to the start line in Milngavie on the 18th of June.
Training starts now. I need to get my head down and battle through the sucky winter months. I will hold my hands up and admit that I HATE training in winter. As a July child, I live for the summer; the long days, bright mornings and warm(ish) weather. I don’t hate the rain, I don’t really mind training in the dark but I can’t stand waking up when it’s dark and leaving work when it’s dark. I teach swimming and the pool only has frosted sky lights, so during the day I only see sunlight on my lunch break which isn’t enough. Usually after work I run home, dump my stuff and head straight back to training but these days I find myself sitting down for a few minutes and then not getting back up again, especially if it’s blowing a gale with horizontal rain as an added extra. But not anymore! Last night I missed training but I knew what the set was so went out and did it on my own anyway. I might not have been as fast as I would of if I had been chasing down my team mates, but I wasn’t far off and that makes me believe I can do it. No more excuses!
I plan to document all my training on the blog so I can look back and make sure I have achieved my targets. I’m lucky that I have a great bunch of friends who have also been successful in the ballot and we’re also lucky that we live so close to the WHW and can travel over and recce sections easily. I have started to assemble my crew and I’m delighted that my friends are so eager to help – they’ll see the best and worst of me throughout the course of the race and ultimately they will be the ones who make sure I finish.
It still doesn’t seem real. I’ve read countless blogs, listened to plenty of podcasts and scrutinised so many training plans and I’ll admit it; I’m petrified. This is not going to be a walk in the park, this is biggest event of my life and possibly the hardest race I will ever do. It’s going to hurt and I know at times I will feel like I can’t do it, but I’m determined to make it. “All roads leads to Milngavie”, and my journey there starts here!
