Petestack Blog

Have to admit I’d consciously avoided the Highland Fling before. Didn’t want to be pitted against my West Highland Way ‘peers’ over the same course earlier the same year, thought I just wouldn’t be fast enough over the shorter distance (53 miles) and didn’t want to deal with the psychology of being found wanting there! But last year’s Cateran Trail race (when I ran sub-10 over 55 miles to come 8th of 45 starters in what’s maybe still my best ultra performance to date) made a big difference and, while remaining non-committal about whether I was in it for a run or a race, thought I’d give it a go as my principal ‘tune-up’ this year. And so I did, quietly targeting a sub-10 finish as positive ‘psychology’ (went through Tyndrum in about 10:25 on last year’s WHW), thinking 9:30 might be possible given my Cateran time (so which is the harder course… who knows?), but probably never really expecting the same kind of dry, windy heat that made that WHW such an ordeal for those of us who’d have preferred to see clouds and maybe even some rain.

Not trying to write a blow-by-blow account here, so jumping to the finish now to tell you that my time of 9:53:48 for 51st place of 321 finishers (and apparently 383 starters) seems pretty well in line with my expectations/aspirations, providing a decent confidence booster for the WHW (positive psychology as above) while leaving no room for complacency, suggesting that I’ve now got the experience to pace a big trail ultra just as well without my heart rate monitor (John Kynaston’s souped-up results spreadsheet showing me moving from 204th fastest over the first ‘leg’ from Milngavie to Drymen to 23rd over the final one from Beinglas to Tyndrum), but also providing some valuable ‘last-minute’ lessons in fueling for such conditions. So perhaps it’s downright scary that I managed to eat nothing but a packet of crisps (which lasted from Rowardennan to Inversnaid) and six jelly babies after Rowardennan (just halfway on the ground), but I was by no means alone there, know how I came through it and know that my WHW support crew just have to accept that they can’t force-feed me if I can’t eat. That said, I’ve also got some new ideas and strategies to put to Angus, Jon and Eileen, see some productive discussion there and will consider anything so long as we all remember ‘the best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men’…

So what else have I got to say here just now? Some (left) ankle and (mainly right) knee niggles early on, but managed to run them off and (touch wood) seem to have developed a good feel over recent years for what’s a niggle, what means stop and what means go to the doc. Still (despite plenty food and drink later) 3.9kg lighter yesterday morning than when I set out on Saturday and 2.3kg down today, but not really wanting to see that all back again right now when calculating a good 0.5kg of it to be proper, fat-burning weight loss! Not used to the Fling’s staggered starts, so some new experiences in catching/being caught by folk from the different starts as well as placing amongst some (eg Ali Bryan-Jones, Michelle Hetherington) I never even saw despite similar splits. And just can’t say enough good about the organisation of the whole thing from morning registration through to the finish and evening buses, with (to cite just a couple of examples) the simplest, most convenient timing chip system I’ve seen (so much more user-friendly than SPORTident dibbers or things you have to lace to your shoes!), the drop-bag system under perfect control (find drop-bags so hard to get right as ‘best-laid schemes’, but their sorting and handling was exemplary here), and really just everything done well. So perhaps I was wryly amused by the marathon-style boards for ‘sub-10’, ‘sub-11’, ‘sub-12’ etc. at the start when such things seem completely at variance with my conception of trail-ultra pacing (just thought ‘no way am I standing at that ‘sub-10′ board when I’m never taking off with those who do!’), but think that was maybe just gilding the lily a touch when (sincerely hope I’m not upsetting anyone here) it was already growing beautifully as it was! :-)