Jim
One
of my favourite races, for several reasons. The route is incredible,
and on a nice day with a bit of sun and a fair breeze, it’s
magical.
The
organisation is second to none with the emphasis on customer care. An
example of the attention to detail is the crack team who hand you 4
safety pins all joined together in advance….I’m so easily pleased
(mental note for Trail Race…volunteers?)
Speaking
of crack teams, it was the usual trio of Davie Searil, Ruth Kelly,
and myself. Davie
is going to talk you through his race and the second half of Ruths, this is mine.
There
are several views on the Fling. Covering the first 53 miles of the
West Highland Way, it is the perfect way to get a long training run 9
weeks before the big one while others
see it as the first step in the Triple Crown (all 3 WHW races).
For most it’s the furthest they have or will ever run; some will be
happy to finish, others will look to scratch the WHW itch in future
years.
For
me, it’s a race in itself, and I decided to see what I could do.
Having run it in 2016 and accidentally (watch always runs out at 8
hours or so) managed 12 hours 59 min, I set myself a target of sub 12
hours.
There
were 3 starting waves. I chose wave 3 (12-15 hours), mainly so that I
get a blether with the guys as we run out together for the first
mile. Johnny
Fling announced this as the “Party Wave” as we went off.
Davie
Cloudy, maybe some light rain and 8 to 11 degrees was the forecast about a week before the event but by race day that had changed drastically, the skirt tails of Storm Hannah were due to hit later on that morning so even the speedy runners, the ones who generally get away with just short shorts and a vest, were dressed up to the nines for this one.Davie
 |
| The calm before the storm, in this case literally |
The three of us ran together for the first mile or so before Jim took off, we are his anchor in races, give him a steady start and help him avoid the temptation to go off too fast. (I knew we had a purpose!)
 |
| Jim heading along the old railway line to the Beech Tree |
My jacket stayed in my race vest (unlike most of the 726 starters who'd had them on from the beginning) until the approach to Conic where one look at the sky ahead convinced me now was the time to cover up. The cloud came over, the heavens opened and, although it was changeable, the downpours were frequent and prolonged for the next six or seven hours making for a fairly miserable experience. Amazingly, as he always is, Graham Hewitson was standing up on the shoulder of Conic Hill taking photographs - and people say we're nuts?!
 |
| Jazz (balance?) hands even in the wind and rain coming down Conic |
 |
| Plodding the last few meters to Balmaha |
 |
| A marshall's words of encouragement (I think) at the Balmaha road crossing |
The
first section to Balmaha is about 19 miles. It’s about getting out
of Milngavie on to the Way….oh and the wee climb over Conic Hill!
I
managed this in 3 hours 16 min which felt simultaneously faster that
I wanted to go but also very comfortable.
I
get very frustrated sometimes with me! I can take out huge chunks of
folk on the difficult sections, and hills in particular, only to see
half of them fly past me descending Conic, as I tiptoe down like
Bambi on Ice…grrrr!
Balmaha
to Rowardennan is a joy to run. Still feeling reasonably fresh, it’s
a tricky wee 8 mile section with some lovely running, and sensational
views…don’t be fooled though if you are doing this in the club
relay, there are a couple of really tough climbs.
I’ve
always said that it’s the cumulative effect of all the hills you
forget, and not the big ones that you’ll always remember, that wear
you down on the WHW.
Anyway,
another 1 hour and 35min to cover this section meant that I was still
under 5 hours for the first half of the race.Davie
Being always conscious of how my body was coping I made steady if unspectacular progress over the next 14 miles to Inversnaid. Here, while eating and taking on more fluids, the rain was absolutely chucking it down and, as I left the checkpoint, started to feel ever so slightly hypothermic. Knowing the next section to Beinglas Farm was the least runnable of all I reasoned that I had to run now to warm up while I still had the chance. This must have had a galvanising effect on me as even later when the terrain forces you to walk I found my pace was taking me past more than a few competitors, looking at the splits it seems I made up thirty places over those seven miles - perhaps my conservative start was paying dividends.
Jim
Looking
back it seems really obvious that the first half is the easy bit. So
again, it seems that the strategy of saving yourself for the 2nd
half can be an unsuccessful one.
I
remember Alan in a good luck text on the evening before the race,
suggested that he would be able to extrapolate my finishing time
based on my first few tracking notifications.
I
countered that he might be better using the law of diminishing
returns as a guide!
Onward
to Bienglas via Inversnaid and the famous Lochside section. If you
take nothing else from these ramblings please remember this…..unless
you want to break your personal worst for the half marathon, don’t
ask Alan for a longish leg next week. And remember also to be nice to
whoever takes this on…they really are taking one for the team!
For
the record the 15 or so miles from Rowardennan to Beinglass took
around 3 hours 45. At a cumulative time now of 8 hours 36 min, and
the death of the watch battery, the finishing time was now anyone’s
guess.Davie
Sadly I didn't make such good headway on the relentless climb up Glen Falloch despite cow poo alley being free of poo and, as the farm is currently un-tenanted, entirely free of coos too! The path here has been completely relaid and is actually very runnable as some of you will find on the club relay this coming weekend. I read in Iona Mackay's blog that the elevation from Beinglas to Glen Bogle is greater than the climb up the backside of Conic albeit over a much greater distance and although I didn't know that at the time it certainly explains how I felt.
At the deer fence at Glen Bogle I met my pal Katie from whom I received a lovely hug and the news that Ruth was only a couple of minutes ahead. Surprised, as I'd had only positive news of her thus far, I looked up and could see her near the top of the climb. As I followed her up the hill I would have caught her quicker but for some pre-arranged hugs with a couple of accordion players, playing for the runners for the second year in a row.
 |
| I think Cat and her sister Fiona were wetter than most runners |
Jim
Bogle
Glen is the halfway point if you find yourself walking the WHW. In
the Fling, it’s the beginning of the home stretch. Getting there
has previously involved negotiating the path commonly known as Cow
Poo Alley.
It’s
now a rather surreal experience as this kilometre section of path has
been smoothed and re surfaced. My shoes enjoyed this experience, and
the smell in the car on the way home was not as bad as usual, but
I’ll be honest…I missed it!
The
final part of the Fling involves the “roller coaster” over
Crianlarich, down to the road crossing, and the last 3 mile section
from there to the finish line. I’ll be honest, I was knackered and
it seemed to go on forever.
The red carpet finish, the
accompanying sound of the pipes, and a big hug from Evelyn, who came
to support saw me finish in 11 hours, 23 min,26 sec….Job done!
Again
the organisation at the end is amazing as I was guided through the
finish area to a nice warm shower, and a lovely lady handing me a
beer.
 |
| A quiet and understated finisher's picture from Jim |
 |
| Too tired even to lift my arms |
We had heard in a phone call while in the forest above Crianlarich that Jim had taken an hour and twenty minutes off his previous time by finishing in a tremendous 11.23.26. Although Ruth and I quite literally finished together, as you can see from the picture below, I was given the nod by one second in 14.22.25, she must have been marginally ahead of me at the start (must remember that ploy for another day!)
 |
| Dragging each other to the finish |
The male podium places were taken by John Hammond from Carnethy, Sam Humphrey of VP Glasgow and Toby Chapman from Bournemouth AC in the respective times of 7.30.29, 7.32.08 and 7.32.57, apparently the closest and most exciting finish in the event's fourteen year history (not that I would know, being many miles away at the time). Scott Craighead, Stuart Paterson, Graham Connelly, Marco (the marcothon man) Consani and last year's WHWR winner David McClure raced more or less together along the lochside chasing the 2019 Scottish Ultra Trail Championship eventually finishing in that order and fourth to eighth overall.
Over two hundred volunteers give up their day and in some cases their weekend to make this probably the
Postscript. That's four weeks now and I'm still not 100% clear of this virus, finished a course of amoxocillin last Friday so here's hoping - less than six weeks until the WHWR so I have to get another couple of big runs in.
Post Postscript. Once again I have to say how friendly, helpful and considerate all, and I do mean all, of the walkers were - it never fails to warm my heart how nice people can be. Which leads me neatly to the fact that Ruth has today just completed the West Highland Way (walking this time) with her husband Kevin and a couple of their friends, as I type they have just reached Fort William.
Post Post Postscript. I'm with Jim on the four safety pin thingy, really impressed!
