The Great Glen Ultra

It’s done. If you have followed my journey over the last 6 months you’ll have seen the ups and downs of my 6 days a week training and my preparation for the biggest one day challenge.  72 miles from Fort William to Inverness in under 22 hours.  I entered the race to test my foot for a bigger challenge in 2019 - my foot injury is debatably permanent but with regular treatment I get by.  After entering the race I looked at the profile and got a bit of a fright.  9,000 feet of climbing and the majority of it in the second half.  This made me realise the 22 hour cut off could be a challenge.
In my training I did a lot of hill walking where I power walked up the hills and ran down the hills, hard and fast.  At first this shredded my quads but they soon got over it.  This was all part of the master plan set up by my amazing coach Genevieve Freeman.  When we discussed a target time for GGU I had got my head around maybe 20 hours and she thought 18-19 hours with the emphasis on 18 hours - when the spreadsheet of times came through from her it was nearer to 17 but that didn’t allow for food and water stops.
My training has been mainly running with a little swimming.  My longest run was 38km which took 3hrs 45 mins so one thing to get my head around was how do you go from a run of that distance and time to 115 km over some severe terrain?  Even the Arrochar Alps trip of 4 hours didn’t really measure up to it.  But with back to back long runs at the weekend with faster shorter runs during the week, it became a possibility.
The race started at 1pm on Saturday morning at Carpach, Fort William.  The plan was to set a pace of 7 min per km for the first 32 km.  One of the affects of tapering is just how good you feel at the start line.  As I headed off into the darkness with only a quarter moon and a head torch for light I felt great.  I was going along at 5.45 min per km and felt like I was floating on air.  I tried to slow down a few times but it didn’t feel natural so I kept going.  5km in I met Oriel from Barcelona and we agreed that we were running at the same pace so we’d stick together.  Then I found out he was a sub 3 hour marathon runner so by check point 2 I told him to go on.  I spent the rest of the race on my own, well back from the fast guys and ahead of the middle pack.
I was well ahead of target time wise and had the support of Michael Martin who was taking photos of any athlete in my vicinity (they are very strict on supporters and I didn’t want disqualified!).
The first big climb was out of Fort Augustus which slowed everyone down.  But when I got to the top   the view was absolutely stunning.  I just wanted to sit down and soak in the most amazing view - but I had a target to achieve so I headed on.  The temperature was rising and I was keeping myself hydrated but my food bags at the check point were “cooking” the contents.  The cheese became inedible and my Jaffa cakes melted.  My jelly baby’s smelt of nuts which they were next to and my custard was warm.  For the later stages I had bottles of flat coke and I downed each one on the spot.  I’d certainly change my food next time I do an event like this - my preparation could have been better here but every event is a learning opportunity. I got away with 3 gels as if I’d taken the 4th one I think my race would have finished - it would have sent my stomach over the edge.  Getting the balance right is always a challenge.
I didn’t reckie the course and it almost cost me the race.  I should have run the second half of the course which was brutal.  I’d read about the climb out of Invermoriston but didn’t appreciate just how challenging it was.  And once you managed the climb you were totally exposed to the elements.  The sun was baking hot (25 degrees) and no wind.  I was frazzled and the track seemed to go on forever.  I was still well ahead of schedule and when I got to the next waterpoint Genevieve and Colin turned up just as I was about to leave.  It’s amazing how your spirits can be instantly lifted and your energy levels follow.  They stayed with me for a while encouraging me and I really appreciated it knowing they’d be further on in the course.
The heat had taken it’s toll and my time was slowing down but this had been a calculated gamble.  I had decided that if I’d started off slowly then I would have slowed down anyway so it would be better to get time in the bank, but I knew it was going to hurt towards the end - I wasn’t wrong.
By CP6 nobody had come past me since CP2 but I was starting to walk more as I was making sure I stayed upright,  didn’t pass out and finished the run however 4 youngsters passed my in the last 15km.  I knew from past experience that running in extreme heat you had to stay in control of yourself and not pass out.  I was starting to get cramp on my right hamstring and that could have been the end of my race due to the challenging down hill terrain so I altered my speed to keep it away.  Fortunately one Marshall had some salt and that seemed to do the trick but I knew I wouldn’t get a second chance and the hammy would just go boom! I was starting to fall to bits.  Then my Garmin decide to tell me it had a low battery but that message blocked my screen so I couldn’t see how far I had to go.  That was a major problem as I was waiting to reach the final down hill section which never seemed to come.  And when it did, it never seemed to end.  I wasn’t a happy camper.  I would never have quit but it didn’t help me push on as I was in survival mode and just wanted this over and done with.  I didn’t want to think too much about the finish line as I had to concentrate on each step, literally as it would be easy to fall as I had the other week.
At the bottom of the never ending hill my team were waiting to cajole me on and pointed me in the direction of the last few km.  This lifted my spirits and I picked my pace up and by now I was beginning to picture running into Inverness Athletics Stadium.  When I got there my amazing support team were screaming their heads off so 1 lap with a stylish sprint down the final straight and it was over.  14 hours and 40 minutes - I couldn’t believe it.  I had completely blown even the most optimistic target.  I was 21st in the race and the fastest in the plus 50 category.  That’s a first for me.  I  felt really emotional as I reflected on the journey over the last 6 months.  But once again it proves to me that we’re all capable of so much more - we just need to believe in ourselves.
Thank you for following my journey.  I’m now going to take some recovery time as my body aches and I’m not looking forward to tomorrow which will be worse.  But considering what it's been through I think it has come out remarkably well and at no stage did I have a problem with my foot. Unbelievable.  Thank you for following my adventure and I’ll be back soon with details of what’s next.  I’ll leave you with my favourite Nelson Mandela quote - “It always seems impossible until it’s done” - so true.