My First West Highland Way Race

Pre Race

I had arranged with my support crew to pick me up at 11pm, so when the text came in at 10:50 say that they were on time.the nerves were starting to kick in, i had all my kit in one box and supplies in another so when the guys arrived we fitted everything in to the car and headed for Milngavie. as we entered the railway station car park the place was jumping, i was surprised when we even managed to get a parking space, myself and Sam then went over to the registration, picked up my number and i got weighed in before heading back to the car park i met Thomas and Silke for the first time. After saying hello to JK, it was time for the race brief, then before i knew it we were counting down to the start of the race.


Milngavie to Drymen

As we left Milngavie, the fast group had dissapeared and i was sitting in a group consisting of Sharon Law,Ross Moreland,John Kynaston And Richard Galbraith, as we continued along Jamie Aarons joined and immediately went to the front with Sharon, John joked that the girls were holding the gates open for the men. as we moved along the group started to thin out on the road section approaching drymen. i managed to see my crew in amongst the many people standing there.

Drymen to Balmaha 

After leaving Drymen the group remained spread out again until i was with Mark Caldwell as we came over Conic Hill into the carpark at Balmaha. As i came down the hill i started to slide causing me to fall over lucky for me it was only my arm that took the knock. i decided that once i had stopped for a quick bite i would dry my feet and get a fresh pair of socks on. my five minues flew in and i was soon on my way.


Balmaha to Rowardennan

As i started to climb out of Balmaha i could see Sharon climbing up the path ahead little did i know then that we would be running together until Glencoe.this section went passed very quickly as we came into Rowardennan the first faces i saw there where John McLaughlin and John Bell (part of Marcos support) who gave us a welcome cheer, i saw my crew and headed over to change my footwear for the lochside, when i asked for my other shoes the guys said they could not find them, it then came back to me that they were lying outside the house at the door, so it was a case of drying the feet and more fresh socks.

Rowerdennan to Inversnaid

I spent most of this section just behind Sharon running with Craig Stewart, one of my friends, Paul was going to drive up in the morning and run down with my drop bag, as i arrived at Inversnaid, Paul was waiting with my refuel for the next section, i felt this was an important section to get a bit of moral support, then me and Craig were off as paul went to Tyndrum.

Inversnaid to Bienglass

Craig started to drop back on this section as we went over the goat path and again i wasn't far behind Sharon as we came into Beinglas the crew were sitting in the seated area as you cross the footbridge again taking another five minutes to get a rice and to refuel my race belt.

Bienglass to Auchentyre

This section seemed much easier than it did at the Fling,as i came through the big gate at Boggle Glen i got the news that Marco had withdrawn from the race. i stopped and borrowed a change of shoes as i remebered the last time i ran this section i felt every bloody stone under my feet just then Sharon came through the gate with another runner Adam Versteeg, we all ran together to the checkpoint as we arrived we saw Marco walking towards us, he was changed, he gave Sharon a quick hug as we continued in to the checkpoint. This was the first weigh in point, i had a lost some weight, then took the usual five minutes to grab a bite.

Auchertyre to Bridge of Orchy

Myself and Adam left around the same time as we came through lower Tyndrum Neil Gibson gave us cheer, then appraoching high Tyndrum Paul was waiting for me, at this point i walked up the small climb with another runner called Mark  Leggett then got myself started again. I could see Sharon in the distance, it wasn't long before Mark caught me, at this point Adam had fallen back. Mark and i both eventually caught up with Sharon as we all came through the checkpoint. i took a few minutes as Shaun wanted to see my mandatory kit.

Bridge of Orchy to Glencoe Ski Centre

Leaving BoO i had a kit change, myself Mark and Sharon all came through Victoria Bridge, again i stopped for a quick refuel, just then Adam caught up, heading over Rannoch Moor, the rain was coming down and by now i could feel myself starting to struggle, Another Runner whom i ran with over  Conic earlier, Mark Caldwell had caught up with us and passed looking quite strong. Adam dropped back as the three of us tried to see this section out, with a mile to go to the Ski Centre Sharon was away on her own followed by Mark Then Me.

Glencoe Ski Centre to Devils Staicase

I got out of the wet clothes, had another snack and headed down to the Kingshouse with Adam at this point Mark was behind us. my crew had agreed to meet at the bottom ot the Devils Staircase. again i did not enjoy this small section, as i arrived i changed in to my Skins but by now Adam was well on his way to the top, part of the way up i met Mark again but he looked like he was in a worse place than me at this point, just then i was caught up by another runner who seemed to appear from nowhere called Graham Strachan who was being supported by George Cairns, he had been running with Debs who he said was just behind us, once at the top i seemed to get a second wind and ran with Graham into the Kinlochleven checkpoint.

Kinlochleven to Lundavra

I went inside the centre to weigh in when saw John Mclauglin, John Bell and Marco in the seated area, i weighed in and told Marco that Debs was close behind. i had went to get another change of top from Sam before heading over the Larig Moor,as i did so Debs was off like a shot heading up the Larig climb. i could see her and Adam drifting further and further away from me. As i headed towards Lundavra another runner came pat, Marc Casey , after that the only people were the wilderness response team offering Juice and by now it was getting harder to keep the momentum up, eventually as i approached Lundavra just before the checkpoint Tam came down try and lift my spirits by saying that the last group were not far in front.

Lundavra to Fort William

As i left the checkpoint i was really starting to struggle i found it difficult to pick myself up, i could still see Debs and Adam at stages then they dissapeared. just then my watch went dead, this was the final straw, i had no idea what distance i was covering and i had no sense of time and the forrest trail just seemed to go on and on for ever. As i came up the final part of the trail, i had felt a sense of being lost, the footpath had a large tree covering it and there was a road to the left, i stood for a few minutes as my directoin was gone and i did not want to take a wrong turn, just then three cyclists came up towards me, i shouted to them for directions, wich they pointed to the path with the tree over it so i climbed through it only to find the other end coming out onto the road. i headed down the road where the cyclists came tearing past me, as i came  around a bend someone was taking photos and shouted well done, was i glad to see someone. as i continued down the road for a bit Sam appeared and said it was only three miles to go, i was struggling badly and found even going dowhill difficult. i happened to look back and i could see two runners behind me, one passed me and that made me try and find something to get to the main road, as i looked back i could  not see anyone else, on the main road my support shouted out of the car that it was about 500 yards to go to the roundabout, this felt like an eternity as the road just seemed to go on and on ,still struggling i walked and ran until i could see the roundabout then i could see my crew at the entrance of the Centre. I had just crossed the line when i found out the runner behind me was mark who i had spent most of the race with.

Position 16th  - Time 19 Hours 47 Minutes 17 seconds

Early Bird

As I was working today and don't finish to 3pm and knowing that Angela and Abby were due home from the Brownie camp around 4ish, there was no way that i was going to get a reasonable run in so it was up early this morning and out the door bang on 4:30 as this would get me a 2 hour run before starting work, because i had taken Saturday off i decided to do a similar distance to what i ran on Friday evening. It was a fantastic morning, the sun was out in full and it was just perfect for a run, as i was running i was thinking about the conditions for next week, checkpoints, food and so on. now i know from reading Silke's blog what Thomas means about PRT.so now it is all by, all that remains in a small run on Tuesday and Thursday to keep the legs ticking over.

Total Distance 15:17   Time 1h 57 min 18 sec

can't get you out of my Head

It's friday, i have one week to go and like the rest of the runners taking part in the WHW it should be time to wind down. now i don't usually run on a Friday as this is one of my rest days but this is no normal weekend , my wife Angela and Abby are away to a Brownie camp all weekend so i couldn't sit on my arse and not do something so i decided to head out for a run, takes your mind of things or so i had hoped but as Kylie says, cant get you out of my head and thats exactly what is happening in relation to next week.for someone attempting to run their first 95 Miles in a weeks time its hard to think of anything else. so back to the run, the night turned out well the sun was out and it was pretty warm so i decided to run a loop at the house which took in 13 miles, i was trying out a new pair of shoes for their second run, what a spring in your step they give any way after checking the garmin at the end i found that i had run 2 sub 7.30, 8 sub 7.15 and 2 sub 7 and 1 sub 6.50, i hope next Friday is as Good.

Total distance 13.08 time 1h 33m

Tomtain and Garrel Hills

Today was going to be my last long run before the WHW, I set of this morning at 05:10 am and headed out 10 miles along the Forth & Clyde Canal until i reached Kilsyth, once there i decided to head up what i believe to be one of the steepest road sections in central Scotland, Tak Ma Doon Road, once at the car park at the top where you can take in fantastic views which include Grangemouth, I then cut off through the green barrier to the left and head up to Tomtain Hill (trig Point 6518) and on to Garrel Hill. At one point i thought the cloud cover was going to spoil my view but it quickly moved making my final long run all worth while. after a few minutes i started to head back down from my climb back in to Kilsyth and back on to the canal heading for home.

Distance 30 Miles - Total Time 4:05 - Elavation Gain 2118 ft

Looking back at April And May

Time certainly flies when you have a a few races planned, April came and went before i got a chance to look back and blog it , now May has gone and we are into June, so i thought i should record what i have done. we are now 16  days from the biggest event in the race calendar and the longest distance in my 30 years of running. so looking back firstly at April, the stats are as follows:

April
329.17 miles logged  in 17 days of running which included 8 runs with a minimum of 20 miles inc the Fling

May
218.63 miles 15 days of runnig which included 5 runs over 20 miles.

547.80 miles combined