Lucky Devil

I was a bit on the fence as to whether the 43 mile Devil o' the Highlands race was a good or bad idea with the 24 hour race being only five weeks away, but I just love the race.  It was my first ultra and will always be my favourite.  It's by covers the best sections of the West Highland Way and has to be 43 of the most beautiful miles in the world.

Race summary: 43 miles from Tyndrum to Fort William. 6 hours and 54 minutes.  First lady.  9th overall (137 starters).  Garmin Connect info here  Back up by the super-slick Sonic.



Start of the Devil o' the Highlands 43 mile Footrace.  Saturday, August 4 at 6am in Tyndrum



Bridge of Orchy 6.6 miles


This year's race was pretty hot and humid. My weather app flashing up "feels like 25 degrees" and "97% humidity". You might know that I'm a bit of a jessie in anything above 14 degrees, so it wasn't ideal.
Still, the views were absolutely spectacular.

Picture by Helen Munro

The flip side to that were the midges. The worst I have ever known. Around Victoria Bridge was like a thick fog of the pesky feckers. They were in my ears, mouth, ears and glued to skin. Still, the runners certainly had the easier option.  Support looked like a fate worse than death.

I'll spare you mile-by-mile breakdown, but they just zipped by, which I think is always a good sign of running well.  I worked with the hills - just slowly chipping away - and the only real walking breaks I had were the three main peaks - Bridge of Orchy, Devil's Staircase and out of Kinlochleven,



Glencoe Ski Centre - photo by Duncan

It started to heat up as early as 7am, but it didn't really effect me until around Kingshouse.  Then it hit me like a tonne of bricks.  Thankfully Sonic had made an (unscheduled) stop on the Devils and was on hand with the "gay pink water bottle"

I soaked my arms and face in every stream I found and took comfort in the fact I was passing runners who looked as equally hot as me.  I know I have a tendency to overreact a bit, so I needed the reassurance it wasn't just me!

I felt like I was dragging a bit from the Devils staircase ascent to a few miles over the Larig Mor.  I was still on target for a PB, but slowing over 10 miles was eating into that target.

Last year I had Helen Lees at my side on Lairig Mor, which really pushed me.  People were telling me I had a good lead, so I suppose I didn't have the same drive. 

A few miles across Lairig Mor a little breeze picked up - which, in turn, really picked me up and I started making up for lost time. 



Leaving Lundarva

 Of course no race would complete without a mishap.  I tripped and skint both knees and hands and managed to hit my arm off a rock.  The bruising is quite spectacular - even by my standard of mishaps. To be honest - at the time - it looked worse than it felt.  Or maybe experience has made me immune to tumbles.

Passing through Lundarva (35 miles) I felt good.  Still a bit toasty, but nothing like a felt a few miles earlier.  I ran straight through, as I was meeting Sonic on the hill for my last section supplies.

Sonic was at the top gate taking pictures - hence why I was running up the hill :-) From behind the zoom lens I heard Sonic shouting "What the f*%k have you done this time" as he caught sight of my bloody knees.  I told him to ignore them, as I wasn't assessing the damage until the end.   We both knew I was behind schedule, but I knew if I maintained the same effort I'd be ok for a PB. 



It was a strange race experience 1) I loved every minute of it, even the nasty bits, but usually by about 3/4 of the way in to a race - regardless of the distance - I start willing it to be over.  On Saturday, I was just really happy to be where I was - even in the final few miles.  I think not being on a canal helped.  2) I barely spoke to anyone. Usually you can get a good chat going on a ultra, but just a few niceties when I passed other runners.  Probably just as well, as I pretty much lost my voice by Victoria Bridge.  I don't know whether it was the humidity or coughing up midges, but that's never happened to me before 3) The strangest thing though - excuse this - but I didn't pee until I was 30+ miles down.  Anyone who has ever trained with me knows I've not go the strongest of bladders and I can barely last a few miles. 

Anyway, I finished first lady in 6:54:06 in a new PB - of just under three minutes.  To be honest, I was hoping for nearer 6:40, but a PB's a PB. And I'm delighted to have won. 

Bridesmaid no more!!

This was my 5th DOTH race finish. Previous race reports 2007:  3rd lady in 8:48  2009:  2nd lady in 7:08

 2010:  3rd lady in 7:23 2011:  2nd lady in 6:56

I was even more delighted for the Crazy German who won his first race in an amazing time of 5:36!  The CG is testament to the fact that determination conquers adversity.  Although - on paper - the odds were in his favour, he'd just thrashed a 100K two weeks prior to the race.  But the CG really wanted the win, more than anyone out there.  As my wee Granny would say, "where there a will, there's a way"... and where there's a German, there will always be craziness.

After the race, it was nice to lie about and enjoy the sunshine and congratulate the runners coming through.  When I finished I was sparked out on the grass when a Japanese tourist casually skulked over took a picture of a me and strolled away again.  Bizarre!

1st Male: Thomas Loehndorf: 5hrs 36 mins 17 secs 2nd Male: Casey Morgan : 5hrs 55 mins 47 sec 

3rd Male: Craig Cunningham : 6hrs 21 mins 27 secs

1st Male Vet: Robert Soutar : 6hrs 21mins 28secs

1st Male Super Vet: Graham Harcus: 7hrs 09 mins 47 secs

1st Female Debbie Martin-Consani: 6hrs 54mins 06secs

2nd Female Hazel Dean: 7hrs 23mins 45secs

3rd Female Michelle Heatherington : 7hrs 23 mins 54 secs

1st Female Vet Melanie Sinclair : 7hrs 57 mins 34 secs

1st Female Super Vet: Louise Burt: 7hrs 25 mins 59 secs

The gals: L to R - Hazel, me and Michelle

Thanks for Garry, Gemma and marshalls for putting on another great race.  Big thanks to Sonic for fantastic back up.  Although, just for the record, it wasn't me who left the top off the fizzy water... :-)

A 5K best and a GB vest

It's been a long time coming...but I can FINALLY announce that I have been selected to represent Great Britain and Norther Ireland at the 9th IAU 24hr World Championship in Katowice, Poland on September 8-9, 2012.   To say I'm excited is an understatement.  Who wouldn't be?  I mean, have you seen the GB tracksuit ;-) Of course it's a great honour and a privilidge too!

Click here UK Athletics announcement here

General information about the race course

THE IAU RACE PACK CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE

The race starts at noon on Saturday, September 8. No prizes for guessing when it finishes!

The course situated in Park Śląski in Chorzów (there will be prizes for pronouncing that correctly!) which is close to Katowice city centre.

The distance of the loops is 1.554,56m. Approximately ;-)

Elevation profile is + 6.4 meters and - 6.4 meters

Squad in full:

Men

Chris Carver

Steve Holyoak

John Pares

Pat Robbins

Women

Emily Gelder

Karen Hathaway

Sharon Law

Debbie Martin-Consani

Jennifer Salter

I feel I have put enough miles in my legs this year and doing much more at this stage would tip me over to the darkside of overtrained.  I don't plan on grinding out anymore more long/slow runs, so I'm just concentrating on fitness and speed.

I've been working fairly hard this year on speed.  Still at the cow's tail of the boys-with-the-jet-propelled legs at the lunchtime group, but it's taking them that little bit longer before they're completely out of sight. 

Before the trip to Poland takes the zip out of my legs, I thought I'd squeeze in a 5K Parkrun. I like the Parkrun in Strathclyde Park, because it's flat and got great PB potential - Although it's quite exposed to wind.  I had a good run a finished with a new PB  in 20:42 (ave 6:36m/m) and second female.

This Saturday, I'll be lining up for my 5th Devil o' the Highlands race.  I only secured a place two days ago, after being on the waiting list for a couple of months.  I thought I was going to have to go out and shoot myself a German!  Yes, the man who wonders why his name is prefixed with "crazy" is also running.

I've taking the day off work today to prepare for the race - facial, hair treatment, fake tan, defluffing :-)  I'm sure even Lizzy Hawker takes her racing so seriously.  I have, however, put lock laces in my Tempos for the final section.  To me, that's fighting talk!  Good luck to everyone running.

I would also like to congratulate everyone who ran in MONTANE Lakeland 100 and Lakeland 50.  Well done to Terry Conway who smashed his own record in 19:50 - over two hours ahead of second place.  Terry pulled out of last weekend 100K.  As I always say, everything happens for a reason.  I guess Terry will know the reason now.  Also huge congratulations to Scott Bradley, Dave Troman, JK and Andy Cole.

More from the-gal-who-fell-in-the-canal

I think that's what I will be known as forever more now.  Hey ho, it could be worse.  It did have a happy ending and it did fast track my selection for a little race I was so hoping to do this September...which hasn't been announced and I've not been given the go-ahead to blog about, so I won't :-)

Selection for said (not very) cryptic race has been my main focus since I got over the never-again factor from my first and last similarly timed race last September.   Hence my new found love of long and flat training runs and races in 2012. Although since my notification - and due to the fact that I've banked enough boring miles -  I've rekindled my relationship with my beloved Inov-8s and some bumpy trails. Ah hills...how I have missed them.

I turned down the chance to run on the Scotland team at this weekend's Anglo Celtic Plate, as I'm not comfortable with the idea of running the GUCR, a 100K road road and the cryptic one in such quite succession. I felt a bit of a a*se turning down the opportunity, but I had to be realistic. Two, yes. But three would a big ask. I have, however, put myself on the waiting list to get a place on the Devil o' the Highlands race on August 4.   With experience of four Devils races and one 100K, I know which one causes the less destruction.

So since the GUCR...and for reasons unbeknown to be..I've done far too many midweek runs on the canal path. Maybe it's like Stockholm Syndrome!! Or just because it's handy from home/work/club. Either way, you can imagine how many jokes I've heard about falling in. Boom, boom!

I've had four consecutive weekends off road and loved every minute of it! To summarise:

The first on June 23 was with the GM, when we took on the duty as the unofficial moral boosting department for the West Highland Way Race. It's been well-documented that it was the worst conditions in the history of the race and I can vouch for that. We ran backwards (not literally running backwards) from the Glencoe Ski Centre to Auchtertyre. I didn't even want to get out of the car the weather was so bad. We dished out whoops, hugs and high-fives for 20 odd miles. Despite the conditions, there were some fantastic performances. Firstly, Terry Conway breaking Jez Bragg's long standing record (by five minutes) in an amazing time of 15:39. Rosie Bell finished first lady in her seventh race finish. I was absolutely delighted to see Rosie storming through. She's always been a really good runner, but she just had to step it up a bit. And step it up she did. Congratulations to everyone who battled (or waded!) through the course. Especially to my hard-as-nails buddies and first time finishers Silke and Caroline.

The second on June 30 - again with the GM - we did a 30 mile out and back on the WHW from Balmaha to Inversnaid. It was a lovely day. Muggy, but dry. After a wet and warm week, the midges were out in force. There was certainly no hanging about.  There are lots of up and downs and gear changing on this section, so it was just what I needed.

July 7 was 19 miles on the Kilpatrick hills, again with the GM. It's a right ol' mix bag of a route, which starts with a steep ascent out of Hardgate. Regardless of the conditions, wet feet are guaranteed.  The circuit takes in fabulous rocky trails, grassy slopes, faint tracks, armpit deep flora, tree and fence climbing, a stomp up and over the whangie, along the deathtrap that is the A809, on to the WHW, rolling country roads, across the fields and back the way we started.  Until we came face-to-face with a bull (remember I'm even terrified of cows) so we had to back track through shin-deep mud.   I'll admit, I'm sometime prone to a bit of exaggeration, especially when blogging.  During post-run texting with the GM, she admitted may have exaggerated the situation too.  I said "face-to-face was a bit of stretch" and she replied "I've said we were chased :-)".  Regardless, we were scared sh*tless!

Last weekend (July 14) I did a  36 mile (from Bridge of Orchy to Fort William) Devil's training run with Bob and Lucy - the latter claiming to be "unfit" and had done "very little training lately". From the supremo that won bronze at last year's IAU Trail World Championships (oh and also holds the WHWR record and won the CCC in Mont Blanc), this should be misconstrued with anything less than awesome. As we left the car, Lucy was up Orchy hills like a rat up a pipe, leaving Bob and I looking anxiously at each other. Although I was running really well - by my standard - they were both very gracious about hanging back for me. I think Bob's performance was more to do with testosterone rather than athletic ability though, especially when he challenged Lucy to a race up the Devil's Staircase.  I knew it would end in tears. Man tears. And I was right.

The West Highland Way is always pretty busy with happy trekkers during the summer. The scene on the Devil's Staircase was what I imagine a UFO sighting would be like. Knackered trekkers, mouths a jar, stopped on their zig-zag tracks to look up and watch this slip of girl running up to the route's highest peak.  No prizes for guessing who won.

A fabulous day out with great company and lovely weather.  Skint hands and knees after a spectacular fall though.  Shock! Horror!

So, now I'm just watching for my name to move up the reserve list so I can actually get a place in the race.

Tomorrow, we're off to Newport, Wales for the Anglo Celtic Plate 2012.  Sonic's first Scotland vest, so it's a proud moment for Team Consani.  I hope to put some updates on the ACP Facebook page over the weekend.

Happy Old Year

As I might not get another year like it, I thought I'd best write it all down. And possibly frame it!


Anglo Celtic Plate 100K: I was lucky enough to be selected to run on the Scotland team. I'll never forget my first Scotland vest, and I'll never forget this race. It was probably the hardest race I've ever done, but it was great to try a classic distance and push myself out of my comfort zone. I just missed my sub:9 hour goal, but was happy to finish in 9:03. Maybe that's just the incentive I need to give the distance another bash.


Highland Fling 53 miles: I wasn't holding out much hope for this race, as it was only a matter of weeks after the 100K. Plus, I hadn't really done that much hill and trail training, as I was predominately focusing on road. I was fairly relaxed about the race and went out with the suck-it-and-see attitude. I followed splits (devised by Sonic) that had me running 10 minutes slower in the first section than the previous year. It started rusty, came together in middle and fell apart at the end. I was delighted to finish second female in 9.39. As the event doubled as the UK Ultra trail championship, I also went home with that silver medal. And the bronze team medal. One event, four medals and a new PB. Not bad for a day's work. Sonic is now my official split co-ordinator :-)


West Highland Way Race: This was my key race for the year and I was ecstatic to achieve my dream sub:20 hour goal. 19:39 to be exact. I finished third female and 13th overall. After three WHW races, I vowed not to sign up for next year's. Not because I didn't enjoy it, because I did. OK, maybe enjoy isn't the right word, but you get the gist. I just want to try something new. I'll always be happy with my time, but I know I'll go back and try it again some day.

Clyde Stride 40: Probably not my wisest move just four weeks after the WHW, but I signed up with a view to completing four of the races in the Scottish Ultra Marathon Series (SUMS). It was a bit up and down. Some parts I felt great and in others I was burst. All in all a good race and I finished second behind Lucy Colquhoun in 5:56. My main goal was sub:6 so no grumbles from me.
T

Devil o' the Highlands (43 miles): This was my first ultra back in 2007, so it's always been quite special. Although, to be honest, this year I was only in it for the SUMS point. As it turned out, it was by far my best race of the year. You know when people talk about how some races just "click" or "come together on the day"? Well, this one did. I finished second behind Lucy (who incidentally smashed the course record by over an hour!) in 6:56. Again, my ultimate goal was sub:7.

SUMS award: Guess what? I finished second behind Lucy :-) Julie once hit the nail on the head when she said "if she wasn't so nice, you'd hate her". Wise Julie also said, "finishing second to Lucy is a win", so I'll take it.


Commonwealth Mountain and Ultra Running Championships: I guess you'll know I ran on the Scotland team at the 24 hour race, because I haven't shut up about it. I finished 4th female. 1st for Scotland (overall). Broke the Scottish 200k record and was part of the team that took bronze. It was worth the destruction.

Sponsorship: After the Highland Fling I was contacted by Montane, as they wanted to give me some shiny new gear as a way of saying congratulations for being 2nd in their sponsored race. Result! Then a few months later they asked me to come on board as their first ultra-running female sponsored athlete.

Garscube Harriers' Meritorious Award: I won the award a few years ago and I was honoured enough to receive it again. As far as I can see by the listing on the trophy, I'm the only member to have won the award twice.

International Association of Ultra Runners Athlete of the Year nomination: It's a pretty safe bet that the uber-awesome Miss Hawker will walk away with this one, but I'm still in shock about making the shortlist.

Marcothon: Well tomorrow's the last day. And there will be nearly 1000 nutters (including those who haven't fessed up to bowing out) celebrating their last run. It will be a fabulous end to an amazing year. Although I have to do a 5k first. Yikes.

Happy New Year everyone.

Let the devil take the hindmost

Saturday saw me lining up for my fourth Devil o' the Highlands. It was to be my fifth ultra in just over four months. Not a big ask for some of the nutters I know, but for me it was out of my comfort zone.


I managed to secure a last minute place in the race. Basically just for the Scottish Ultra Marathon Series points. I guess that makes me a pot-hunter :-)

There was no real opportunity to train for this. Ever since my 100K race in March, my sequence has been race, recover, taper, repeat.

Friday wasn't the pre-race preparation and restful day I was hoping for. Flat tyre, poorly child, Sonic trailed dog sh*t through the house and although I'd planned a day off work, that was knocked on the head. And I still had to pack, drop Cairn off at my Mum's (early start, busy roads/checkpoints and the midge fest that is the highlands, is not the best place for a two-year-old) and travel up to Tyndrum.

Sonic (still injured and resigned to back up again, much to his delight) and I were staying in a Hiker's Hut (emphasis on the "hut") at Pinetrees Caravan Park. Tyndrum was pretty jammed-packed, but I'd managed to get a cancellation. Last minute was certainly the theme for this race. All for an extra hour in bed no stress travelling to the race start. I do get quite freaked before races. I'm a space cadet at the best of times, but pre-race I'm pretty vacant and walk about like a startled rabbit. I suppose it's my way of dealing with nerves. Not having the journey was one less thing to tighten my strings.

I was up at 4am for porridge and coffee, dressed and off to registration and race briefing. It was wasn't long before we congregated round at Brodie's Store ready for the start at 6am. And then we were off...



I ran with JK for the first few sections. Actually, by his own omission, he attached himself to me like an umbilical cord. It was great though, as I haven't really had the chance to run with him much this year. The miles just zipped passed. As planned, I just kept to my own pace and let others go tearing off. I did have a silent giggle watching people pelting up the hills.

JK was running without a watch, so I tried to make a conscious effort not to mention time or pace. I did slip up on the approach to BoO by airing my disbelief that it wasn't even 7am. Although I'm pretty sure he could see the screen on my Garmin, if he wanted to. They're not exactly the daintiest of watches.

Before long, we had reached the first support point at Bridge of Orchy. I planned to just pick up some tablet to eat heading up the hill, which I did. I always walk most this section, safe in the knowledge that we would soon pass the people who had chosen not too. Which we did.

The lovely Davie was on snapper duty at the top of the Orchy Hills and I joked that I was still trying to shake JK off. I really enjoyed the descent into Inveronan. The last time I was on this hill was after 60+ miles and my glutes weren't happy about the downhill pounding.

Heading round to Victoria Bridge, JK informed me that Sonic was going to meet us at the gate. Just as well, as I would have been in panic mode looking for him. Well, panic mode looking for my supplies.

In this race, in that location at this time of year, the runners get a better deal. The midges were awful. You know it's bad when they annoy you while running. I picked up some fluid, a gel and some sweets - which I didn't touch, but carried for the next 30 miles.

Moving on, I nearly tripped over Helen Lees who had stopped to tie her shoe lace. It took me a few miles to discover why. I was carrying twins :-)

It was such a lovely morning and Rannoch Mor was glorious. We caught up with a few runners over the six mile stretch and started to gain on the gals who were sitting in 3rd and 4th position. I wasn't even remotely bothered, as I was sticking to my plan. My plan was based on staying comfortable, not time. Last year in this section, I felt awful. This year was a different story. I'm not quite sure where I was getting the energy from.

We caught up with the GM just before the descent into Glencoe and I ran with her down to the ski centre. That was the last I saw of JK. Maybe it was the GM's mooning that tipped him over ;-)



The GM stopped to meet up her support and I pushed on to Kingshouse, where I had arranged to meet Sonic. I think even he was surprised to see me coming down in second place. I moved on quickly as nature was calling. Rannoch Mor is so exposed that there's no where to hide. I was now is urgent need of a hiding place.

As usual the section to the Devil's Staircase was trickier than I remember. The whole race is based on going up to come back down, so why do I always resent it so much on these three miles?

It was starting to heat up as I stomped up the hill. Norry was soon to overtake me. Giving the way he ascends, he'd be better off walking the race. I overtook another few runners on the way down to Kinlochleven - including Norry. I must have been quite sneaky, as he nearly shot out of his skin when I passed. I think I had the same response when Helen appeared by my side just before the town.



With Sonic on super-slick support, I was in and out of Kinlochleven in no time. JK's daughters later joked that Sonic had laid out all my food, drink and gear and all I picked up was a jelly bean :-) Actually it was a gel. I still had a full supply of jelly beans.

At the top of the last killer ascent, Helen and I were neck-and-neck. We were passing quite a few walkers and one lady asked Helen is she wanted a plaster for a her knee, to which she replied it was a just a graze and didn't hurt. I hadn't noticed, and I don't think she even realised that she would later need stitches. She was starting to mirror my moves, so I was having flashbacks from the WHWR with Adam. I know in a shorter distance on any other terrain, Helen would whip my ass. She even looks like a good runner. But in this race, I was going to have to rely on the miles in my legs to pull away. Of course, the miles in my legs could also go against me.

I started to build some distance, but there wasn't much in it. Although I felt good on Lairig Mor, the heat was starting to get to me. I was stumbling on the rocky path. As soon as the sun went behind the clouds and the breeze picked up, I felt reborn.

I was probably only a few minutes ahead of Helen at Lundarva and moved in and out swiftly. I saved my precious Coke for this checkpoint, which went down a treat. I passed a chap from Helensburgh, who looked burst. Looking back on the race splits, you'll see why. I was going to tell him I remember him for missing the start and racing to catch up at the Rouken Glen x-country, but thought it wasn't the time for humour or chit chat.

I knew I would have to work hard to get under 7 hours. That was all I was looking for after all. I felt pretty light and pushed on the hills. Thankfully the conservative start had left a bit in the tank. The newly cleared forest adds to the competition in this race, as runners can now see each other. As I hit the trail, I looked back and say Helen. It was just what I needed. I quite literally flew down the track, watching every minute tick by.

I saw the lovely Mrs JK just before Braveheart Carpark. I think I might have gasped something incoherent. By the time I hit the carpark I knew the sub 7 was a sitter, so I was more comfortable. I even had a few walking breaks. Hey, you've got to save yourself for the final sprint. Plus, sort you hair and wipe away the boggies for the pictures ;-)



I finished second lady (13th overall) in 6:56:35. Considering it was my 5th ultra this year, it was by the far the best I've ever felt in a race. Just one of those lucky days when it all comes together, I guess. I progressively moved up the field leg position at the three checkpoints were 23rd, 12th to 10th.

So for a last minute entry, it came with lots of benefits 1) Second lady - and my fourth podium finish in the race 2) A personal best 3) New club record 4) New ladies record for the Triple Crown and 5) I'm now leading the SUMS overall - for now! All in a day's work.



Click here for full reults. Huge congratulations to everyone who finished. Special mentions to Matt Williamson who was 1st (told you so, Matt), the Crazy German 2nd and the amazing Lucy Colquhoun who was third overall, 1st lady and smashed the ladies record by 64 minutes to finish in 5:47. Lucy was so far ahead that trekkers kept telling me I was leading :-) I don't think they believed anyone was that fast when I corrected them. Even Sonic thought she might have pulled out.

Thanks to Garry and Gemma for putting on a great race (and giving me a late place) and all the stewards on the day. Standing on the A82 on a sunny Saturday morning has got be over and above the call of duty. Thanks also to the lovely the man from the Wilderness Response Team who gave me water on Lairig Mor. I wasn't until after the race that the reality of cheery chap manning a tuck shop on remote Lairig Mor sunk in. Somehow in the heat of the day, that seemed pretty normal. Thanks to JK, Davie, Julie and Suse for the pictures and Team Kynaston for the videos. Thanks to JK for "keeping me honest" at the start and Helen for pushing me for the sub:7.

Huge thanks to Sonic for his superb back-up - again! Even after months of injury and no running he's been much more sane and tolerable than I would ever be. Although when I'm feeling a little low or flat, I buy new shoes. He bought a sports car! I'm holding out for an injury some time soon.

So, that's it. I've hung up my trail shoes for the rest of the year. I've been lucky enough to be selected for the Scotland 24-hour race team at the Commonwealth Mountain and Ultra Distance Running Championship in Wales next month. I'll be pavement pounding for the next weeks. Recover, taper, race...and then it's all over,

Speak of the Devil

The Olympic Creed is one of my favourites: "The most important thing is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well."

Well, my participation in the Devil o' the Highland (43 miles from Tyndrum to Fort William) was a struggle and a mini-triumph.

Despite my own mini-triumph in the WHWR seven weeks prior, I felt I had recovered well and was more than up for the race. To be honest, I was probably a little more top heavy on positive thoughts than I was on talent.

The race commenced with the usual pre-race briefing and bang on 6am we were off. The instant incline is always a bit of a lung warmer. You can tell ultra-distance running is becoming much more competitive, as the first few miles were a little more frantic than I remember.



The route to Bridge of Orchy was pretty uneventful. I'd settled into 5th/6th girl place by the time I'd reach the first back-up point. The lovely Allybea had "volunteered" to support and the aim was to pass through checkpoints as quickly as possible, so I grabbed a bottle of Lucozade and a gel and headed up the hill.

A few folks were running up the hills and although my heart was itching to follow, thankfully my legs were refusing point blank.

The highlight of the race was the views on descent into Inveronan. The sight of the mist over the water was nothing short of magical. It's just a shame that the arrival into a midge hellhole cancelled out all that beauty. Heading up the Drover's Road was pretty tortuous. The long precession of twitching, cursing runners must have been quite comical.

I was fuelling up on the mass consumption of midges, which was just as well because (as bloody usual!) I couldn't face food. All the way across Rannoch Moor, I felt really queasy and threatened to puke. There was nothing in me and was continuously overtaken, so by the time I had hit the ascent out of the Moor I had sunk back to 8th (lady) position. In my head I knew I would catch a few on the downhills, but my heart was jittery at the prospect dropping back so much.

I possibly passed five runners on the one mile descent to the ski centre, clocked in and headed off to Kingshouse to meet Allybea. I actually thought I was going to pass out en route. It was definitely one of those seeing-stars moments.

Quick fluid top and a wee cheeky caffeine shot and life was a little rosier. I still had to dig in to get to the top of Devil's Staircase. But I shouldn't have had to dig so early on. Well, 3-4 hours in. Maybe it was the comedy value of watching the gals in front tearing up the hills that cheered me up. Or the super-smiling twins cheering at the summit. Even if their kind offer of sweets and chocolate nearer sent me over.

Over the top and off I went. Within a mile or so I had passed quite and few guys and gals. The warrior within had stirred and I had moved up to third lady. I was flying. And on the final stretch going into Kinlochleven, I quite literary was. At the steep bit just by the pipeline, I tripped. Not quite sure of the sequence, but I took the knees out of my compression tights, skint my hands, rolled and banged my shoulder and hip...and ended up splat on my back on top of my bottle belt. And as if I wasn't feeling uncomfortable enough, my calf cramped. So there I was in star-shape on my back with my leg at a 90 degree angle and all I could think about was not losing any places.

I managed to pull it together, although I arrived in Kinlochleven a little shaky. Even Pete's fist shakes and shouts of "you're a warrior" seemed a bit out of context considering I was hobbling and bleeding. When I met Allybea I was wiping blood and mud of myself and cursing the "f-king road-runners" that I had to stay ahead of.

I passed another two blokes up to Lairig Mor. Instead of the notorious soul-sucking ability the Lairig Mor was array with smiling walkers, who cheered me and shouted encouragement when I passed.

I could see the Gibbering Midget (2nd lady) about a mile in front most of the way across, but I knew I'd never catch her. And I was pretty certain that nobody would catch me, so I took the foot off the gas and just concentrated on sustaining my position for the SUMS points.

I'd winded myself when I landed on my back during my fall, so I could only manage shallow breaths. My hands and knees were stinging and I was generally willing it be over. Lundarva came and went with a change of shoes and a bottle of coke. Thankfully Alison and Caroline confirmed I was third lady - as the medic on the Mor told me I was 5th!

To be honest, I don't really remember must about the final journey to Fort William. Other that hurting, moaning and generally spitting the dummy. I pretty much walked the last mile from Braveheart carpark, as - quite literally - even breathing hurt.

There was no joyous finale, I just crossed and slumped on the grass. I had kept my position and finished third lady and 19th overall in a time of 7:23. Slower than last year by about 15 minutes, but hey-ho, it was less upbeat and slightly more dramatic.





Thanks to Alison for top-notch back-up and to all those who organised the race and helped out.



Congratulations to all who conquered and all who fought well.

Warriors!

I did my last (oh and second) run for the Devil's last weekend. Two weeks ago I ran Tyndrum to Kingshouse and on Saturday there I covered Kingshouse to Fort William.

Lord knows I don't need to familiarise myself with the route. It's second only to my daily commute. But somehow, it my strange little world, it seemed like a good idea to do the full route as two training runs.

Cairn got to spend the day with Gran, so Sonic and I could run together - but, you know, no where near each other. We met up with Tim and Ross and hoped to catch up with Sue and Mandy en route.



One of the main reasons for this run, was to try out the terrain in road shoes. I've always worn trail shoes. It's ok for the first few miles, but I didn't have the same confidence coming off the Devil's Staircase. OK for holding back on the quad-knackering pace, but I was putting on the "brakes" which would made it worse. Didn't help that I was chasing down three boys - two of whom were trying to stick with Sonic. Actually Sonic was being rather reserved. So reserved in fact that we actually got to Kinlochleven only metres apart, which made me think he wasn't taking it seriously enough. Or maybe it's role reversal!

I think it's the one and only time that I didn't bomb on the soul-zapping Lairig Mor. I caught up with Ross about half-way. He's about eight foot tall, so got up the hills in about five steps. He was suffering with vaious ailments from the week before's Clyde Stride. Imagine! So I dropped him and pushed on.

I got to Lundarva in three hours dead, and then had an overwhelming urge to beat my time from last year (I did this route two weeks before too). A wee bit of tablet and Red Bull shot (you can take the girl out of Glasgow...) and I was re-born.

I was trying to keep steady, but ended up pushing more that I probably should have. There may or may not have been a wee bit of warrior chanting going on. I finished in 4.08, so six minutes faster than last year.

So, yep, all good. Nice wee confidence booster. Shame I've knackered my quads in the process. Coming down the stairs this week has been a bit nippy.

I've had few good swims and a couple of rubbish runs. Yesterday I did a session of one minute intervals to try and get the ol' trunks moving. And tonight it's an out-and-back with the club, which essential means running like the clappers for a few miles. Turning around and running like the clappers on the way back.

I'm loving swimming right now. I started in April (ish) when I could just about muster two lengths of front crawl. Yesterday, I did 52. My ultimate goal is to some day (far, far away) do an Ironman Triathlon. I think I've got the running bit covered and the swimming is in progress. But I'm lacking in the cycling discipline. Unless of course you count my one and only cycle of 2010, when my main goal was not to get hit by a car. So, I've started reading about Ironman Triathlons. I nearly keeled when I found out it was 112 miles on the bike. WTF? Maybe I should have found this out before my crazy thoughts went on overdrive.

Back in the real work...Work has been pretty adventurous. What I love about newspapers is that no two days on the job are the same. This week I've been dealing with our Everyday Heroes project. I got the pleasure of phoning Mark Cooper to tell he had won the Sporting category. Mark completed 50 marathons (Amsterdam to Barcelona) is 56 days to raise over £30,000 for the charity that helped his late Mother. He's a super nice guy and was really overwhelmed by his award. No stranger to a challenge he's also setting out this weekend to break the Hadrian's Wall record - hoping to cover 84 miles in less than 17 hours. When I told Sonic of this feat, I could see his crazy thoughts going into overdrive...watch this space.

Following on from my conversation with Mark, I spoke to a one-legged man who asked if he could call me back as he was going out for a four-hour swim and didn't want to miss the tide. What a humbling experience that was. Note to self: Must stop moaning about sore quads.

Devil's race report + video and photos

This was my big race of the year. What I thought was an over-ambitious goal to shift the baby weight turned out to be the race of my life.

The Scottish ultra-running scene has become very popular over the last few years and is now hugely competitive. When I signed up for the Devil o' the Highlands (43 with 6200ft of ascent) my main goal was to complete rather than compete. If I got a PB, bonus. If I got under eight hours, double-bonus.

My training had gone better than expected and I actually felt stronger and faster than I left it last year. I didn't have a race plan per se. I was just going to go with the flow. I had a general idea of when I would like to get to checkpoints, but I never put a schedule together. It was all about running to effort level and comfort.

Sonic and Cairn were my support for the day. After my long training run a few weeks ago, I knew Sonic was going to be ace. Cairn, on the other hand, was a bit of an amateur :-) The plan was not to stop. Just a run-through-drop-of-an-pick-up.

The race kicked-off at 6am. The start of an ultra-marathon is so civilised. There's no scramble to get to the front. No elbowing and frantic sprints. The "gun" goes off and everyone saunters up the hill chatting away.

I chatted with JK and Ian as the field started to divide. After a mile or so, JK pushed on and I ran with Ian for a while before settling into my own pace. I stayed in third female position, but could see the first and second not far in front. It was way too early to start "racing", so I wasn't even remotely bothered about where I was placed in the field.

I arrived at Bridge of Orchy in (approx) 55 minutes, grabbed a gel and a bottle of Lucozade and headed up the hill. I met Sonic again at Victoria Bridge and took my backpack for Rannoch Moor. The long incline on the Drover's Road usually kills my thighs, but I felt great. I had a few low points over the next few miles, but started to pick-up (with the help of gel with caffeine) as I headed out of the Moors. Murdo was waiting at the top, so it was nice to see a friendly. Even nicer when he informed me JK wasn't too far in front :-)

The descent down to the ski centre is one of my favourite bits. The steep free fall on the rocky path is almost like brain training. Unfortunately/fortunately my feet work faster than my brain, so there's generally a few stumbles. Maybe I should contact Nintendo about a brain trainging game for the DS.

I arrived at the first official checkpoint - the glencoe ski centre - in 2:42. I couldn't say it was ahead of schedule, because I didn't have a schedule. But it was faster than I expected. When I met up with Sonic in Kingshouse, he seemed slightly concerned about my speedy arrival. Neal, Caroline, Chris and Davie H were also there and had chalked a welcome message on the ground, which unfortunately my brain couldn't process. Sonic had to explain it. Thanks for the thought guys. And thanks Sue for the banner.

In my head, Kingshouse was when the race should REALLY start. 19 miles in with two main sections to go. I still felt strong, but was looking forward to the walk up the Devil's Staircase. On the way up I spotted Aileen (2nd female) zig-zagging her way up. I remember saying to Sonic during one of his WHWR training runs that it was great when he was wearing a white t-shirt, as I could see him coming miles away. Probably not so good when your colour choice spurs on your nearest rival. Sorry, Aileen. It gave me a real boost. I had a self-motivating chat with myself and shouted out "OK, let's go!"...only to discover my nearest rival was about three feet away from me. Doh! I tried to hum and cough to disguise my outburst, but he must of thought I was a bit mental. After an introduction I chatted to Richard most of the way up. Only on a ultra-run would you not blink an eye stomping up a hill with a guy wearing a vest, cycling shorts and knee-length compression socks :-)

At the top of the Devil's Staircase Neal, Caroline and Chris were there cheering me on again. I was looking forward the descent, as it's one of my strengths. The no-fear factor really helps. Richard informed me he was going to push-on and wished me well. I watched him for a minute or so, humouring him. I wasn't out to compete with boys, but I knew I had to put him in his place. After passing and widening the gap I heard him shouting "you must be better on trails than me". Mmm you'd think.

Arriving in Kinlochleven, I heard Sonic shouting "Two minutes. Second lady is two minutes in front". It was great to see John and Lesley there and looking so excited. Making the 200 mile trip to come out and support me was really appreciated. Thanks guys. Good job I was doing well or they might have asked me for the petrol money.

I passed Aileen who had stopped at the Kinlochleven checkpoint to refuel. I felt a bit of a fraud as Aileen ran a storming 95-race only five weeks previous. After many words of encouragement from the gathering crowds, I grabbed my backpack and headed up to Lairig Mor. There were two male runners behind me on the ascent. I was slightly conscious of the fact that my compression tights are pretty transparent when I bend over, but the hands-on-knees technique always helps with the steep ascent. Sorry guys, but it was a case of victory over modesty.

Although Lairig Mor is a beautiful section, it is notorious for its soul-sucking ability. It's the Bermuda Triangle of the WHW. As suspected I had a few low-points, which were unexplainable. I still had energy, no aches or pains and the weather was favourable. I had many serious chats with myself. This time out of ear-shot. I tried to eat some jelly babies (which I usually swear by) but they were making me gag. I couldn't even drink the juice in my hydration pack as it tasted too sweet. From a girl who takes five sweeteners in coffee, that was not the norm.

I perked up a lot when I caught and passed another runner (again, spurred on by his white t-shirt). On the flats I could see Aileen. There was enough of a gap, but I knew I couldn't slack off.

When I arrived at Lundarva, I was delighted to dump the backpack and change into my lovely Nike Lunaglide. I had collected a bit of gravel in my trail shoes and was glad to shake it off. I had invested in some lock laces before the race and the change over was super-slick. I took a bottle of coke and my new found spring in my step and started on the last section. It was bang on six hours, so I knew I was well within my 7:30 hour dream target.

The shoe change was a brilliant plan. The lightness meant I could mentally and physically change gear. I could run up the hills that I would have more than likely walked up. I passed lots of trekkers who were all cheering me on. Onwards and upwards through the forestry I was on a total high. Not just because of my time, but mostly because it was nearly over.

When I hit the track to embark on the last three miles that's when my lightweight trainers came into play. There was no pressure for time, so I didn't blast it. As I passed through the gates to the Braveheart carpark, Sonic, John and Lesley were screaming at me. I vaguely remember John shouting that I looked strong and to push it. Turning the corner to roadside in 7:01 I was on the home straight. After passing the 30mph sign (the most beautiful signpost in the world) I reached the houses on the outskirt of the town. At the small incline I slowed to fix my hat and wipe the snotters from my nose (hey, I knew there would be cameras) and picked up the pace for my grand finale.

I could hear everyone cheering and I saw Sonic and Cairn waiting at the finish line. It was 10 seconds of my life that I will never forget. I finished in 7:08:59. Second lady and 16th overall. Only one minute slower than the previous ladies record! I can't even put into words how pleased I am. The response I've had since has been pretty overwhelming. Especially as most people were as shocked as I was.

Thanks to Sonic for being so fabulous. I really think the support can make or break a good race time and he was amazing. Thanks to John, Lesley, Sharon, Davie B, George (I was in the bushes!!), Davie H, Jim R, Neal, Caroline, Chris, Adrian and Murdo for your cheers, pictures and videos. And everyone else who was out supporting.

Special congratulations to JK for a fabulous time of 6:55, Silke for completing her first ultra in 9:22, Ian for banking another ultra-marathon, Helen for breaking the ladies record, Aileen for a PB by nearly one hour, Karen for a fab PB and for putting up with George the whole way and to George and Richie for being super-fast as always.

During the race I ran with a small picture of Dario pinned to my top. I joked about pinning in to my bum, so he didn't finish in front of me :-) I'm sure he was watching over us all. When the sun threaten to hinder performances, there was drizzle and cool breeze to save the day. After the awards' presentation we were in the hotel having a celebratory beer when Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run came over the speakers - the song played at Dario's funeral. I'd like to believe it was a sign.

Here's the race video - directed by Sonic the Maccer. It's worth watching just to see the finish. I've only watched it about 100 times already.

From the House of Kings to the Fort of Bill

On Saturday I did the last long run on the West Highland Way before race day.

To save time and repetition I should just say...

For training run report, see JK's blog
For training run pictures, see JK's blog
For training run vidoe, see JK's blog

Famed for his regular and thorough updates, John the blog is always first on the case. When I first met JK, I knew so much about his life and hugely popular blog, that I didn't know whether to shake his hand or curtsy. Of course now he's my buddy, I just mock him for his spreadsheets and having way too much time on his hands. Although I think it's down to being more disciplined than most bloggers. JK pretty much eats, sleeps and breaths the West Highland Way race and has the full backing of his long suffering wife. At the post-race presentation, I moaned: "Now we've got to endure the post-race analysis" she replied: "I've told John he's got four weeks and then I don't want to hear about it". FOUR WEEKS?? Now I refer to her as Saint Katrina.

Well if you haven't already followed the links to JK's blog, then I best give you my account of the run. Although I've pinched the visuals from his blog :-)

The original plan was to run from Kingshouse to Fort William (my favourite stages) with JK and his two pals, Stevie and Chris. There was a bit of a debate about doing earlier sections - to cut out some of the travelling - but I was adamant that I wanted to do the latter stages as I think do the final sections would be make for better race prep. Anyway I managed to convince them to stick with the plan, so we only had to deal with the small matter of car sharig, pick-ups, bus tickets and dog sitting. Sometimes these training runs are a logistical (and expensive) nightmare. A 200+ mile trip to run 24 miles! Oh well, you can't beat training on the course, can you?

JK, of course, came armed with his laminated spreadsheet of times/splits/pace for each mini-section (remember how I mentioned too much time?). My plan was much less structured. I would run on the runable bits and walk on the steep bits. Genius, eh. I really didn't think I could keep up with their 4:15 schedule. I honestly didn't expect to see them after we left Kingshouse.


(JK, me, Chris and Stevie - picture stolen from JK)

I was very pleased to find the pace was fine. Apart from the steep ascents - where my leg length became I disadvantage - I kept up quite comfortably until Kinlochleven. I told them to push on up Lairig Mor and I would meet them at the end. Pretty soon JK and Stevie became dots in the distance, but I could see Chris' red t-shirt the whole way. Everytime I closed the gap, we would hit a hill and his six-foot legs would be carry him over. I'm not a very competitive person, but I kept imaging it was a female race participant in the race. The t-shirt wasn't quite a red rag to a bull, but I was pretty sure I wanted to catch him. Without racing, of course.

There were loads of hikers out on the trail. I think most groups start at the weekend/Monday, so by the following weekend they're doing the final section. Given that, Lairig Mor is always busy on the Saturday. I passed two (possibly) Dutch trekkers who informed me (in their best broken-English) that the two runners in front had asked them to give me a message but the couldn't understand what they were saying, I was slightly concerned but pushed on. Five minutes later I passed a groups of lads who had stopped for their lunch. One asked if I was Debs and when I confusingly replied yes, they all stood up and shouted "Go, Debs!" The laugh really spurred me on, thanks JK.

I finally caught up with a lost Chris coming out of the woods before the descent to Fort William. I think he was starting to wilt, but was still in good spirits. We covered the last few miles together - with me gibbering and frequently informing him "not long to go". When we passed through the Braveheart carpark and hit the pavement, he started to slow. Why does hitting the hard surface always make you feel like someone has just whacked the back on your knees?

I finished in 4:14:07 which is was absolutely delighted with. I never thought I could keep up with JK's schedule. Turns out he couldn't stick with it, as finished in 3:57 with Stevie a few minutes behind him. And Chris a minute behind me. Great performances all round, me thinks. Looking back on last year's training report, the fastest I have ever done this section (as a stand-alone run) was 4:43.

Check out JK's video for the finishing footage. Obviously I didn't realise the finish was being filmed. I thought JK was taking a picture. I look at bit of idiot jumping about, but hey ho, at least I could still jump about.



We had an hour and half to kill before getting the bus back to Kingshouse. Plenty of time for some well-deserved ice cream (or a feast for a family of four for Stevie) and post-run chat.

From 5K to more on the Way

Quick running update...

Saturday: I got a PB in the Glasgow Parkrun 5K :-) Just a piddly 23:32, but a PB's a PB. As Sharon would say "I don't have a fifth gear", so short speedy races are not for me. But I must say, I really enjoyed it. Even the nasty hills. When I told Sonic of my enjoyment he informed that I "didn't work hard enough". Probably wise words, but I like to come away on a high rather than having my eyes hanging out of my head.

Sunday: I went on a run with Sonic on the Kilpartick hills. Yes, me running on hills. With Sonic. And we didn't even fall out once. Even despite the fact that his course description could be deemed as false advertising. What was billed as a scenic "trail" route was in fact knee-deep in sodden wet grass. I'm sure the views were amazing, but we chose a really wet day and I could barely see my feet.






Tuesday: Mile reps round Knightswood Park. 6.38, 6.31, 6.30 (with 2-3 min recoveries)

Thursday: 6m club run. It was on the Kelvin Walkway and then on to Great Western Road. Enough said.

Saturday: This was to be my longest run in preparation for the Devil O' the Highlands. A nice 35 miles from Bridge of Orchy to Fort William. I didn't have any times in my head, I just wanted to get the miles in my legs. No pressure, so I just went out and ran how I felt. It seemed to work, as I felt brilliant the whole way. The weather was perfect for me - wet and wild ;-) Bit treacherous on some of the descents though - especially the Devil's Staircase, which had turned into a river. And it was mighty chilly at the tops. I finished in 6:30:56, which is not too shabby. I felt really strong at the end and even managed the last few miles in 7:30m/m. What started out as a day of jogging, turned into a race against the clock. It's been a real confidence booster. I'm still on a high. All I need to do is add on another 6/7 miles, throw in some race day adrenaline, mix with a dollop of healthy competition and I should be aiming for 7hr 30 mins on race day, don't you think?

Sonic did a stirling job as support. He was great. No stopping and messing about, just a quick drop off and pick up. That's the way it should be on shorter distance ultra marathons (now that's an oxymoron). I didn't take on a lot of food and drink, but what I did have was perfect. Two GO bars, two gels, 100g of jelly babies and some dilluting juice with Nunn tablets.