Falkirk 8 hour Trail Ultra

Just as ultras are run much slower than other races so the reports are often as slow if not slower, hence this rather belated missive from last Sunday.

Sunrise over Callendar Park

This year's Falkirk 8 hour trail ultra was exactly the same as in 2018, comprising as many circuits as you could manage of a hilly 3.8 mile circuit followed by an equally hilly wee lap of around 600 meters, again as many as you could squeeze in during the allotted time - for a while it felt like being part of the working population again, starting as we did at eight and finishing at four!

The wee loch with snow covering the ice

The February weather played a big part with ice to contend with for the first few laps along with snow, sleet and rain as the day went on making each lap different from the ones before. There was even some sunshine...

Ian and I together at the start

The winners together, James and Iona

The winner, James Stewart of VPCOG, ran 57.8 miles or 93 kilometers whereas in complete contrast the 149th and final placer covered only 6.2k, presumably due to injury or illness. The results were most confusingly presented in both metric and imperial distances leading me to confidently inform a friend the following day that Jamesey had covered 90-odd miles. Oops!

Leading female was Iona MacKay of Carnegie with 49.5 miles

I was 34th from 149 solo runners and managed ten big laps and seven wee ones for a total of 41.9 miles, some 1.4 miles further than I managed in 2018 - I even managed to run further than two of the relay teams! Ian Rae was 70th covering 9 big laps and 4 small ones for 36.8 miles.

Kai's dad, aka Mark Wheeler of Hamilton Harriers, had a mostly excellent race reaching a grand total of 47.8 miles and the dizzy heights of eleventh place although by his own admission it should have been more. He committed the cardinal sin of not fuelling sufficiently and bonked, or energy bombed as he put it, during the short laps near the end. The last I saw of him was sitting to the side of the course having someone's Dryrobe placed over his shoulders. We can all make those mistakes now and again, no matter how experienced.

Julie's brother-in-law Stuart Douglas of local club Falkirk Vics had an excellent run covering 47.21 miles and only two places behind Mark, in thirteenth. He is targeting his third WHWR goblet later this year.

The race even made the Herald's sports section during the week

I will be marshalling at the National XC in a couple of weeks time so I'll see many of you back in Callendar Park at the biggest event in the Scottish Athletics calendar.