Glen Ogle 33

If the Glen Ogle 33 had measured a yard over its advertised distance, I would have been writing to the organisers insisting they change the name. I'm that kind of guy. But somehow as I crossed the finishing line after 32.2 miles, I found it in my heart to forgive.
The week had started well. The thing about telling people you're running an ultra marathon is that you are greeted with a mixture of adoration or utter apathy. And believe me, I told everyone.
I had an eye on the weather forecast. It pretty much said it was going to rain. We got an e mail from the organisers midweek to say that it had rained so much, they had no choice but to change the route, as the usual start line, along from the campsite at Strathyre had been flooded. In fact they decided to run the route in reverse. So we started in Killin instead. Great news for Ruth and I as we were staying in the Killin Hotel.
It's not a great race for spectators but I persuaded Majella and Emma to come through for a bit of support. We had a lovely dinner in the local pub across from the spectacular Falls of Dochart. I've read lots of ultra marathon blogs so I know you want to know what we had for dinner. Cheesy Mac and chips! The girls had a couple of Vinos (Ruth decided to leave the car....in order to hydrate properly).

We went back to the hotel around 9ish to get our gear ready for the morning. The receptionist was lovely but did tell us we were going to be up too early for breakfast but she would be happy to leave out some food so that we could eat at 6. Sounded good. We could have cheese and ham sandwiches or chicken mayo! After a pronged period of negotiation, we agreed on cornflakes.

I made the mistake of reading Davie Searil's race report from last year for inspiration. In it he talks about terrible weather, hailstones,feeling miserable, and I quote " being in the early stages of hypothermia".

Feeling suitably inspired ( thanks Davie), I proceeded to pack 2 rucksacks full of food and spare clothes, just in case. 2 hats, 3 pairs of gloves , 2 jackets, and 2 full sets of fresh kit.
There were 4 bag drops but as its an out and back, really only 2. When I handed the nice lady my bags at the start, she look incredulously at me and asked me if I was serious. She picked up a a little clear bag with a couple of gels in it and said " just for future reference".
She clearly hadn't read your report Davie!

I crept out of my room at 550 hrs trying not to wake the girls, and met Ruth. Registration was just across from our hotel so we went over for 6. Weather forecast looked as if it was holding up. As we stepped out the door, we were greeted by driving rain and wind. It was freezing! We were amongst the first folk at registration. We were just behind a couple of brass monkeys in club vests and space blankets.
After a bit of fatalistic banter, we were back in the warmth of the hotel having cornflakes and preparing for the 8 am start.

It's funny, I had met a couple of folk in the hotel who were also running the race. They were from Malaysia and ultra veterans. One of them wrote in his blog that he was up early and enjoyed a lovely breakfast of chicken mayonnaise sandwiches!
An amazing thing happened in the time leading up the the race. The rain went off and the wind dropped. Marvellous!

We had a quick briefing from the race director and the walked around to the start. It is a race run mainly on trail and forest track, away from the main road. Ruth and I decided to run the first mile together just to get a feel for it. As the hooter went we shuffled off in about last place. It really felt refreshing not to have to get an 8 minute mile in from the off. Ruth soon got fed up with me telling her I was just going to take it easy for the first couple of miles and ordered me to leave her after about half a mile.
The first 3 or 4 miles are on a muddy trail and predominantly uphill. Our end of the field had begun to walk after about a mile, but I was determined I'd come for a run. At 3 miles I walked a wee bit as I realised I wasn't moving very quickly up the trail. At 3 and a half miles I was running and at 4 miles I was on my backside in mud as I failed to hold my footing whilst avoiding a large puddle. Thankfully I avoided landing on my face this time, but landed on my elbow. Looking down, I realised that I was bleeding but essentially uninjured. I considered that I may have to stop at the next first aid station to get a wee plaster. I had confused this with a race which had first aid stations.
The next few miles were very pleasant running alongside the road with beautiful views of mountains and lochs and stuff. I'm afraid I'm not able to document the route much due to my complete ignorance of the area, but I can confirm it was lovely, wherever I was. The miles were passing by very quickly. The first 3 miles had taken 33 minutes but I threw in a couple of reckless sub 8 minute miles and I managed to cover the first 6 in an hour. I had no big targets for this race, but quietly thought if I could average 10 min miles I could get in under 5 and a half hours.
I passed Rob Roy's grave at 13 miles. I felt ok at this point but I suspect history will regard this as a personal worst for the half marathon for Roy!
I largely ignored my drop bags at the first 2 checkpoints, preferring a couple of gels just to keep things ticking over. At about 18 miles the route entered Strathyre. As I was going over the shoogly bridge, I was joined for a hundred yards or so by the legend that is Davie Searil. It provided a welcome boost to see him there and I left  Strathyre buoyed by his words of encouragement.

The 4 miles after this were on rocky paths and steeply uphill. I struggled a bit at this point and was forced to walk the steeper sections. At around this point in the race I realised that I had not been passed by anyone since the start of the race, but had passed several runners. I'm not one for chatting much but I did get chatting to a bloke who after a couple of failed attempts to get to the start line due to injury had finally managed to do so today. I was a little concerned to learn that he had left his 9 and a half month pregnant wife in the car awaiting his return. Presumably with the engine running. As I left him I could only wish him well and hope that he made it back on time.

What goes up must come down, and the rocky descent for the next few miles was a welcome relief.
My first foray into a drop bag was to get a couple of small flapjacks which I figured would be more palatable than the power bars. I have to say they were lovely as I stuffed my face.

After another steep climb, the course levelled out again and it was clear we were heading for home. Passing the marathon mark is odd because your pretty much in unknown territory. Miles 26-29 were psychologically tough in that sense and I began to feel myself tiring. The last drop bag point at 29 miles was welcome for a wee breather and a bit of caramel shortcake. Running off I was informed it was all downhill from here. And it was. Unfortunately a downhill trail finish on dodgy achilles after 29 miles proved to be painful, and I was forced to watch 3 or 4 folk pass me towards the end. As the trail ended and I saw the Falls of Dochart I realised I was almost there. There was no cheering support as we entered Killin, but folk out walking gave me a wee clap as I hobbled by. One guy shouted " come on the Harriers" believe it or not, and just as I smiled back at him and I have to say feeling a wee bit emotional, he followed up with " stop smiling and catch him!"

As I came around the corner the to finish on the playing field I could hear Majella and Emma cheering me on. The last hundred yards were great and  are the reason I run....for that feeling!
I didn't hang around long as the cold was beginning to take hold. A quick sub zero temperature shower and I was back on the start line waiting for Ruth to finish. It wasn't long before we caught sight of her entering the field and heading in completely the wrong direction as frantic shouts from marshals and spectators alike put her back on course. She finished with a beaming smile....and then started talking about the Hoka Highland Fling! Safe to say she's got the ultra bug.
For what it's worth I finished in 61st  place out of 237 finishers  and 11 th in my age group. Ruth finished in  164 th place, 18th in her category.
Russell, we would like you to know we both played our jokers and look forward to the Grand Prix being updated accordingly.

A fantastic report to accompany a fantastic effort! Well done to Jim and Ruth.