Eight days until race day and I was sitting at work with a wet trouser leg and a puddle appearing on the carpet under my desk. The casual observer may have questioned whether the excitement of the impending race was getting to me. The more astute observer would also have noticed the bag of rapidly …
On a rainy Saturday morning we took a wee trip to Rowardennan. The West Highland passes through Rowardennan before heading off into the relative wilderness of the East side of Loch Lomond. After many years the “Low Road” has been cleared, the path upgraded and it is now open to walkers and runners once more. …
Ultras are usually quite complicated logistically. They are usually also longer and harder than you expect. Here a few questions to ask before you enter your next Ultra. I go through this list every time I want to enter a new race Where does it start? Do you actually know where that is? Are you …
I am lucky enough to have built up a good selection of ultra gear to mix and match which is versatile enough to do me for most types of races, so I no longer need to go on a shopping spree every time I enter a big race. My most used kit currently is Jacket: …
Phew! That was a close one. Despite having no plans whatsoever to run the New York Marathon this year, I still nearly entered the ballot. A post from a friend on Facebook alerted me to the ballot being open, and despite a trip to New York not being either physically or financially viable this year, …
At some point in every ultra race it gets hard. Really hard. At this point you need to decide if you are going to quit or if you are going to keep moving. How do you get through this point? Dead easy, just ask yourself, do you really want to stop? Can you justify stopping …
On a sunny day I took myself for a run on the section of the West Highland Way heading south from Tyndrum. This is the reverse of the way the route is normally travelled. On the way I tried out my new camera with some mixed results. The following clips are unedited, apart from the …
On a sunny day I took myself for a run on the section of the West Highland Way from Tyndrum to Beinglas Farm. This is the reverse of the way the route is normally travelled. On the way I tried out my new camera The infamous Cow Poo Alley was quite dry for a change …
I have been feeling poorly these last few days. Might have been man flu. Might have been jet lag, but running was either rubbish or didnt happen at all. I had a reasonably good November/December where I ran every day for 32 days and started to build mileage sensibly, and even though a Christmas day …
There is a vibrant and burgeoning ultra running community in Scotland at the moment. Races like the Highland Fling have become ridiculously popular and are introducing lots of new runners to the sport. Some of these are enthused by all of the good things which go with ultra trail running, some are intrigued by the …