Tooting Bec 24H 2014 - Girl Power!!

Pre-race preps - life of a (pretend) full-time athlete
After the World 24 hour was cancelled for the second time this year (Czech Republic in June and then Taiwan in December),  I made the decision to return to the track where I'd run my first 24 hour race the previous year to try to further my distance.  I didn't want to have made selection for this year, only to not get to run and then for some reason not make selection for next year so I knew I had to run further.  I viewed my second attempt as a bit like that difficult second album - the first one had gone reasonably well (or well enough at least to make GB selection), and as I'd never done one before there was relatively little pressure.  However, now I had a distance I knew I had to at least match, and if all went well, run further than.  On top of that, I now knew just what physical and mental suffering felt like and the potential complications that could arise following the race - no work trips planned the week after for this one (something which was again brought up at my recent appraisal - the term "business risk" was used to describe me!! *See Tooting Bec 2013 write up for more detail...!!)

Don Ritchie MBE  - Legend!!

Preparation for the race had gone brilliantly.  I'd come off the back of the West Highland Way race in June feeling pretty strong and gaining confidence in my running abilities, and my runs felt like they were getting faster but with no extra effort put in.  As I'm required to take 2 weeks block leave at work, I decided to use it up before the race and get a solid 2 weeks training in - I could be a pretend full time athlete and just focus fully on Tooting Bec and reaching my distance.  And also spend some much overdue quality time with my dad back in the north-east.  The first week went brilliantly - my typical day involved a long lie, a run in the morning, lazing around and then another run in the afternoon.  At first I didn't believe my Garmin, my run's were quick, but I honestly didn't feel like I was pushing at all.  I started to think that maybe I should be doing a 10k or a marathon to make use of this new found speed I was discovering.

My dad completing his lap of the track

During the week, I had the honour to meet one of my absolute heroes - ultra running legend Don Ritchie.  I remember growing up in the north-east, we'd be out in the car with my dad and we'd often see the figure of Don pounding the roads around Lossiemouth and Elgin.  So I was over the moon when I got in touch and he invited me around for a cuppa - I had so many questions to ask a man that broke multiple world records and remains one of the greatest ultra runners that the UK and even World, has ever seen!!  There is so much I could write here about our meeting, I think that in itself merits another blog however, and I count down the days until he publishes an account of his running endeavours! I left Don's house feeling inspired and even more motivated and determined to train even harder for Tooting.  During the week, my dad and I also headed over to Morriston, which is the cinder track I used to train at when I was at high school.  It had again been badly damaged the previous week during flooding, so we went to see how bad it looked as I planned to do some laps while I was up and practice pacing for Tooting.  My dad, who was still recovering from having a knee replacement a few weeks previously, was out the car in a shot, and ended up doing a lap of the track, despite my protests.  I'm starting to see where I get my stubborn streak from.....

Beautiful Morayshire :)

I topped off the first week with back to back 35 milers taking me to 115 miles for the week - on the Saturday, I took in some of the Speyside Way route as the race was on and I wanted to cheer on some folk I knew were running.  I absolutely love the stretch between Spey Bay and Buckie, passing all the wee fishing villages that merge into Buckie and looking out for seals and dolphins along the coast.  My time at home was reminding me of just how much I miss the north east and living by the sea!  The second run on the Sunday went well too - I ran out along part of one of Don's old training routes, past the firing range at Kingston (very quickly as the flags were up and the squadron boys were out shooting!) and along the long forest track to Lossiemouth, stopping there for a quick ice-cream before making the return leg back home.  This full time athlete malarky was turning out to be a pretty good lifestyle choice!  I took the Monday off, and noted that my ankles were both feeling a bit achey. Then on the Tuesday, I was out on my morning run, going at a good pace when all of a sudden I had a really sharp pain up the front of my shin.  And so ended my time as a pretend full time athlete - week two was spent sitting on the sofa icing my shin.  There is such a fine line between training hard and overtraining and I guess on this occasion, although it didn't feel like I was particularly pushing it, I crossed it.

Lossiemouth beach

I managed to get an appointment with Del at Proactiv Physiotheraphy when I got back to Edinburgh - he's saved me in the run up to my last two races this year, finding solutions to various niggles I've had this year with my hamstring and foot, and he soon sent me on my way with a strapped ankle and telling off for not doing my strengthening exercises!  So, with a slightly dodgy ankle, a longer than planned taper, and an experimental "reverse-taper" in place (thanks to coach Marco for thinking of this!), I was soon on the flight down to Gatwick to meet up with my support crew Karen Hathaway (fellow GB 24 hour runner) and good friends Sarah and Dan Byrne.  We headed over to Sarah and Dan's house for my traditional pre-race meal (pizza and beer) and to quickly go over my race schedule, after which it was an early night at the local Travelodge for me and Karen.

Race Day

Pre-race nerves....

Karen woke me up.  Thank god, because tattie-heid here, although setting the alarm on my phone and plugging it into the charger, hadn't actually turned the switch on - my phone was dead.  Great start, but then again, not surprising given my track record.  Speaking of which, after a hearty breakfast, we were on our way to London, via Gatwick to pick up Adrian Stott who was to be official time-keeper for the race.  Sarah and Dan had headed up earlier to set up, and when we got there, they had everything looking super organised - a tent was erected at the side of the track, compete with airbed (which I was instructed on no account during the next 24 hours was I to go anywhere near!), and we'd managed to nab a table from Johnny Fling, our neighbour for the next 24 hours, who was down supporting girlfriend Noanie.   The table was already heaving under the weight of the ridiculously long shopping list of food I'd given Sarah and Dan, and I thought it only prudent to do a quick check of some of Sarah's mini Rollo chocolate brownies that she'd baked especially for the occasion.  We were also set up a couple of tents along from Izzy Wykes; I'd met Izzy last year when we both had the honour of representing GB at the World Ultra Trail Champs in Wales.  Izzy had won the 145 mile GUCR earlier this year and was now trying a 24 hour for the first time, also with the aim of making the GB qualifying mark.

Round round baby, round round......

It wasn't long until we were all lining up at the start line.  It really didn't feel like a year ago since I had last toed the line here at Tooting, and it felt good to be back.  I had come with what I thought was an overly ambitious target - 230kms (vs a PB of 216km) - but I was confident I could get close to it if I just stuck to my plan and didn't get carried away in the early hours.

The gun fired and we were off.  As usual, a lot of people raced off at what would later turn out to be unsustainable paces, but I stuck to my pacing plan and let the others race ahead; there was still a long, long way to go.   The first few hours passed quickly; Noanie was right behind me and Izzy had taken a more cautious and leisurely start.  My crew (who were later joined by (not "the") Steve King) were fantastic - keeping a close eye on me to make sure I wasn't going too fast at the start, making sure I was eating properly and regularly, and keeping me updated with splits and progress.  Food that worked well this year included cheese and tomato quiche, homemade spanish omelette (it had been a winner during the West Highland way this year!), salt and vinegar square crisps and....my secret weapon - malteser cake.   I ate pretty well for probably the first 12 hours and then really started to struggle after that.  I just felt very sick and really had to force myself to eat things.

Running through the night is always one of the hardest parts of a 24 hour - but its a period I enjoy.  Some people leave the track and get their heads down for a few hours, others stay on and do a steady death march.   I like it when it gets quieter, you can just get your head down and bank some miles.  I was starting to go through a wee rough patch though, I wasn't eating as well and wasn't feeling quite as chirpy as at the start, so I pulled my cap down and tried to focus on just completing lap after lap and retreating into my head.  I'd bought an iPod shuffle specifically for Tooting (I lost the one that I bought for the event last year...) - I'm not really a big fan of using music in races, I think it gives the runner an advantage, and as such I don't think it should be allowed in races, but I thought I might as well take advantage of it as others were.  However, I never did figure out how to download my music from Spotify onto the iPod, so apart from half a lap sharing one of Noanie's earphones (NB Noanie has the most eclectic taste in music - "If I Had Words" from the movie Babe, will forever be synonomous with running round a track for 24 hours.  Along with, of course, Round Round by the Sugababes....!!), it was just me and my thoughts.

Noanie's "interesting" soundtrack

My name, along with Izzy and Noanie's,  had been creeping up the leader board - it wasn't something I'd been keeping an eye on, and I would have been worried to see my name at the top in the first few hours; it is something I was conscious of though - and reminded of when an enthusiastic supporter shouted out that he reckoned I'd take the lead by about 2am at the rate I was going.  This was quickly shouted down by Adrian, who was keen to make sure I was focussing on the full 24 hours and not positions this "early" on in the race.  Everyone knows that a 24 hour race doesn't really start until the final 6 hours, so at this point, position was irrelevant.  As it happens, I took the overall lead just under the half way mark, at which point I'd covered just over 76 miles.

The thing I love about Tooting is the atmosphere - everyone is so incredibly supportive, regardless of how their race is going or how they are feeling.  Some of the runners seemed to be more excited than I was at the fact I'd taken the lead, they were all so encouraging.  I remember running past Ann Bath at one point and her telling me she hadn't noticed her position when she ran past the score board, she'd been so busy looking at mine!

Karen checking my malteser cake levels....
Dan and Steve ignoring my diva requests

By now my toes were starting to feel pretty bashed.  After the state my feet were in after last year's race, I'd been sure this time to absolutely smother them in vaseline.  However, the issue seemed to be more that my toes were bashing off the top of my shoes - I should have taped them.   I've never yet taken my shoes off during a race, I prefer just to run on and deal with the consequences at the end.  However, on this occasion, there were seriously bad things going on inside my shoes, and I was starting to hobble a bit, so I had to make the decision to stop, take my shoes and socks off and tape my toes.  Blisters had already started to form under my toenails and were pushing them off, so the quick fix was for Karen (poor, poor Karen) to quickly tape them on.  It wasn't the quickest of manoeuvres, not helped by the fact that I didn't have proper tape, so I wasted probably a lap or so doing this.  Lesson learnt though - tape toes before future track races!  And bring proper tape!  On a positive note however, my ankle was holding up well and as such, my shin was feeling fine.  This had been a worry right up until the start of the race, and I'd debated whether or not to tape my ankle from the start.  In the end I decided to just go for it and hope my ankle would hold out - and so far, it seemed to be doing pretty good.

Waving regally to the lap counters (and not assaulting 81 year old
record breaker Geoff!)

I went through the 100 mile mark at  16 hours 11 mins - 13 minutes slower than last year.  This was a good thing though - last year I'd got distracted when I found out that I was close to beating the current 100 mile Scottish record, so I'd shifted focus to achieving that, rather than remaining focussed on the full 24 hours.  As it turned out, I missed out on the record, and suffered later on in the race for my unscheduled increase in pace.  That's why when Adrian told me that I was close to breaking good friend Sharon Law's 200km Scottish record, I didn't want to know, as I was conscious that I was going for a good 24 hour distance, and not a 200km record.  However, when Adrian then added that Sharon has achieved the record on her way to breaking the Scottish 24 hour record, it gave me the renewed focus I needed - I was actually on track to achieving somewhere close to the overly ambitious target I had set.  I went through the 200km mark in 20 hours 28 mins, 18 minutes inside the old record.  If I could just keep the pace going for another 3.5 hours, I was well on my way to achieving the distance I'd come for.

Mind games

By now I was really starting to hurt and having to dig deep.  I'd been running for almost 21 hours, and apart from the couple of minutes trackside taping my feet and a few toilet breaks, I'd been on the track keeping a pretty steady pace from the start.  Izzy by now however was looking stronger and stronger; from her cautious start, she just seemed to be going from strength to strength.  She was now only 2 miles - or 8 laps - behind me and showing no signs of letting up.  Any thoughts of easing up and just cruising for the last few hours were now clearly out the window, Izzy was pushing me and pushing me hard.  At the time, I was cursing her for it, but in actual fact, having her there was helping us both achieve distances we probably never imagined we could achieve - Izzy was pushing hard to chase me, and I was pushing hard to keep ahead of her.  By now, Noanie was clearly ahead as well in 3rd, and it looked like, unbelievably, the girls were going to get a clean sweep of the podium.

I pulled my cap down over my eyes, and tried to retreat into my head, telling myself that if i just kept pushing, it would soon be over and would all be worth it.  I had a mantra I kept repeating over and over in my head, trying to trick my body into thinking that I was feeling good and happy - "I'm strong, I'm strong, I can do this, so determined".  Sounds cheesy as hell now, but at the time, it was working and that's all that mattered!  With 45 minutes to go, I passed  Sharon's previous 24h record.  There was no time to celebrate though or ease off, and as I passed Dan, he shouted out "You've got the record  Now go and finish the job!!"  That gave me the extra boost I needed -  I hadn't led for this long for Izzy to pass me in the final hour, so again, head down, I focussed on trying to cover as many laps as possible.

Final results - girls get
the clean sweep!

The last half hour dragged!  By now my legs were cramping - I had to step off the track briefly to do some stretches against the fence and stretch my hamstrings and calves out.  Also, my speed was restricted now, I couldn't run any faster, as every time I tried to speed up, my muscles threatened to cramp up.  I remember seeing Izzy nip off the track to the bathroom and running past my crew shouting "Izzy's just gone for a pee - if I need to pee now, I'm doing it in my shorts!!!", so determined I was to keep my lead!  Luckily, I didn't need a pee, and with one minute to go, Karen and Dan joined me to mark my final distance.

The hooter went and the race was over - I'd exceeded my original target, running a total distance of 232.9kms (144 miles), knocking 4 miles off the previous Scottish record. I'd also broken the female course record and become the first female in the history of the race to win it outright!  In fact, girls had achieved the clean sweep, with Izzy clocking up an impressive 142 miles for her debut 24 hour race and Noanie in third overall with 132 miles; each of us achieving GB qualification standards.  Our distances also place me and Izzy 5th and 6th respectively on the GB all-time 24 hour list!! To say I was over the moon is an understatement!

Pooped

Unbelievably happy as I was however, I was exhausted.  And feeling, very, very sick.  One thing I'd learned from last year though, and vowed never to do again, was to travel home by train after the race.  This year, after a wee sip of beer, quick shower, and flaking out in the changing rooms in the middle of the presentations, Karen kindly gave Adrian and me a lift to Heathrow.  Two wheelchair rides, a plane journey and lift in Adrian's car later and I was soon back home - much more civilised than travelling in the underground, having to negotiate stairs (seriously, try that after running for 24 hours), freezing cold trains and a deathly slow walk up the Waverley ramp in Edinburgh...!

Lessons learned from this year:

1. The importance of a great support crew: similar to me having excellent support during the WHW this year, I was lucky enough to be supported by Karen, an experienced 24 hour runner, and also Dan and Sarah who helped support me last year.  Coupled with new friend Steve, I could not have been in better hands - being able to run and know that I didn't have to worry about anything - if there were any issues, I had a brilliant support crew who could figure things out for me and make sure I was keeping fuelled, happy and moving forward.
2. No matter how much food you have, you'll always feel like something you don't have: I don't think Sarah and Dan knew what they had let themselves in for when they offered to do my pre-race shopping for me.....the realisation probably began to sink in after they received my shopping list.  And then hit me when Karen and I went around to theirs on the Friday night for pizza and beer and were greeted by THE biggest food mountain imaginable.  Despite this, I still found myself craving things I didn't have.  Chocolate soya milk, which I absolutely devoured last year, was not doing it for me this year at all.  And when I saw my crew making cups of tea, I had a sudden craving for milk, so started drinking gallons of the stuff.  I don't even drink milk, preferring instead to drink rice or soya based alternatives!  I also had a random craving for fresh orange and a smoothie - again, things I don't usually drink in races or day to day!  I can't thank enough the runner who gave me one of his smoothies - it was just what I needed!
3. Foot care / Vaseline: So I was wise this year in that I absolutely sloshed on vaseline all over my feet and toes before the race.  Unwise though for not taping my toes.  I am already mourning the impending loss of several toenails.....Vaseline in general - you can never use too much.  And should never put off reapplying during a race.  Enough said.
4. Tea: It probably has no nutritional value whatsoever (except for caffeine boost?) but I cannot get enough of it, especially in the latter hours of a 24 hour!
5. Holidays: 2 days post race are not enough!  First week back at work was not particularly enjoyable (did you know its actually possible to fall asleep with your eyes open??).  This has now resulted in me getting post-race lurgy.....Where possible, better plan holiday allowance (I now have zero holidays left for the rest of the year.....:( )
6. Have a plan, have confidence in your plan, and stick to it: I went to Tooting this year with a very structured plan in place. I knew exactly how many laps I should be running each hour, when I should be walking, what I should be eating (obviously the latter of these went out the window after a few hours...!) and I made sure I stuck to it.  Even at the start, when people were racing off, I had confidence in my plan knowing that if I stuck to it, there was a huge likelihood I would achieve my distance.  This of course went out the window in the last 3 hours as Izzy continued to push me hard and I just had to grit my teeth, get my head down and dig deeper than originally planned!
7. Keep positive: As I've learned even more this year, a huge proportion of success in ultra running comes down to keeping a positive mentality.  Karen played a huge part during Tooting this year, telling me to keep smiling.  And if that means chanting cheesy mantras over and over in your head and telling yourself that you are feeling great even when you're not, then that's the way to do it!  
8. If offered a wheelchair at an airport, take it: Also, it helps if the person you are travelling with is wearing full GB outfit (it means if you flake out in the middle of the airport, you don't look so much like a random drunk/hobo/crazy person).  If being pushed in aforementioned wheelchair by Adrian Stott, keep your wits about you - he has a tendency to veer for peoples toes....
9. Pizza and Beer is a pre-race winner:  but only 1 beer.
10. As elegantly put by Karen: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND YOU CAN DO ANYTHING (except perhaps fly)!!!!

Special thanks to:

• My amazing support crew - Karen, Dan, Sarah, and Steve.  And also to folk at the AAM London office who popped along at various points to come cheer me on
• The rest of the GB girls - Debbie, Sharon, Emily, Jo Z - for sending updates and words of encouragement during the race
• Adrian - for keeping me updated during the race of splits etc and for all his help pre-race. And to him and Arpita for getting me home after!
• Run & Become and all the lap counters/organisers - for putting on such a fabulous and well-organised race
• Marco and Mark - for helping me with training schedules and pushing me hard 
• The rest of the competitors - for making it such a friendly, encouraging and welcoming environment to run in
• My dad - for putting up with my full-time athlete persona for 2 weeks....:)
• 2Pure for supplying me with OSMO products for the race; and Nelsons Arnicare for post-race Arnicare gel.

Race Links
Run and Become race report
Scottish Athletics race report
Ultrarunning World race report

Shoe Review: Brooks PureGrit 3 – Third Time Lucky

I was looking for a shoe to wear for the West Highland Way race in June; the PureGrit2 had brought me success at the 53 mile Highland Fling (the first “half” of the WHW) the previous year, but I wasn’t confident that it could protect my feet for the full 95 miles.  While I am used to the low profile (4mm heel to toe drop) and minimalist feel of the PureGrit, the thought of crossing the expansive Lharig Mhor, over 80 miles into the race, with its carpet of rocks, caused me some concern about what state my feet would be in at the end.

The new, definitely improved, PureGrit 3

And then up popped news of the PureGrit 3, with its new rock plate, added toe protection and improved traction – just the added improvements I had been looking for.  I was lucky enough through the generosity of Adrian Stott at Run & Become in Edinburgh to get hold of a pair of the shoes in time for the race, as they weren’t due to be released in the shops until a month later. I’d finally found my race shoe, and one that I was confident would get me round with no issues.

Other reviews of the PureGrit 3 have described the shoe as "beefier", "grittier" and "rugged" - words which sum the shoe up nicely.  The new Brooks PureGrit 3 raises the bar of the PureGrit family, establishing it firmly as a “proper” trail shoe.  Much as I love the PureGrit2, which up until now has been my shoe of choice for training and racing on trails (the PureFlow3 being my preferred choice of road shoe), the PureGrit 3 exposes the flaws of its predecessor, raising it up to join the ranks of the big boy trail shoes.

Improved hexagonal lugs for maximum traction

The PureGrit 3 has a chunkier, more rugged appearance than the slipper-light fit and feel of the PureGrit2.  The biggest improvement for me however, is the more aggressive lug pattern of the outsole – it appears to be third time lucky for Brooks who have finally produced a PureGrit with reliable traction.

80+ miles into the West Highland Way Race - feet still happy :)

The new shoe also feels sturdier, with added toe protection and a built in rock plate.  Perfect for the more technical sections of the West Highland Way and added protection from the cobbles of Rannoch Moor and the rubbly expanse of the Lhairig Mhor.  I had time for a couple of runs to try out the shoe before the race.  Sizing wise, no change from the previous models, a mens UK8.5 fitted perfectly (I have big feet for a girl...), good enough to run in straight from the box.  First impressions were that it felt slightly more padded than the previous model.  Its appearance (but not its feel) reminds me more of the Brooks Cascadia, and it definitely felt more robust than the PureGrit2.  My first test run was in the Kilpatrick hills, just outside Glasgow.  I found the shoes to have much better grip, with the more aggressive lug patterns being a noticeable improvement and providing better traction on the grassy downhills sections.  Running through some of the boggier patches however, I noticed that the shoes don’t seem to drain quite as well as the older model; perhaps down to a slight increase in cushioning.  Not really too much of an issue though, it’s more of a “squelch” factor as opposed to the shoes actually filling up with water.

In terms of appearance, I do miss the split toe design and the burrito wrap tongue of the older model, but that’s just an aesthetics thing and doesn’t affect the feel of the shoe in a negative way.  The toe box still feels roomy and the reversion back to traditional tongue design makes the shoe more accessible to a wider range of users.

So, how did the shoes perform for me?  95 miles of West Highland Way trail and the shoes felt great from the start.  The improved traction gave me the confidence to fly down some of the steeper segments such as Conic Hill and the other side of the Devil; the added toe protection and rock plate meant I could cover Rannoch Moor and the Lhairig Mhor with no complaints of bashed toes.  I finished the race blister-free, with a new PB and podium finish!

The verdict: happy feet! 

The geeky bits:

Main differences vs PureGrit 2:

Forefoot rockplate

Toe guard

Traditional tongue (vs burrito wrap design)

New outsole with a more aggressive lug pattern

Stats:

Heel to toe cushioning: 14mm – 10mm

4mm heel to toe drop

Weight: Size 8.5 mens ~10oz (when weighing my post-soggy run on kitchen scales..!)

(Lots and lots of) Thank you(s) to: Adrian Stott at Run & Become and Eric Muir at Brooks for getting hold of the PureGrit 3's for me before they even hit the shops!
And obviously my fabulous, fabulous crew who supported me during the WHW race - Debbie Martin-Consani and Sharon Law, and of course, my Dad, Charlie :)

"Do You Want to Win?" West Highland Way Race 2014

The start line almost never arrived.  Training had been going relatively well, but my head wasn’t right.  I didn’t feel confident and was worrying too much about what everyone else was doing.  I didn’t feel like I had done enough. I should have done more hill reps. More intervals and speed.  More long runs. Longer long runs.  I was wasting too much time on FB reading about what other people were doing instead of focussing on what I’d done and trusting my coach.  The previous year had been an amazing year for me, I was a different runner now.  What if I couldn’t repeat my performances of last year?  With three weeks to go I knew that as long as my head was like this there was absolutely no point at all in starting the race.  You need to want to finish to start a race like the WHW.  A couple of things turned it around for me.  A solo run in the Pentlands one evening after work where I just went out and ran as hard as I could, stopping at the top of the peaks called the Kips and just breathing, remembering why I run.  A catch up over coffee one evening after work with Adrian Stott who helped me put things back into perspective, and a statement made by my friend Matt Williamson – “just think of it as a nice day out in the hills with friends”.  Ok, so that took the pressure off.  I’d forget about racing and just run.  Then Adrian texted me the night before the race and simply asked me “Do you want to win?”. 

My GB team mates Debbie Martin-Consani and Sharon Law had volunteered to support me.  Having these girls support me was in itself a huge advantage; the girls need little introduction, being experienced at both running and supporting the WHW in previous years as well as excelling at numerous other ultras.  They had helped Debbie’s husband Marco finish 2^nd  in last year’s race, so if anything, the pressure should be on them and not me!  I was especially grateful to Sharon who had only the previous weekend been down running the South Downs Way 100 mile Ultra, finishing 2^nd lady, and who could probably have found something a bit more relaxing to do the weekend after her race!  And Debbie who had pretty much crammed her weekly mileage into the 3 days preceding the race so that she could come and support me.  Our added weapon was our mascot, Cairn who came along for the ride.

Sharon, Debbie and Cairn at the start line

I left home around 9pm on the Friday night to head to Debbie’s house in Glasgow where we’d meet Sharon, go over my schedule, then head over to register at Milngavie.  After successfully getting myself to Glasgow, I somehow managed to end up on the southern side of the Clyde tunnel, passing Ibrox and so taking the very alternative route to the Consani’s.  Who live no-where near Ibrox.  And are on the opposite side of the Clyde. Not a good start, but also not surprising given my complete lack of sense of direction.

Sharon and I drove over to register while Debbie got the rest of the car all packed up and woke up a sleepy Cairn.  We met Matt Williamson and his girlfriend Dawn in the carpark.  He was already registered and looking very calm.  I’m always a bit of a state before a race with nerves, I really rock the rabbit in headlights look, so hurried over to get registered and weighed.  I bumped into lots of friendly faces over at the hall, including Bob Steel and Davie Gow who I’ve been doing a lot of my longer runs with (2 of the few people who can actually put up with my rubbish chat for hours on end), and fellow GB team mate Robbie Britton who was looking forward to his battle with current race record holder Paul Giblin.

Milngavie to Balmaha

Wrist tagged with my number, goody bag collected (loving the colour of this year’s WHW buff), weight taken (how heavy???) and a few hugs and kisses from folks, some I’ve not seen in far too long, and it wasn’t long until we were heading over to the start line.   With the race underway, I found myself running alongside Bob; we were both targeting similar splits so it was great to have a friendly face to run with through the night.  I love running in the dark (although not on my own, as at 34, I am still, embarrassingly, afraid of being in the dark alone!!), and spend hours every winter in the evenings with my headtorch running in the Pentlands, so this first section never phases me.   The conditions were so perfect anyway, the night was clear and the weather mild enough to start in vest.

The start of the race at Milngavie

The first few sections went smoothly and it didn’t take long until we were approaching the downhill road section before the grassy climb into Drymen.  A quick wave to Sharon and Debbie, swapping of bottles and then we started the climb up the track into the woods.  Again, this section seemed to pass well, I’d lost Bob for a bit as I’d had to dive into a bush (first of numerous stops, today was not going to be a good day for my stomach), but caught up with him again as we began to climb Conic Hill.  It was already light enough by this point to run without our headtorches.  This is one of the sections I always look forward to, the views awarded from Conic Hill are absolutely breathtaking, I’ve taken some cracking photos up here in the past and it pained me slightly to not be able to stop and take some more this morning.  Also, the last time I ran Conic Hill in the WHW race was 2 years ago when it was torrential downpour and the path had literally been replaced by a river.  Conditions could not have been any more different today though, and that combined with the fact that a nice touristy path has since been put in all the way up and over made for much smoother running conditions today.

As we started to descend Conic Hill, Bob pointed out that he could see Rosie just ahead.  Interesting.  I had worked out all my splits for the race based on a finishing time of 18h30 and planned to stick to them, not allowing myself to be pulled along too fast in the early stages only to suffer for it later on.  Also, Rosie is a formidable runner, well known for her strength particularly in the later stages when others start to fade, a strength which has rightly so earned her the top finishing spot for the past 2 years.    We found ourselves together as we came down off Conic Hill though and ran together for a few minutes, arriving in Balmaha, our first checkpoint, just seconds apart.   This was to be the last time I saw both Rosie and Bob, as I pushed on for the next section to Rowardennan.

Balmaha to Rowardennan

My stomach didn’t feel right, I felt really queasy and had hoped it would pass.  At least I had the gorgeous views out over Loch Lomond to distract me.  And the midges – already they were out and I was glad I had my sunglasses, even though I probably looked silly given the overcast conditions.  Parts of this section I love, other’s I don’t look forward to so much, such as the longer stretches along the road.  It seemed to be passing relatively quickly though, my legs were feeling good, and my head was in a good place.  I soon found myself running with another familiar face for a while.  It was nice chatting as it distracted me from the fact I was feeling sick, but after a while the smell of his Skin So Soft was making me feel worse and I wanted to retreat into my head rather than make conversation so I pushed on, enjoying the twisty undulating trail parts of this section and getting my head down for the road sections.  Straight into Rowardennan and Debbie and Sharon were again waiting for me to fuel me up and push me on.  I had the F1 of support crews and left Rowardennan after a quick rice pudding…..

Rowardennan to Beinglas

....which reappeared about a half mile out of Rowardennan.  I hate being sick, I have a complete phobia about it and an unable to do so without sobbing like a 5 year old.  And so I shuffled on feeling a bit pathetic and sorry for myself but hopeful that it would pass.   This section has some of the most varied and fun stretches in the race.  From the clambering up, down and around boulders, past the vibrant blue bells that carpet the hills, and finally, reaching the amazing views rewarded at the top of the loch as you reach Dario’s post, it’s easy to lose yourself in the beauty of it all.  However, a task was at hand and I rolled back down the hill into Beinglas complaining to Sharon and Debbie about my stomach only to be pushed straight out of the checkpoint and back up the hill towards Crianlarich.

Beinglas to Tyndrum

The track out of Beinglas is rolling but runnable, so I got my head down and started to push on again.  Despite the nausea, which I could only put down to the fact that it was humid, I was pleased that I was still able to eat a reasonable amount.  I’d said to Sharon and Debbie from the start not to let me leave any meeting point without eating at least something, and although finding it hard to find anything particularly appetising, I was still managing to eat.  It was just coming out of Beinglas that GB 24 hour athlete Matt Moroz caught up with me.  Either I was running an absolute blinder of a race, well on course to smashing Lucy Colquhoun’s course record, or Matt wasn’t having a good day in the office.  Given he had finished last year’s race in sub-17 hours, it was clear that Matt was not having a good race.  We chatted for a bit and he explained that things hadn’t gone well and he’d been tempted to withdraw, but his crew had persuaded him to carry on.  Which worked out well for me as we ran together for a while and he helped pass the time on the stretch towards Crianlarich, past the scary cows (which weren’t there) and through cow poo ally (which was surprisingly not muddy!).  He pushed on before we reached the rollercoaster section past Crianlarich and I later found out he had a storming second half of a race, tearing his way back up through the field and finishing in the top 10.

My legs still felt strong going over the undulating hills past Crianlarich, and my head felt good, so despite the rice pudding incident coming out of Rowardennan and a sore stomach, I was still happy with how my splits were looking.  As I ran into Tyndrum and up the slope to Brodies, I saw the girls cheering for me and also another familiar face – my dad Charlie and his partner Grace who had driven down from the north east to support and more importantly, bring my dad’s home made tattie soup (complete with vegetarian beef…!).  A quick top up on soup, cup of tea and I was away again.

Tyndrum to Victoria Bridge

Before the race I hadn’t been looking forward to the stretch between Tyndrum to Bridge of Orchy.  It’s not a particularly exciting stretch, and although only around 6 miles, has always felt like it drags on when I’ve previously done training runs on it.  Today felt good though, and there seemed to be more downhill parts than I’d previously appreciated.  I hadn’t seen any other runners since Matt had left me before Crianlarich and I was enjoying retreating into my head, thinking about splits and pushing on.  

My amazing support crew :)

I’ve always really enjoyed the section between Bridge of Orchy and Victoria Bridge; the climb up ‘Jelly Baby Hill’ is fun and I love the downhill section back down off it onto the road.  It wasn’t long until I saw my support crew waiting at Bridge of Orchy, my dad playing traffic warden and helping me to cross the busy road at the hotel.  Sharon and Debbie were again waiting for me, topping me up with fuel and pushing me onwards up JB hill.   Cairn challenged to race me up it.  He beat me.  It didn’t take long until I could see the top of the hill and the welcome face of Murdo, handing out his jelly babies.  He’d kindly saved me two black ones, my favourite, what a star, which he held out for me as I trotted past.  It was also great to see Caroline McKay at the top who was cheering on the runners, as well as Thomas Loehndorf who was taking some superb photos.  The section off of JB hill is so much fun and I raced down it, to find my support crew waiting to top up my juice, in preparation for the long, lonely stretch towards Victoria Bridge and over Rannoch Moor to GlenCoe.

Murdo and Caroline, supporting at the top of 'Jelly Baby Hill'

Top of JB Hill

Victoria Bridge to Devils Staircase

Rannoch Moor is where things started to unwind a bit.  Again, my legs still felt strong, but my stomach didn’t feel good and the nausea had got worse again.  There was a runner ahead though so I had someone to focus on and again got my head down and pushed on.  The sun had started to come out; so far, the weather had been almost perfect.  Apart from the humidity, it was relatively cool and the sun was hiding behind the clouds.  Here though, on one of the most exposed sections of the course, the sun had decided to shine.  I started to worry as well as I’d picked up a pouch of Vimto for this section instead of my usual larger bottle, and it wasn’t long until I had run out of liquid.  I could still see the runner in front though, so tried to focus on him and pushed on.  Soon I could see the long path wind up to the skyline and I knew as soon as I got to this point it was the fun downhill stretch into GlenCoe ski centre. 

I got into Glencoe and I felt wasted.  I didn’t feel good physically and mentally I was starting to worry.  Sharon saw me wobble in and guided me up to the checkpoint.  I was worried as I couldn’t face eating anything, I felt far too sick, but I knew unless I did eat, my race would be over.  I managed to eat a chip which my dad and Grace had kindly sourced from the ski centre and Debbie and Sharon changed tactic and tried topping me up with Coke to see if the sugars would keep me going.  I complained that I didn’t feel right, I thought there was something wrong with my stomach and couldn’t understand why I felt so sick so early on.  The response I got was the response of the most caring, most professional support crew a girl could have.  Sharon told me to stop moaning, accept the fact that my stomach was going to hurt and I’d probably feel shit now for the rest of the race, and just get on with it.  And with that, I was pushed off back down the hill and towards Kingshouse.

I reached Kingshouse and felt absolutely broken.  I couldn’t run.  The frustrating thing was my legs felt good.  I felt reasonably strong.  But I was sick again and mentally I just couldn’t go on.  The thought of getting to the Devil’s Staircase now seemed a challenge in itself, never mind the climb up and over to Kinlochleven.  There was no way, even if I got that far, that I could then get myself over the Lhairig Mhor to Lundavra and then the final stretch to the finish.  My race was over.  I felt like crying.  I felt bad for my dad and Grace who had driven all that way to support me.  To Debbie and Sharon who had given up their weekends and their precious training time to crew for me.  I wondered what I’d say to the guys I run with and how I’d feel when they all finished and I had DNF’d. I stopped running and walked a good 3 miles on this easily runnable section, feeling absolutely miserable and pretty disappointed in myself, and expecting folk to come running past me.  They never did though.  And after a much longer section than scheduled, I soon saw Sharon who had run out to look for me.  Before I had a chance to tell her I was withdrawing, her and Debbie had me topped up with Coke, a bag of crisps in my hand and along with my Dad and Grace were cheering me off up the Devil’s Staircase.

Devil’s Staircase to Kinlochleven

As I marched up the Devil, I realised that I’d never really had a choice.  No matter how bad or miserable I felt, there was no way that Debbie and Sharon would ever have let me quit, it was never even an option.  As I’d got to the foot of the Devil and saw my crew, I felt a part of me revive again and it felt like the fight was back on.  Rosie hadn’t caught me, my stomach had (relatively) settled and I felt determined again.  In the grand scheme of things, I’d only really dropped time over a 12 mile or so stretch, it could have been much worse, and I was starting to feel ‘ok’ again.  The Devil has always been one of my favourite sections, I love the climb to the top, which is rewarded by the fun downhill section, pretty much all the way down into Kinlochleven.  This was a section where I could claw back some of the time I’d lost and I started to gain back some of the confidence I’d lost in the previous stretches.  I dug deep and started to believe I could win again.

Kinlochleven to Lundavra

I dropped into Kinlochleven and ran straight into the checkpoint to get weighed.  My crew were anxious to get me moving as Rosie’s crew had also arrived.  I wasted a bit too much time here, stopping to eat more of my dad’s soup, and taking the opportunity to use a real toilet (!).  The girls soon shooed me out though with Sharon coming out a short stretch while I finished my soup and headed towards the climb out of Kinlochleven.  It was here that I saw Jo Thoms who was supporting Hugh McInnes – she told me that he’d just started the climb and so I pushed on again, wondering if I could catch him.  As the long undulating expanse of the Lhairg Mhor came winding into view, I spotted Hugh up ahead, head down and digging deep.  After a few minutes I caught up and we ran a while pushing each other on. 

The winding track of the Lairig Mhor

After 80 plus miles, the rolling Lhairig Mhor can be a long, long march for tired legs, and I was pleased to still be running at a good pace at this point and feeling relatively good.  The section was passing quickly.  And then we saw the Japanese runner, Hiroki Ishikawa, curled up asleep at the side of the track.  We tried to wake him and encourage him on but he seemed reluctant to get moving again.  Sensing we were wasting time and conscious that I was at this point the leading female, Hugh kindly offered to see to Hiroki while I got going.  It later turned out that Hiroki had only flown over to Scotland on the Wednesday and on the Thursday had decided to climb Ben Nevis.  Possible reason’s for him being so tired at this point….! I left Hugh to see to Hiroki and ran on, soon reaching the Mountain Rescue crew, having a cup of Tizer and stopping to pose for photos (my Dirty Girl Gaiters being the source of interest).

Posing with my Dirty Girl gaiters and new
Brooks PureGrit 3s.

Hugh caught up again just as I was leaving and I began the final winding stretch to Lundavra and the final checkpoint.  As I ran through the felled forests I knew I was almost at Lundavra and soon saw Debbie who was keeping a lookout for me.  The girls seemed very keen to get me moving, so I figured Rosie wasn’t too far behind.  I’d made it this far, just one final push and I’d be home.

Lundavra to FortWilliam

The final stretch home can be fast – a few miles downhill into the Braveheart carpark and then a final mile or so stretch along the road into Fort William and the finish.  But before that, there are just a couple more cheeky climbs to negotiate out of the forest.   I’ve never enjoyed this section, and am glad it is short. The forest is ugly, the trees all crudely felled and there is something slightly cruel and depressing about the landscape and the steep path that winds through it.  I pushed my hands down on my thighs and marched up the hill as fast as I could, starting to get excited now that the finish was so near!  I knew if I could get to the top without seeing Rosie then the race was mine.  I got to the top and pushed down the hill. It didn’t matter now if I went too fast down the hill and trashed my quads, I didn’t need them anymore, I was almost there. 

As I ran down and down, finally reaching Braveheart car park, the girls were waiting in for me, hands out the car window, high fiving me and tooting the car horn.  A quick goodbye and see you at the finish, and I turned the corner for the final, final stretch along the road and to the finish.  Jo Thoms caught up with me and ran on ahead to the finish, she’d run back to find Hugh who wasn’t too far behind me.  As I ran up the road into Fort William, I saw the roundabout and the familiar street where the Leisure Centre sits.  I could see my dad on the corner waiting for me, cheering me home, and as I turned and ran into the car park, my team were waiting for me. 

I did it!!

I had done it! 18h45 min, only 15 mins off my original plan, earning me the 3rd fastest female time in the history of the race.  Rosie also had a stormer, finishing only 17 minutes behind me, narrowly missing a sub-19h finish and also smashing her previous PB. I was also delighted to hear later that my Harmeny AC club mate Keziah Higgins had finished in 3rd place in her debut West Highland Way race, finishing in 20h 09mins.

Proud dad at the finish line

My amazing crew

My response to Adrian’s initial question, "Do you want to win?",  was “Yes, very much”.  

Probably the most important lesson I learned from the race this year was to dig even deeper, because even when you think your race is over, if you really want something badly enough, you just have to dig that little bit deeper.   Or else have a mean support crew who don’t give you the option….;)