The Montane Highland Fling 2009

The Profile:

The distance:
53 Miles (85k)
The climb (total ascent):
6500ft (2000m)

The short version:

Jez wins in a new record time. Sarah Ridgeway 1st woman. Lucy did not start. I had a great day. My best race ever. Finished 7th in 8:20. More than one hour faster than last year.

Results

The long version (if you are interested):

The race plan:

I pulled a muscle just before the easter weekend and had to cancel the long runs I had planned for Saturday and Sunday. But I managed to squeeze 70 miles of running into the following week including a wonderful recce on the Lairig Ghru (where Silke took some amazing pictures of the crazy german in running mode, see the new title and profile pictures). That left one week for the taper: 8 miles on Monday and 8 miles on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday off.
I was getting nervous on Friday. John texted at 11:20 "where are you tomorrow". I respond "between Rowardennan and Inversnaid". I was right with that prediction. That was easy. I had ran from Milngavie to Rowardennan half a dozen times so I know that's where I would be. I text Marco, tell him I am nervous. He is too. I knew we would have very different races tomorrow. He would go off fast. I would start slower.

I check my mail the night before the race. A note from Glenparks Steevie Mcloone. He tells me "Best of luck in the race - I had a quick look at your blog, my advice would be - dont go for the fast start - steady is best you can always pick it up later on in the race." I decide to take his advise seriously.

The schedule drafted for my support team (Silke and Nancy). Silke picked that finishing time. I said I can do sub 9 and she said, you can do even better and suggested 8:45. 8:30 no way. But 8:45 perhaps. There you go:

PLANNED (pictured above) vs actuals:
Drymen 1:35 - 1:35
Balmaha 2:40 - 2:40
Rowardennan 4:00 - 4:00
BeinGlas 6:30 - 6:24
Carmyle Cottage 7:25 - 7:08
A82 crossing 8:10 - 7:48
Auchtertyre 8:25 - 7:58
Finish 8:45 - 8:20

Saturday morning just before 7am, met quite a few friends shook hands, am very excited and finally move to the start with all the others. I place myself in front of the pack with all the other "sub 10 hour" runners. A few jokes and finally we are off. Do not push! I tell myself. I will keep on doing this the over the next hours. I do not know how fast I am. In a race it is always different from a training run. You think you run relaxed and easy, but you are not. I notice however that I am feeling good. I am moving well. Still there is a large group pulling away running with Jez Bragg. Marco is with them. To be honest, it is tempting to follow them. And it is not THAT fast. Is it? 7 minute mile pace? I can do that. But for how long? Surely there are runners who are simply faster than I am and can go that fast. Should go that fast. I have no idea. I hope Marco is doing the right thing. He is fast. Faster than me. And what is that "you can always pick it up later on in the race" talk about? Why does everyone keep saying this? Is it not too late later? Today was the day to find out.

I am joined again by Orkneys Graham Harcus who I ran most of last years Devil with. His pacing was spot on in the Devil. And he is good company. We chat about plans and the racing season, the training and the usual. We are joined by Mark Harris who I would meet a few times today. Of course I meet George Cairns (2nd in the WHW Race and 3rd in the Devil last year) again. That's an old tradition. It seems he always starts modest but picks up the pace later (but like a race car)... Just before Drymen I ask him about his plans for today "Just under 9 hours". Modest and humble. No way I reply, you'll finish this in 8 hours. The he is off and never seen again (he will finish this in 8:02, so who was right, me or me?).

Silke is double booked today: marshalling, medical support and supporting me, the crazy german. Therefore we decide no support at Beechtree. I meet her at Drymen the first time. 1:35 (predicted 1:35). The leaders are already 6 minutes ahead. I try to relax and not to push the pace. The lid of my drinking bottle comes of and all the good lucozade is gone. What do I do, return to the checkpoint? No. I can go over Conic Hill without drinking. There are streams if needed. Thankfully I met Jan (Jon's wife) at the forest behind Dymen who refills my bottle (thanks Jan!).

I am now on my own and enjoy the race. The weather is marvelous. I can see small dots in different colors climbing up Conic Hill. 10 minutes ahead? Which one is Jez, wich one is Marco? Who and where is everyone else? The staggered start is confusing. My left hamstring hurts. Not cramping but will it seize up? How far can I run today with those stupid legs? I stop and massage the sore muscle. I decide to climb Conic Hill slowly. No rush. I sacrifice a few minutes. I pass Caroline. She is going well. It will be a long day for her but she will finish this. Well done Caroline!

The downhill is tricky. I am running in my road shoes and this is not working. Despite a careful descent I almost fall. I cannot risk doing the Loch Side with them. It's too wet. I make the decision to change into my new Saucony Exodus in Balmaha (2:40, bang on target).

I am again joined by Graham Harcus. The climb to the viewpoint is dangerous. Do not push! Take your time! It is hard to let them all pull further and further away. The Sauconys are great though. I will get away with no blisters and loose only half a toenail, but that's not their fault. I drop Graham somewhere. Instead I am passed by Mark Harris again who got lost somewhere and added a mile to his race. He's not happy and going fast (to make up the lost time?). Too fast for me. I have to let him go. I meet Peter (supporting the pacepushers) and ask him if he knows where Marco is. He said he was "miiiiles" away. I am a bit embarrassed to be so far behind.
I reach Rowardennan slightly ahead of schedule. 3:54 (according to the results table). And shut up. I cannot call that slow! It is in deed a PB. I never ran that fast to Rowardennan.

I cannot find Nancy who volunteered to support me here. I finally decide to refill my bottle with water from the rest room (hot water, there was not cold water, argghhh!). I head on towards Inversnaid and see Nancy sitting there at the other end of the car park. She offered me a whole supermarket of foot and drinks and even a chair (borrowed from George Cairns wife). Aparently Nancy was waiting exactly where she agreed with Silke she would wait for me. Only Silke did not tell me where that was... But that was only a couple of minutes lost. No divorce bells are ringing in the crazy german's house!

I leave Rowardennan just after 11:00. I do a bit of math in my head. I am 13 minutes faster than last year. That was not much but something. Still a bit dissapointing to be honest. But I feel good. And I quite like that section between Rowardennan and Inversnaid the most of the climbs are all runnable. Slow but steady. My legs felt relatively fresh, but is was not the time to "race" yet. To push. Why not continue for a while "just" steady? I overtook quite a few runners . Many familiar faces. Unfortunately I do not always remember the names of other runners. I am horrible with names. Ask Silke (my wife in case you don't know). Some say "hi Thomas". Many of those I overtake are from the 6am start. Weird this race because people looking at each other and asking themselves "is he over 50?". Are you a relay runner? When did you start? But it was great to meet a few runners, many of them I know from training runs and blogs, and have a small chat and head on. I had forgotten my scheduled split time for Inversnaid so I was not sure how fast I was going. But I felt more and more that my strategy of the slow start was paying off. But what would that pay off be? I found a good rythm and actually enjoyed the section between Inversnaid and Beinglas. There was one runner who overtook me going very fast. But he was not a relay runner. I believe it was Stuart Mills. Since I was in the second half of the race I thought it would now be ok to increase my effort but frankly I just could not follow him.

Following the path up and down towards Beinglas I started looking at my watch to see If I could make it there in 6:30 target. That would give me a chance for a 8:45 finish. If it all went well with no engine trouble etc. That was an optimistic target, more than half an hour faster than last year. Beinglas was getting closer and closer and I still felt great. Last year I arrived at BeinGlas and I was a wreck. I still managed to finish but it was a nightmare. Silke is extremely pleased seeing me early, ahead of schedule and in good shape. She tells me Marco is not far ahead and he did not look good. I suddenly know I will catch him sooner or later. I have to rewrite my blog (which I had written between Rowardennan and Beinglas. In my head of course.). This will be one of those low points of my race. Somewhere near the Falls of Falloch when climbing towards Derridarroch I can see Marco. He is struggling. I catch up with him. "you call that running" I want to say. But I am not sure if the time is right for joking. He is tired and his knee is sore. We chat a little. This is all part of the weird world of ultra running. He will have a long way to go and as it looks I only a short one. Why can I not pass him on the finishing straight? I leave him behind and continue my own race. I actually love that section. I love all sections. Today that is. I am having a good day. Why not? Last year I went through hell here. This year it's heaven. Strange world of ultra distance running.

I pass Stuart Mills again. I can see Kenny Valentine ahead. It looked like he was navigating through a little sheep herd and opens a gate. I pass him and he shouts "hey you are not supposed to pass me!" (since I passed him last year). I laugh. Kenny has a good day and will improve his PB by almost an hour. He beat me in the Glasgow to Edinburgh Double by 4 minutes. But today I am faster. Call it even?

I did not mind the warmer temperatures. A few runners will struggle today though. I pass Mike Thomson. He looks quite relaxed and was going well. Any idea where John is? Not far ahead he sais and points towards Derridarroch. That was unexpected. I knew I was going well, but catching John so early meant that he did not have a good race. I reach him eventually. He is not happy with his running but he still manages to make a short movie to document our meeting. Finish strong he tells me and I am off.

I meet Silke and Debs at the Carmyle Cottage and pour water over my head. It is warm but not uncomfortable. On my way to Bogle Glen I pass Sharon Law. Cheerful, quick and relaxed listening to her IPOD. First she does not recognise me since I wear dark sun glasses and NOT my Skins today... she was about to finish 3rd female.

I reach the undulating path in the Crianlarich forest. Last year I hallucinated here. I approach a runner who looks like Richie Cunningham (running together with Iain Ridgeway I believe). I cannot be running with a runner of that caliber I think but it's not a hallucination. Maybe he has a bad day? We chat for a while and when we came to one of those steeper downhills I increase the pace and a gap opens. I am still going well. But Richie must have thought I am not having this and switches the turbo on. He flies past, mumbles something about a chippy in Tyndrum and disappears in the distance. That looked like 6 minute mile pace.

When I reached the A82 crossing I started to calculate again and it was becoming clearer that I was about to finish much quicker than I had ever expected. Not just under 8:45 but much faster. I cannot catch Richie, he is too fast. I cannot see anyone behind me. At Auchtertyre I change into my Glenpark Harriers club vest (although I am running for Kilbarchan today).

I finish in 8:20. 7th place. More than one hour quicker than last year. I get a big cheer from the crowd. I feel great. What a day. What a race. I have a shower, a stovie, loads of handshakes. Even Marco can laugh again. Loads of little stories and celebrities. We stay until the prize giving and I end up with 2nd veteran and 2nd team (with Neal and John) prizes. Not everyone has a good race. Harvey pulls out. Many struggle with the heat. Some with a cold. Some suffered from a crazy fast start ;-). But most of the runners will want to be back next year for this tough, unique, personal and friendly ultra race!

Highland Fling Contemplations

No real taper madness yet, but I have been thinking a lot about the race ahead and here are some humble random snippets:

My Fitness:
9 out of 10. Despite a few injury problems in the last couple of weeks where I could not train I am in much better shape than last year. On average I have trained 50 to 55 miles per week over the last few month. That is a bit less than planned but still on track and the quality was much better than last year.

Injuries and DNF worries:
I am getting old and I have been doing too much racing until now. Shorter races, a Half Marathon and the Double Marathon and that has taken its toll. Although I feel fit and positive about the Fling there is a good chance (50/50) I will drop out due to an injury problem.

Expected result:
If I make it to the finish without major injury trouble I would expect to be much quicker than last year where I produced a 9:22. I would be extremely happy with a Sub 9 hour finish. If it goes really well I think even a 8:45 is possible. That all depends on weather conditions, wind directions and other environmental factors (queueing?).

Top 10
Due to the strong field this year I have calculated a 8:30 minimum to get into the top 10. IMHO. Regarding predicting my race results I am always an optimist but I doubt I can achieve this. I had a good race last year finishing in 9:22 and I cannot see how I can run this race almost an hour faster.

Rowardennan split:
I will think about splits in more detail later. As a guide I have planned to get to Rowardennan in 4:00. (Last year 4:13). If I get carried away with the field it could be a 3:50 but I am not sure if I will benefit from that. The leaders will go through this in 3:30 I guess (because that's what happened last year).

Shoes:
I was having issues with my Asics Trabucos so I decided to by a new pair of trail shoes. Saucony Exodus. According to the advise of other fellow runners I will take a pair of normal trainers and those new ones to the start of the race.

Competitors:
I am looking forward to meet a large bunch of friends on Saturday. I do not have to stress that all competition is purely friendly and I wish everyone to do well!

A good run

The weather was great again yesterday so I decided to go for a last longish run before the Fling. My legs felt fabulous, no trace of injury or soreness. I took my GPS to monitor the effort and distance closely. The first couple of miles down the promenade went quickly. My heart rate did not climb above the 120s so I knew the effort was just right. I lapped the first miles 6:05 and 6:10. It felt effortless. I reached the bottom of the climb up to Loch Thom in 35 minutes. That was roughly 10k.
Not bad for a relaxed training run. I allowed my heart rate to go into the 130s now on the climb. That's 3 miles and 600ft ascent. Done in 20 minutes. A bit slow but this was a recovery training run after all. I added another climb to the very top of the highest local hill and went down on the other side. Dropping about 700ft and up again to the top. I added another 7 miles around the Greenock Cut. Going steady and quick. Checking the heart rate was low. 125. Despite going 6:15 mile pace. Nice and relaxed. I just jumped over those annoying gates. That goes much quicker than opening them and closing them again. And saves a lot of time. Why did I not think of doing that before? I should do the same in the Fling! Now the downhill back to the main road. I am flying. Floating. Any soreness in the quads? No. The steepest bit I manage a sub 5 minute mile. I feel great. I really enjoyed that run today.
The last 8 miles back home are great. The sun sets over the hills of Bute. A light breeze. 5:50 mile pace. Nice and relaxed. It is difficult not to run any faster because it feels so effortless. I finish this 26 mile training run in 2:40. Superb. Let the Fling come!!!

Then I woke up. Need to go to the toilet. Climbing out of the bed is painful. Sore hamstrings. I think I am getting old...

Fling Recce - Part 2

Rowardennan to Tyndrum. 27 miles two weeks before the Fling. What do you think? A good recce or too dangerous?

After last weeks great run from Milngavie to Rowardennan I hoped to run the second half of the Fling this weekend. The weather forecast was just perfect but the plan did not quite work out. I pulled a muscle whilst painting and fixing our front door on Saturday. I could hardly walk on Sunday. It was not much better on Monday but I forced myself to walk around the Greenock Cut with some friends who visited us. Silke now has to cope with a frustrated husband.
But the front door looks nice. The neighbours are ecstatic.

Fling Recce (Milngavie-Rowardennan (27 miles)

And a few more miles... Not the whole Fling obviously (I am not crazy am I???) but still a good chunk of it. I have done this section many times now and I thought it would be a good idea to do it again three weeks before the actual Highland Fling race. Also since I did only 18 miles last weekend I needed to get some miles into my legs. Silke also wanted to do some trail miles so the plan was for her to drop me at Milngavie Train station and drive to Rowardennan. She wanted to run to Inversnide and back. And I ran the 27 miles to Rowardennan (self supported).

We actually wanted to do this on Saturday but the weather was not worth it so we changed our plans and went on Sunday. And wow! The weather was absolutely brilliant. A side effect was that there were hundreds of walkers on the Way in particular between Balmaha and Rowardennan. Which slowed me down in places but since I was not racing that was probably just as well.

Milngavie - Drymen: 1:35
It is always exciting to start from Milngavie Train station. It is here where theHighland Fling race starts. And this is also the start of the biggest race of all: the WestHighlandWay race. The weather was superb. Although I started at 11:00 the temperature was still cool but the sun was out all day. Not many runners out today but loads of walkers. The season for those walking the 95 miles had begun it seemed. Time was flying and I reached Drymen in 1:35. Quick but it felt just about right. Maybe I will do this a bit slower in the Fling race though.

Drymen - Balamaha: 1:03 (2:38 total)
Another enjoyable section. Perfect conditions. Almost. The descent from Conic Hill was absolutely crowded and I took an alternative route on wet grass. And slipped down the hill on my backside for a bit. That contributed to the amusement of some of the walkers and I had to run the rest of the day with muddy pants. I was pleased to reach Balmaha after 2:38 which was the fastest time for that section I had done before. The car park was absolutely packed with cars. I have never seen it that crowded. There was a queue in the shop and I decided to refill my water bottle in the car park "rest room" (although that water was hot that worked well for the rest of the run).

Balmaha - Rowardennan: 1:20 (3:55 total).
I met Karen on the way down from the viewpoint after Balmaha. She was out for a 40 miler today (Milngavie-Inversnaid-Rowardennan). Her longest ever. Also a Fling recce for her. There were bus loads of casual tourist on the Way. Sitting in the middle of the path. Taking pictures. Children with bikes. Of course also loads of "real" walkers with heavy rucksacks. I ended up at the Rowardennan Car park in 3:55. A PB wohoo. Yes this was not a race, but still...
The car park was absolutely packed. There was no space left!

Since Silke was still on her way back from Inversnaid (she actually went even further to Rob Roy's Cave) I ran another few miles in that direction until I met her. She was running very relaxed and I had difficulties following her to be honest. I keep saying it: she is one of us now! :-)

Altogether I managed 31 miles on the WHW in wonderful weather. A perfect day that was.

However I can only hope for bad weather for the actual Fling race! Because what will happen when 400 serious runners will clash with hundreds of tourists on the narrow parts of the path. And that car park does not cater for another 400 support vehicles!
Fingers crossed...

Running and Supporting the Devil

JK and Friends' training run from Tyndrum - Fort William

This was going to be a long day. Getting up at 5:30 after a short night with 3 hours sleep. Maybe I was nervous about how my legs would feel two weeks after the 54 mile canal run. I could hardly run after that race with severe hamstring problems. The Highland Fling was only four weeks ahead and I started to become depressed. One careful run or even walk every other day and hoping for the best.

My plan A was getting from Tyndrum to the Kingshouse Hotel. But not further. That was less than half the distance from what everyone else was doing but for me the longest run since the Glasgow-Edinburgh run. And there was a spark of hope to be able to run that section with (fast) Marco. Silke would provide support but only up to the Kingshouse where she would get into her running gear and run the remaining 23 miles together with Caroline.

And I would take over support from here with stops at Altnafeadh, Kinlochleven, Lundavra, the Braveheart CarPark and the Leisure Center (the finish).

A good bunch of runners showed up at the Tyndrum Car Park next to the Green Welly:

From the left: Ian King, Marco Consani, Thomas "Crazy German" Loehndorf, Ian Beattie, John Kynaston, Mark Harris, Neal Gibson, Caroline Gibson, Mike Thomson, Phil Tipping, Richie Cunningham.
A few runners had started earlier ... and no one probably regretting to be there since the weather was just perfect. A cold crisp air and blue skies, ideal for running.

Tyndrum - Kingshouse Hotel 2:30
Off we went and I was running with Neal and Harvey out of Tyndrum and we were leading the field for a while. Soon Marco had made his way through the field and was in the lead. That was the moment of truth for me today. Would I be able to follow him? Should I follow him anyway? I can always try I thought. Neal gave us his blessing and told us to go ahead since he wanted to take it slower today.
I did manage to go Marcos pace which was a delight. Ok, maybe I slowed him down a bit (he should be grateful for that since he was going too fast anyway ;-)).We chatted all the way and in no time (48-49 minutes) reaching Bridge Of Orchy. Debs (supporting Marco) and Silke were waiting. Also Cairn was there providing moral
support for his Dad. Silke was relieved that I was running well with no problems.

We ran up the hill out of Bridge of Orchy going a stiff pace. Marco chatting about something like "you can run this, as long as you are not out of breath" but I did not respond anymore because I WAS out of breath... Thankfully Marco slowed down to have his hourly Gel Meal. Phew! The downhill was a great relief. Firstly it did not hurt, and secondly it felt rather like a leg massage (in particular after the pancake flat 54 miler two weeks ago!). I felt great. Better than I had hoped for.

Lucy Colquhoun

There was another surprise waiting for us though. Silke told me that West Highland Way record holder Lucy Colquhoun was running ahead of us. Marco first did not believe me and frankly I was not sure if Silke wanted to wind us up... We did however increase the pace, maybe we can catch a glimpse of her in the distance. Marco had switched into full race mode now (I blame it all on him, since he was leading most of the time ;-)) and after a while we saw a runner ahead which could have been a woman, maybe Lucy, or potentially Caroline who was also ahead.
Although we were going a pretty breathless pace now that runner, although handicapped with a rather large rucksack did not get any closer. That must be Lucy we agreed. Another increase of effort then... (probably not wise, but hey, there are little opportunities in life to run with such a celebrity, so what the heck with wisdom). We passed Caroline and finally managed to catch up with Lucy.

The three of us reached the highest point of the Ranoch More and ran the remaining couple of miles chatting all the way. In no time we reached the Kingshouse Hotel and for me running was over for today.

To be honest it was tempting to go on for a bit but my hamstrings were starting to tighten up on the last fast ascent. A couple of days later I can say it was the right decision!

Now it was my turn to get into support mode. Silke was already in her running gear and waiting for Caroline to arrive. I also was asked to provide support for Neal and John and I tried my best to keep everyone happy.

I started to take pictures as well. More than 500 came together. Most of them rubbish but some of them not too bad I think.

Next stop was Altnafeadh. Caroline did not look too happy when she arrived with Silke. Silke asked me if I had those Gaviscon sachets. Yes, in the car, I replied but that was not the response Silke was waiting for. And she gave me the "GO AND GET IT" look. The perils of supporting...

I ran to the car and get a couple of Gaviscon (and also a Ranitidine) for Caroline. Frankly I had doubts the girls would make it to the finish considering those problems so early in the run. But off they went up the Devil's staircase.

I jumped into the car and rushed to Kinlochleven. I arrived in time to catch a glimpse of Marco, Debs and Cairn. Marco looked a bit tired. So did Cairn. Debs looked fresh as always.

After the Consanis had left Mark Harris arrived. He asked for a sip of water and left again. Was he chasing Marco?

Ian and Phil arrived and went straight into the pub for a soup. That sounded like a good idea, but I could not give them company since I had to make sure not to miss Neal, John, Silke or Caroline...

It took not long and John, Neal and Harvey arrived, not wasting too much time. They had some food, refilled their bottles and off they went again. Followed by Phil and Ian.

Another runner on the Way today was Richie Cunningham. A man on a mission. I could hardly lift his rucksack without dislocating my shoulder. Maybe he wanted to add an extra challenge to his 180 miles in four days by carrying his own luggage and running self sufficient. More than remarkable. I don't think I can call myself "Ultra Runner" anymore...

Richie Cunningham

The good news was that I did not have to wait too long for Silke and Caroline. That meant Caroline had recovered and both were going steady.

They did not spent too much time either and after having some food and drinks they left again. I jumped into the car and wanted to make sure to get to Lundavra asap. Maybe to catch a glimpse of Marco and co. But it was too late. When I arrived they were gone.

The Lairig More: Approaching Lundavra

Can you spot John Kynaston?

I actually like this place. It's not pretty, but it delivers a feeling of remoteness and wilderness. It also reminds us of being a rather small part of something vast.

John, Neal, Phil and Ian came through and left. And of course Richie. He told me the good news that the girls were not far behind him. And he was right and I did not have to wait too long for them to arrive. I was cold by then though and I actually offered the runners coming through to sit down in the car but they all refused. So did the girls. And there was no question that they both wanted to continue. I was happy to see them in such good spirit!

I rushed back to Fort William to the Leisure Centre and arrived just a few minutes after John and Neal. And just in time for them to get into the centre for a shower. John had met his 7:30 target almost exactly although Neal beat him by a couple of minutes ;-). Not sure about Harvey's time. Probably in between.

It took Marco one hour less. 6:29. That is he beat my time from the Devils race last year by 5 minutes (in a training run!). Marco, I will crush that time in August! ;-)

I went to the Braveheart car park to look out for the Girls. And they did arrive in style. When I asked them if they actually wanted to continue to the Leisure centre or just call it a day and get into the car Silke gave me the "No way, I am going to finish" look. Caroline just threw her bottle in my direction (to avoid any time loss I suppose) and off they went flying towards the Leisure Centre.

Of course they made it. Caroline finishing her longest run ever. Silke covering 23 miles on the West Highland Way. Well done girls!

Silke was smiling all the way. I think she enjoys those long runs. She is becoming more and more one of us! :-)

Silke, Caroline, John, Neal and Harvey and myself squeezed ourselves into my small Golf and off we went back to Tyndrum.