Hill running

Matterhorn Ultraks 2015

Wow! What a race.

If you were to ask someone to create a race that had a fantastic route, over alpine trails, with lots of elevation and with breath-taking scenery, this is likely to be the race that they would create.

I signed up to this race about November last year I think. It was one of those spur of the moment things when it popped up in my timeline on Facebook. I had no experience of this kind of running at the time, and I remember posting something on Facebook after I’d signed up along the lines of “I just signed up to this…ambitious?”. Thankfully, it wasn’t ambitious at all.

We decided to make a bit of a holiday out of the trip, since flying all the way to Switzerland for a race is a little excessive to begin with. We flew into Geneva last Monday, had 24 hours in the city, then caught the incredibly clean and precise train all the way to Zermatt. Right from the start Switzerland was doing its usual thing of being smart, clean, adult and beautiful. I’ve spent a lot of time in the country with work over the years and I really do like the place. It makes itself easy to like though.

We rented an apartment in the town, which as it turned out was perfectly located. Zermatt isn’t all that big any way, but it was close enough to the centre and had a great view of the Matterhorn, so it ticked all the boxes we needed.

Our arrival in Zermatt was quite late in the day on Tuesday so it was a case of finding some food and settling in for the night. Wednesday morning I was out around town, working out my bearings and, importantly, buying a map. Over lunch I worked out a plan to run Wednesday and Thursday and take it easy on Friday before the race on Saturday. I knew this was cutting it fine and that my legs would be tired on the day, but I figured as long as I limited my climbing over the two days, I could get away with it.

The race was a loop around the head of a valley which started and finished in Zermatt town centre. The course took in three big climbs and three descents. I wanted to try to recce as much of the race route as possible beforehand so I decided to run the first ascent on Wednesday, then follow the line of the some of the first descent before heading straight back down into Zermatt instead of breaking off towards the next climb. Then on Thursday I took one of the cable cars up to Schwarzsee, which is at the head of the final climb and then run the 10km long descent back down into Zermatt. This all worked perfectly and gave me the opportunity I needed to get the worst parts of the race clear in my head. This included the climb from Furi back up to Schwarzsee which was steep, long and, as it turned out on the day, difficult in intense sunshine!

On the Friday, we took the train up to Gornergrat to take a look around from the top. The glacier was simply magnificent and really did make you realise how special the place is.

Looking towards Monte Rosa and the glacier from Gornergrat

Then came race day. The Ultraks is more of a running festival with 6 races in total on the day. I took part in the 30km trail race, but there was also a 46km, a 16km, a vertical race (VZR), a 30km corporate relay and a kids race. The 46km race was the main event with some famous professional runners toeing the start line. they took off before my race so I got the opportunity to see the start of the 46km race.

Start of the 46km race

There was a real buzz around Zermatt, it is such a perfect town for this type of event. Before I knew it the 30km race was 10 minutes away from starting and I was shuffling my way into the start pen. In my recce for the start I knew that the route headed out of the town and eventually broke off up a narrow single track trail through the woods about 1km in. With close to 700 runners in the race this was always going to be a bottleneck unless you were in the first 10 people to reach it, so I knew that being towards the last 20% of runners in the pen was a bad start. After some enthusiastic encouragement from the race announcer to warm us all up, we were off. The pace from where I was started at a slow jog but the runners quickly broke up which provided some space as we ran through the streets. the crowds were out supporting and it felt great to be part of such a big event like this.

The road out of town started to climb and people slowed down to their natural climbing pace. I found myself starting to pass people but I was encouraged by the fact that, despite lots of people around me sprinting to get a better place, I paced myself so I didn’t tire too easily. One of the big things I wanted to do in this race was to simply enjoy it. The scenery as I’ve said is simply amazing, and I may never come back to run it again, so I wanted to enjoy it for the experience and not ruing things by being exhausted within the first 5km.

As we hit the first climb I found myself at what I estimated was about 50% of the way through the field. This felt about right as everyone around me by now was running similar bits to me and walking the bits I would walk, so it felt like I was in the right place. The first climb goes about 60% of the way up the hill, then levels out to traverse around a long flat trail. This was really narrow and over-taking was almost impossible. I think in the end this saved me as I would have been tempted to go for it here normally, but instead I just sat behind a small group of guys and recovered from that first push. I knew as well from the recce that as this flat section ended, it opened out on the next uphill section, but that section was short until the first aid station. When we reached it, I put on a push knowing there really wasn’t far to go before the top and this allowed me to pass about another 10 people.

Nearing the top of the first climb

The first aid station was at Sunnegga. I knew that from here there was a long, wide downhill track followed by a small climb and some traversal of a hill before the subsequent station at Riffelalp. I decided for this race to wear my Salomon vest simply to enable me to carry more fluids as I knew it was going to be a hot day. This worked great as I had two 500ml soft flasks filled with Tailwind. I’d drained one flask on the first climb and I knew I wouldn’t need more than one more flask to the next station, so I decided to simply grab a glass of water and keep running. This fast pit stop and the subsequent attack on the downhill earned me a significant number of places. I was surprised throughout the race at how few people were letting go on the down hills, especially as many of them were on wide, smooth tracks.

On the way to Riffelalp we passed markers where the 46km race broke off the route to take in a loop up to Gornergrat. I was reticent of not signing up to this longer distance race leading up to the start. In hindsight I think I probably enjoyed the 30km better, but I would like to go back and take on the bigger distance. We got to Riffelalp far faster than I anticipated and I had barely drained my remaining soft flask, so I decided on another short pit stop, grabbing two glasses of water and a handful of dried fruit. The aid stations were perfect in my opinion, they had a bounty of stock considering both the 46 and 30km races had been passing through and it was broadly laid out so people weren’t climbing over each other to get to it. As we neared this stop the sound of alpine horns started to drift through the air, it really added a wonderful atmosphere to the race.

Riffelalp Aid Station

Next up was Furi, which was another short descent away from Riffelalp. The trail on the way become a little technical and slowed things down considerably. It was obvious people were starting to tire as there were plenty of trips and falls as folk clipped their toe on a rock or a tree root here and there.

Heading towards Furi with the Matterhorn cheering us on

Before we could get to the water stop at Furi, there was a small matter of a suspension bridge to cross. I’d recce’d this before hand so knew what it was going to be like. I’m glad, because I think if I’d stumbled into this mid-race I might have been a bit spooked!

Furi suspension bridge - yes, it does move!

Furi suspension bridge – and yes, it does move!

The course team had flagged it to stop people from running on the bridge. This kind of worked, but as I crossed it, there were about 10 runners all speed walking across it. The bridge was considerably flexible and this amount of traffic on it had an interesting effect!

At Furi my partner, the wonderful and beautiful Nichola, was there to meet me and give me encouragement. I was ready for the pit stop here and had my sachet of tailwind ready to drop into one of my soft flasks for the final climb up to Schwarzsee. I almost ran straight into Nichola as I was sorting this stuff out! It was great to see her and it really gave me a lift for the next section of the course which was certainly the hardest.

Arriving at Furi – Picture: Nichola

This was about the only bit of the course I wasn’t looking forward to. From Furi it is an almost vertical climb up switchbacks to the next station, Schwarzsee. It was hard going, but just a case of keeping your head up and pushing on. I’d seen the trail from the chair lift and knew it was steep, but it was made even tougher as the sun was out by this point and the temperature was creeping up towards 30 degrees. After about 30 minutes, the summit came in sight and one final drive of the legs got me through the timing gate at the top. I was 3h 05min into the race and I had run the remainder on my final recce, so knew what lay ahead. It was mostly downhill on single track trail with just a short uphill section as the trail turned back towards Zermatt. This is possibly the most scenic part of the course, with a backdrop of the Matterhorn all the way.

The Matterhorn showing off in the sunshine

Before the race, I was thinking I would be close to 5 hours to finish, as I hit Schwarzsee I wasn’t really paying attention and also, Nichola had said she was heading up to meet me too. I spent about 5 minutes at the aid station here looking for Nichola, who it turns out was there but I just didn’t spot her. I eventually gave up and started the descent thinking I was probably at about the halfway mark in the field and had not much to run for. As I headed down I recognised that I was just over the 3h mark, and figured that as long as I take it steady I should make sub 4h 30m, so I set off. My stomach started to ache as I headed down, I think I took on too much water at the aid station so everything was bouncing about a little. This slowed me down, but eventually wore off enabling me to open my legs a bit as I headed into Zermatt. I had one guy in front of me who I could see but at some point the 16km race joined the trail and I was confused about why so many people were in front of me! Eventually I spotted the guy ahead of me but he was too far for me to catch.

The race folds around town to enable a finish up the main street with everyone cheering from the cafes and bars. It again created a wonderful atmosphere and the race planning was perfect as all of the main adult races were finishing about the same time. I crossed the line in 4h 12m and was delighted with how my race had gone. The winners from the 46km race were still being interviewed as I crossed so I assume they had only just finished too, and it felt amazing to be amongst such great runners.

After the finish line you were presented with what I think is both the best race medal I’ve ever had and also the best race t-shirt I’ve ever had.
There was also a further aid station immediately in the finishers area and lots of area of shade to recover in. The sun was out, I had my finishers medal and new t-shirt out and it felt amazing.

As I sat in the shade I looked across and saw Tom Owens who runs for Salomon taking a breather next to me. He had come 6th in the 46km race which is an incredible performance. I’d seen Tom run in Carnethy 5 and Birnham Hill race earlier this year and recognised him and said hello. Those guys are incredible athletes and it turned out he was a really nice guy too.

I ended up finishing 78th overall and 18th in the V40 category, which in both cases I am delighted with. To finish in the top 20% or so of a race of this distance with so many runners is really encouraging and made me feel great. Looking back and analysing my race, the slow start helped me as did knowing the course from my recces. I knew where I could push hard and knew where to recover and this paid dividends. I remember from Riffelalp passing people who had started stronger but were slowing down, and recognised that had been me in other races. It felt great to feel like I’d paced it better and had a steady performance. I also felt strong on the climbs, felt like my hydration and nutrition worked well again (Thank you Tailwind!) and all my kit worked well. I wore a Salomon vest, Salomon s-lab exo t-shirt, inov-8 shorts, Salomon s-lab sense ultra shoes, it just all worked perfectly.

The race rewards

The race was exceptionally well organised. During my recce’s I had spotted the guys a few times out and about around the course during the week before putting out markings. There was hundreds of small orange marker flags all over the mountains making it exceptionally clear about where to go. There were also large signs at any major junction to make it clear about which direction to go. This was how all races should be marked over big areas like this. The aid stations were perfectly managed, the pre and post race facilities were exceptional, a great hot meal was available for everyone. It was just all excellent. A huge congratulations and thank you to the race organisers, volunteers and people of Zermatt for putting on such an excellent event.

Course markings on the trail

I felt great the next day and wanted to head out for a recover run. I was intrigued by the section from the 46km race that I hadn’t seen. This was a tough climb up to Gornergrat which I’d seen when I was up there sightseeing earlier in the week. I studied the map on Sunday morning and decided to get the train up to Sunnegga and follow my instincts. I cut off a little of the descent towards Riffelalp and contoured the hill before joining the race route from the 46km race a little further up the hill. The climb was really tough and technical in places. There were plenty of craggy sections and very little in the way of sections where you could recover. I was taking it easy to respect what my legs had done the day before, but it was still a really enjoyable run. I got up to Gornergrat in just over an hour and was rewarded all the way with spectacular views. The Strava activity for this run is here. Now I know what almost all the 46km race route is, I would love to head back next year and take it on.

Leaving Zermatt after such an amazing week was really difficult. Whilst we have spectacular hills and scenery in Scotland, the alps are at another level entirely and really pull on your heart stings if you love being outdoors in this type of environment. The trails and mountains were perfect for running and I can’t wait to go back.

The Strava activity for the race.

Next up for me is the Ben Nevis Race. This is a huge race in the UK hill running calendar and looks to be such a tough race. I’m nervously looking forward to it as it’s my first time, but with under two weeks to go, there is little I can do in the way of training which will help me. I’m planning on a few easy runs in the hills over the next week before taking a few days off before I reach Fort William and the start. Watch out for an update near the time.

Tomorrows Ultraks Race

Just a quick update before I hit the sack for the night. Tomorrow is the Matterhorn Ultraks race and I’m itching to get started. I’ve spent the week in Zermatt taking in different aspects of the course and generally enjoying some time up in the alps. I’ll write a details blog post after the race, but wanted to get an update out as I’ve been pretty quiet the last week or so on here.

Zermatt is an amazing place and I’ve fallen in love with it already. The buzz has been growing around town and reached a height tonight as more and more runners started to arrive to collect their race numbers.

View from the descent from Schwartzsee

With scenery like this, it is going to be an amazing race and the weather is looking like it will be ideal. Off to bed now to get what rest I can before the start line tomorrow.

Enchanted by the Lakes

I’ve been in Seattle across in America for the past week on a business trip. Due to a number of reasons I didn’t get to fly home until Sunday afternoon but had all Saturday free so I decided I would plan a little running adventure into the nearby Cascade mountain range to help train for the Matterhorn Ultraks coming up later in August..

The Cascades are a range of mountains which run from British Columbia in Canada down the western coastline of the USA down to California. They are an impressive range of mountains with numerous volcanic peaks which top out above 4000m. Compared to what I’m used to in Scotland, the Cascades are a lot more rugged and rocky mountains. They have an abundance of peaks over 1000m and, thanks to a combination of a famous Scotsman and an over-active US Forestry Service, there is an comprehensive range of marked and unmarked trails all over the map of the National Parks in America.

Map of Alpine Lakes area

After some research online, I found a circular route which took in what looked to be an area of outstanding beauty. The Enchantment Lakes sit in an area South West of a town called Leavenworth in the North Cascades. More about Leavenworth later as it is itself, a very interesting little town. I chose the route for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it was a reasonable distance. I wanted something over 40km long to make sure I got some distance in my legs. Secondly, I wanted something with plenty of elevation and in trails which would be similar to what I’m likely to find in Zermatt later this month. That meant steep climbs on rocky trails with some 2000m+ of elevation and the enchantments seemed to offer all of the above.

It was difficult to get an exact distance for this route as most people do a section of the loop. In America the trails in this type of place are marked with a trail head, which often has a carp park and some simple facilities. The route I was doing had two trail heads whose trails met in the middle, but there was also a road which linked the two trail heads in the opposing direction which enabled you to form a loop. Most guidance suggested that you leave a car at one trail head and then drive up to the other and start your hike from there. That is all well and good when you are part of a group, but as someone who was out for a day on his own, I opted to run from one trail head to the other to start the day.

With my route planning done, I invested in a map of the route from the wonderful REI (we need a comprehensive outdoor shop like this in the UK!) and stocked up on bottled water and Tailwind to get me through the day. The weather was forecast to be 39 degrees, blue skies and barely any wind, so I packed some factor 50 sunblock too. I set off early from my hotel in Bellevue and drove for 2 hours to make it to the start of the run at 7am. After some last minute checks to make sure I had everything, I set off North up the road from Snow Lake trail head towards Stuart Lake trail head. Already, the views from the car park were outstanding and I knew I was in for a great day.

View from my start point in Snow Lake Trail Head car park

In my preparation I’d found someone on Strava who had done this same run in reverse. That meant I knew the elevation profile I was heading for and so set off at a leisurely pace. At this time of the morning the road was getting a bit of traffic from other people heading up to the higher trail head and I could see some people staring at me as they went past wondering who the crazy guy as running up the road. I later passed people on the trail who were hugely supportive and were amazed someone was actually running this thing. It did worry me a bit about what was to come as they were so overly amazed.

Forest Trail 1599.1

After about an hour of running to cover the 10km from the car park I reached the higher level trail head. I’d already broken into a fast hill walk on a couple of occasions as the climb was gradual, but in places quite steep. It was a relief to finally exit the road and get onto narrow forest trails to make the last bit of climb before the first lake of the day which was Colchuck Lake.

The first trail section from Stuart Lake Trail Head to Colchuck Lake seemed to go quite quickly. It was fairly steady going all the way but a little technical in places and a few slopes that meant it was difficult to do much more than a fast walk. There was also a junction about two thirds of the way along this trail, from which one direction went to a dead end at Stuart Lake and the other broke off towards Colchuck Lake. Fortunately I managed to spot this, but I really was fortunate. The marker boards on these trails are made out of wood that has weathered well to camouflage itself against the surrounding trees at just above head height. If you have your head down and sweat in your eyes, it is difficult to spot them, so you have to keep your eyes open and also use your map to anticipate where these points might come about.

I eventually reached Colchuck Lake and from here the trail traverses the shoreline for about a kilometre or so. This was a relief as it felt like I was now in the run proper and the fun bits were still ahead of me. At the far end of the lake the trail loses its structure and crosses a boulder field. There were cairns marking a general direction, but it was fun boulder hopping and this section passed pretty quickly. At the end of the boulder field was a small beach which was being used as a campsite and I took the opportunity for my first dip of the day from this beach. The water was welcoming and cool as the air temperature was already above 30 degrees and it was only about 10am. I’d also started to warm up here as the trail was now out in open rocks rather than woodland. From this point on it was going to be a very hot day. But the views were already making up for it!

Colchuck Lake from the Start of the boulder field

The next section was Aasgard Pass. This is a steep climb between a couple of gnarly, jagged peaks which gives access to the upper enchantment lake area. Having seen the photo’s online of what was waiting for me at the top, I was keen to get the climb over and done with as quickly as possible. The pass rises about 600m over just over a kilometre in distance. I’d stopped to chat to a guy before the boulder field who was heading back the way I’d come after coming down off the top. He explained that the way up was to stick to the left, away from a waterfall that comes right down the middle of the pass. I was glad of the guidance as I could see others heading to the right and that route got much steeper the higher you climbed.

Aasgard Pass – You can see the waterfall coming down the center

This was one tough climb for sure. I was going pretty well for the first third of it, with frequent stops at the little streams which fed off the waterfall for a quick dunk of my hat to cool off. The combination of heat, climbing and tough rocky terrain was too much to result in anything but a slow slog to the top. I took every opportunity for some shade amongst the random tree along the way and large boulder I passed. There was some scrambling to be done about 100m from the top of the pass and from here it started to level out and I knew the worst was over.

Creeping over the final section, looking back the views were fantastic, but I was already starting to see what lay ahead and my energy levels rose as a result.

Looking back down Aasgard Pass towards Colchuck

First view from the top of Aasgard at the remnants of the glacier and Isolation Lake

At the top of the pass my first priority was to cool down, so Tranquil Lake, the first one you hit as you come over the pass, got the honour of me diving into it. The water was beautifully cold and I immediately realised how over-heated I’d become on the climb up. I took some time here to get my temperature back down and take on some fluids and calories before making a start on the winding trail that now lay ahead of me through the rest of the lakes.

When I was reading up on this area I learnt that there was a large population of mountain goats up here and that most people are likely to see one or two during their hike. I’d already spotted one on the way up the pass, but once up in the main lake area, these things were everywhere. They seemed calm enough, but were keeping a distance from the many humans that were around up there. I later took a pee against some rocks and within seconds a goat appeared from nowhere, attracted by the prospect of licking the salt that would be left behind on the stone. It politely stood its distance until I’d finished then promptly stepped in and started to go at it. A strange encounter for sure.

One of the many Mountain Goats in the area

I knew that from here it was all down hill. The trail was still indistinct and someone had generously created cairns of all sizes to give a rough indication of the way to go. The conditions from here ranged from slab rock, boulders, open grassed area and what I’d call a sheep path, barely a foot wide but enough to run on. From my study of the map in planning, I recognised that the pass was the hard bit and after that I should be able to enjoy myself with the long loping down hill section. I hadn’t really paid attention though to the distance. I recognised as I started weaving my way through the lakes, that actually I still had about 25km to go!

This weighed down on me a bit as I think I’d somehow convinced myself that once over the pass it would be easy. Whilst it was downhill, it was far from easy. The term technical is often used to describe trails, but it wasn’t until I’d run this that I felt authorised to use the term. As the way meandered through the different lakes, to descend the elevation there is effectively a step between each lake. It makes sense of course now I say it, but it came as a shock on the day. Some of the steps were considerably significant and dropping a 100m or more at a time, often over boulders, slab rock and rarely via switch-back paths.

I quickly got used to running over the slabs and the boulders and would even describe it as fun. I was passing people now who were gingerly tip-toeing down and I must have looked like a lunatic as I went whizzing past shouting my hello’s. On a couple of occasions I clipped a toe or missed a footing and had to check myself. By now I was about 20km+ into the wilderness and attempting to make my way back from here with a sprain or worse would be a nightmare. I reminded myself that I was here to enjoy myself and the scenery and so slowed down again. Every lake I passed which offered the opportunity to swim in from a beach or shallow shoreline, I swam. Every waterfall that came of the bits of remaining glacier, I drank from. I went through half a bottle of sunscreen and took pictures with wild abandon. I was in my element.

I’d stopped paying attention to where I was but after a while I could feel myself tiring. I took out my map and eventually worked out that I was by the outlet of Perfection Lake into Sprite Lake. that meant that I had about 15km still left to go. I’m not sure where about around this area it happened, but I got to a point where I realised I was looking down a valley that I still had to run through to get back and, given how challenging and slow the running was going due to the conditions of the trail, I knew I was in for a long day.

Still a long way to go!

From here, it was head down and keep moving. My experiences from the ultra marathons kicked in and I knew I just had to keep forward momentum, keep eating and keep drinking and it would be fine. I slowed my pace down to conserve energy as I was running low on fuel. I also took out my map and worked out where I was going to have the remaining stocks of things to eat and drink along the way. this helped, it made me feel like I had a plan and that I knew how to do it.

Long way down

A couple of hours later I was heading out of the end of the valley and hitting the last section of switch back tracks which led back down to the car park where I’d set off from 10h 30m earlier. The valley had been in the shade most of the afternoon. With the water cascading down it, the air was lovely and refreshing. As I neared the end, the trail turned the corner and went back into the sunshine. Wow what a difference! It was like running into a furnace. when I got back to the car, the temperature gauge was reading 42° centigrade as it sat in the sunshine.

I took the opportunity to cool down in a river which ran past the carpark, stripping down to my shorts and taking the equivalent of an ice bath in there. Despite the warm weather, the water temperature was still ice cold, which was perfect for giving my tired legs some well earned relief. Back at the car I met two girls who were preparing for doing the run between the two trail heads the next day. They were asking me about how the route was and any tips. They were also kind enough to share a beer with me in return. thanks guys and I hope you enjoyed your run the next day!

Before driving back to Seattle for the night I stopped off in the town of Leavenworth. Most people probably haven’t heard of this place, but everyone who gets the opportunity should visit it. Leavenworth was a mining town until a few decades ago when the mining business became unprofitable. The clever folks who lived there came up with the idea of turning it into a theme town to attract tourist dollars, and for whatever reason chose Bavaria as the theme. given its Alpine like location, it actually works pretty well. Almost all the building are chocolate box houses, with German and Bavarian flags hanging off every balcony. There are people in the streets with lederhosen and felt hats. If it wasn’t for the thick American accents you could easily be forgiven for thinking you were in a town just outside Munich. The best part about it though? They have their own brewery which, for a tired runner like me, provided just what I needed to end a perfect day.

Leavenworth

Icicle Brewery Pale Ale….or what’s left of it.

If you are ever fortunate enough to get to this part of the world, you could do a hell of a lot worse than visit the Enchantment Lakes. they are possibly the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to and even now, days later, I am still on a massive high. My run wasn’t fast or particularly special in any way, but I am so happy I took the time to make this trip and see this place. I think it was also great preparation for my Matterhorn Ultraks race in a few weeks time. I’ve now seen what running in these high mountains can be like and can mentally prepare. Next stop Zermatt!

Link to Strava activity and below are some more photographs from this amazing day out.

First view from the top of Aasgard at the remnants of the glacier and Isolation Lake

Still a long way to go!

Aasgard Pass

Looking back down Aasgard Pass towards Colchuck

Sma Glen

Last night was the Tuesday night club run with Lomond Hill Runners. Each week there is a different location, usually within a maximum of an hours drive of where I live. Last nights location was spectacular scenery. It had been a rotten couple of days for weather in Scotland, but as we gathered just outside Perth, the wind dropped, the rain stopped and the clouds started to break.

Sma Glen

The Lomies are a great bunch and I always enjoy their club runs and this was no exception. I was tired after Sunday’s marathon, but the scenery distracted me enough to get past the heavy legs. We headed out along the Glen before making a steep ascent up on to the tops. The going was heavy as we trudged through vegetation up through a steep gully. Once on the top, we were rewarded with spectacular views. Looking south west, we could see past the Lomond hills, over the River Forth with the Bass Rock visible in the far distance. I would never have found this place on my own, it is a beautiful quiet tucked away Glen. I’m so glad I went last night though, it was one of those nights where the views will stick with you forever.

Strava Report

Toward the Lomond Hills with Bass Rock visible in the distance

Toward the Lomond Hills with Bass Rock just visible in the center

Looking North toward the Cairngorms

Snow storms and spectating

I spent Saturday at the Cateran 55 ultra as one of my friends was taking part and I offered to give him a lift to and from the race. My plan, which worked out almost perfectly, was to drop him and a couple of his friends who were also running the race off in time for the start at 7am. After seeing them off I went to have a run up and over a route which took in 3 Munros on the east side of Glenshee.

We arrived a little early so had plenty of time to get some breakfast and a cup of tea before the race. My only ultra has been the Highland Fling which is a huge event. In comparison the Cateran 55 is a smaller but no lesser race. Alongside the Cateran 55 is the Cateran 110 or double as people call it. The race takes place around the Cateran trail which forms a loop around some rugged territory in the south of the Cairngorms. It really highlighted to me how friendly and supportive the whole ultra running community is. There looked to be less than 100 people running the 55 and I heard that the double, which set off at 4pm on Friday and performs two loops of the trail, had 15 people taking part.

The race got underway with clear skies and a light breeze, perfect running conditions. I got myself into the car and headed across to Glenisla for the start of my run. I parked near Auchavan and followed the Walk Highlands route towards my first hill, Monega. The trail from the car meandered along the glen floor before taking a turn left to make the long slog up the ridge line of Monega hill.

Monega hill in the center of the picture

The climb up Monega was slow but steady. I tried to take a slow run all the way up but was forced to walk a few sections which were just too tough for my legs. Regardless, I managed to the King of the hill in strava; result! By the time I reached the summit, the weather awarded me fantastic views into the rocky end of Glen Isla. From the summit, the path followed a line along some cliffs towards Glas Maol, the first of two Munro’s on the route. I was happy to take a reasonable run along this and was taking the opportunity to snap some pics.

Me fannying about instead of paying attention

As I reached the end of the cliffs and before the short climb up to Glas Maol, I was still taking photos and hadn’t noticed the weather closing in from the west. Before I knew it, the blue skies and sunshine were replaced with clouds and snow showers. A very clear reminder of how quickly things can change at this height.

Stunning views from Little Glas Maol which distracted me from the weather

I checked my route map and read that Glas Maol had a shelter on it, so decided to up the pace and head for that. At this point, the wind had picked up and the snow was really coming down thick. I had my waterproofs on by now, hat and gloves, and was running to keep warm. It wasn’t working though. Within 5 minutes my extremeties were numb and I could feel myself stating to worry about where this was heading. By now, I was still running along a track but realised I was traversing Glas Maol rather than going to its summit. I tried to get a bearing but with limitd visibility it was impossible. I decided the slope to my left must be the hill I wanted and thankfully sumitted it quickly and found the sheep fold on the top. I hid in this away from the worst of the weather, had a cereal bar and some fluids and studied the map. My compass was telling me I had to go in a direction which just felt wrong. I took bearings several times and eventually decided to trust my map and compass and not my instinct, which by this point was also numb!

After some worrying meander down the slope to the west of Glas Maol, I found a stone wall that was to lead me over a bealach to Cleag Leacach, my 2nd munro of the day.

View from Creag Leacach as the clouds cleared

As I made my way along the line of the wall, the cloud and snow storm cleared as quickly as it came and the views I was presented with were just breathtaking. I thanked myself for being sensible and following my compass and decided to just focus on enjoying the rest of the run.

The last third of the run took in a couple of smaller hills before finally taking on Monamenach. After all the excitement of the snow storm and with tired legs, the direct climb up this final hill was….a little bit tough. Once over the top though, it was a long, steady decent back down to the foot of the glen and the flask of tea waiting in the car. By the time I was done, it wasn’t even lunchtime and I felt amazing. Distance: 22.6km, Time: 2h 29m, Avg. Pace: 7:56/KM, Total Elevation: 1365m. A perfect Saturday. Link to Strava for the running geeks.

Elevation Profile from Strava

I returned to Spittal of Glenshee to discover my friend had pulled out of the ultra with some ITB pain. We still had to wait to the finish as one of the passengers in the car was still running, so we headed to the Glenshee ski center for a bite to eat and then came back to see the race leaders finishing. Both the 55 and 110 finish in the same direction around the trail, so the runners were mixed as they came home. We headed up the hill which the races comes down in its final stage to cheer on our friend. As we walked up, the leader of the 55 came past looking strong and eventually finished in about 8h and 15m. Then over the hill came the 110 leader.

Now, I’ve seen lots of people finishing races since I started running and usually I find it really inspiring. Not on this occasion though. The guy we saw coming down that hill looked nothing short of delirious. He was running with pain in his eyes and a gait which suggested problems in later life were assured. I think it made me feel that races of that sort of distance are just never going to be my thing. The rest of the runners though just made me want to pull my shoes back on and get out there. I think the Cateran might feature on my race calendar next year. Being a spectator in the race also made me appreciate just how much work really goes into these things. I loved being part of the race without actually being in it and I will definitely be signing up to help with races in the future in some way.

In other news, I finally made the decision and signed up to the Great Glen Ultra in July. I feel I owe it something as it is the race which inspired me to consider running an ultra, so hopefully I do it justice and have a good run. With another ultra now on the horizon, I was inspired to get out and put some more miles on the clock this morning. I headed out with the Falkland Trail runners for a jaunt up West Lomond. It wasn’t quite the views from yesterday, but it was good enough. I’m enjoying my running at the moment; long may it continue!

View from West Lomond this morning

Ultra marathon dreams and beyond

This is my first post so I’ll try to keep it short and sweet. Last weekend I completed my first ultra marathon, the fantastic, the amazing, the superb Hoka Highland fling. The race experience itself was brilliant, but the training build up to it was also a wonderful experience as well. A year ago I decided to start running to lose some weight and get a little healthier. I started with a 5k jog\walk and twelve months later I find myself crossing the finish line of a 53 mile race in a time of 11hrs and 46 mins.

Me finishing the 2015 Highland Fling

It’s been a journey as they say, and along the way I’ve contracted an addiction to running and in particular to running in the hills and for long distances. I’m going to try to write about all these things in this blog in the hope it inspires others to join in this little known community of addicts. I take part in Scottish hill races and other local running events around Scotland and I am already looking at my next and subsequent ultra marathons, so there should be no shortage of things to talk about. I’m also a running gear addict too so you can expect to hear me harping on about what I like and don’t like as I spend what feels like half of my salary on things I probably don’t need. That’s it for now, thanks for reading and please feel free to get in touch to say hello if you want to.

Flashywhiskers

Flashywhiskers

Hill running

Matterhorn Ultraks 2015

Tomorrows Ultraks Race

Enchanted by the Lakes

Sma Glen

Snow storms and spectating

Ultra marathon dreams and beyond