West Highland Way 2011 - a runner's view

Maybe you have read Silke's account of my (our) 2011 West Highland Way Race to reflect her experience from a supporters perspective. She did not have an easy job to get me to the finish. Reading other accounts of runners (John Kynaston's or Norry's) you can imagine that their supporters did not have an easy job at hand too. And to call the job of a supporter difficult is in some cases even an utter understatement. Supporters losing one or two days of sleep and often worried sick between checkpoints about the well being of their runner which could be a very good friend, a husband even. Exposure to bad weather and midges for hours and hours adds to the experience...  
The runner however is in a different state of mind. He too carries a burden but it is a different kind. You may think that it is the legs doing the work. But right from the start in the darkness carefully watching the trail ahead to find the spot where to place your foot, watching the actual effort, stomach, slight muscle twitches which should alert of injury... and in particular in the second half where placing the feet becomes even more critical...  200000 footsteps on that kind of terrain. And even more. Additionally, after only a few hours of running, the legs become reluctant to run anyway. What I want to say is that eventually running becomes a total and utter mind game sometimes to the extend of total exhaustion, near unconsciousness, hallucinations. Physically you may see injuries of all kinds. Organ failure. Dehydration, hypothermia. You name it...
 
You would still think that someone who sacrifices a whole weekend including up to two hours of night sleep and gets out in a midge pestered environment in bad weather to help out some nutter who wants to run 95 miles is treated nicely by that running nutter?
The politeness and behaviour manners of a runner:
 
Imagine sitting at a camp fire on a romantic cool autumn night and slowly sipping hot soup and hot coffee! That feels like a treat does it not?
 
However, you offer just that to your runner who just takes the thermos flask and wants to wolf down the soup for its salt and starch content he may just say... "eek that's too hot" (after he burned his mouth) "I'll drink that at the next check point". A polite person would have responded "Uhh, that's lovely, nice and hot, just what I need. Thanks you so much" and sipped it slowly with a big smile on his face.

The same applies for the espresso shot. You may have occasions where a hot cup of coffee is just what you need, but if that obsessed runner just want's to swallow the caffeine shot and finds out he has to sip a cup of coffee (his mind set is alerting him that he is losing precious time) he suggests to his support team (in hintsight to the checkpoint at Kinlochleven) that the espresso does not have to be hot because otherwise I will burn my mouth again. Needless to say that the espresso at Kinlochleven was hot again. and it was not actually an espresso (very little water) , it was a coffee (loads of water). So I had to sip it again, rather than swallow.

Other behaviour incorrectness: After one of my support sprayed Deet into my mouth (by pure accident!) whilst I was taking my socks off and breathing in at the same time I had to cough which was a pure reflex of my lungs. That series of coughs was not meant to be an expression of ungratefulness!
And if my wife suggests in her blog that Nancy may even had done that spray in my mouth by purpose to "shut me up" I would not even consider that this was a remotest possibility. For one simple reason: Why would you want to shut someone up who hardly speaks.
All I said was: 
"I think I'll go for new shoes and socks again". 
Which ones? "
"Just the same again" (I was wearing Nike Pegasus and I brought another 2 pairs of them). 
"The yellow ones?" (since I brought a yellow and a grey version which was just the same as I was wearing).  
"Just the same" I replied (probably not helful, but I did not understand the question). 
"the yellow ones?" she asks again but by all gods I do not understand that question. Is this a question of colour coordination? 
"Just the same as I am wearing just now" I reply. I thought that it could not been any easier. Then I got that spray in my face. Maybe it was not an accident after all?
Another dialogue:  
Me: "I want my espresso at Tyndrum".  There was no "please" in that sentence I know but I think it was a good and helpful instruction.
My wonderful wife: "At Auchtertyre?"
Me: "Naahh, at Tyndrum"
My wonderful wife replies "Not at Auchtertyre?".
Me "I want my espresso at Tyndrum".  
My lovely wife: "but in your race plan it sais that you want it Auchertyre".  
I could have responded: "Darling, I love you! And I do not want to appear as someone who wants to criticise you. But remember I said to you before the race that creating a nutrition plan (as well as providing splits) in advance of a 95 mile race is tricky. Therefore I may change my mind during the race since I
a) may not be able to run as fast as predicted (for a variety of reasons)
b) may not be able to stomach certain food anymore
c) may suddenly crave some sort of foot at some point of the race (but probably later in the race) which I cannot predict two weeks before the race
d) may advise you of foot or drink during the race but beforehand but well in advance. That is I tell you at one checkpoint that I want something specific at the next check point. This leaving you enough time to prepare.
So this was a clear event of point d).

But back to the dialogue. I simply replied, maybe with a little more affirmative voice: 
"I want my espresso at Tyndrum". 
I probably even said "make sure it is not hot, so I can just swallow it"
 
That  whole dialogue was not polite (thankfully Nancy did not have her Deet cannon at hand)
but I was utterly exhausted afterwards. And maybe because of my lack of manners I got a hot coffee at Tyndrum (which I had to sip) and no warm espresso.

Let us not forget last years Lundavra incident! When I reached Lundavra last year and was just about to finish my first West Highland Way (after two proceeding agonising DNF's) my support team (Nancy and Silke) was not there.
I did lose some time there waiting for them but the Marshall eventually agreed that I should continue and he would inform my team (after I gave descriptions of them) that I already had left.
So what went on in my head whilst I was storming to the finish? I was worried utterly sick that they could have been in an accident. What if they would not be at the finish? The A82 is a nightmare of a road. And it was a nightmare just not to know why they were late. It was the greatest relief when I saw them at the finish.
For your information, it later turned out that Silke and Nancy went shopping for champagne in Kinlichleven and actually spent some time in the village to find some sparkling wine. Hence they were late a Lundavra.

To close this chapter and sum things up: I am probably just a wimp. The coffee was not that hot. And also my instructions were not that clear. And if I got a little angry than with myself. I was close to tears and cursing myself when I hobbled along the Loch side. 17:50??? What on earth did you get yourself into! I wanted to pull out, call it a day. And never come back to this dreadful event. Enough people call those ultra runners "nutters" and I was the biggest nutter of them all.
However, in whatever state I reached the checkpoints and however I behaved. Whenever I saw Nancy smiling and in particular Silke in her red GoreTex jacket and she jumped around and sprung to live I knew she was worried about me and that was for me the most beautiful sight imaginable. Thanks again Silke and Nancy, I could not have done it without you. You are pure angels!