The Longest Day
My story of the West Highland Way Race 21-22
June 2014
Written by: Andrew Macmillen
Written by: Andrew Macmillen
The 95
mile (152 kilometre) route of the West Highland Way from the outskirts of
Glasgow to Fort William.
Many
runners of the West Highland Way race have written of their experiences and
posted them on the race website. I have devoured them all - the dry technical
reports of split times and training schedules and the hilarious tales of
hallucinations, vomiting and chaffed genitalia. I had read and re-read them so
many times I felt I knew the route backwards before I had even started. And now
I add my own to the list. Experienced ultra marathoners seeking nuggets of
wisdom might as well stop here. You will learn little about how to run this
race; but for friends and family who were kind enough to support me on this
adventure whether through encouragement, generous sponsorship or for the merely
curious amateur like myself wondering what it was like – here is my story.
My
journey to Milngavie started four years ago in 2010, the year I ran my first
ultra-marathon after twenty years of running the traditional 26 miles. Since
then I have found the sport incredibly fulfilling. There is something so
rewarding about pushing yourself towards a physical limit we so rarely can
experience in modern life. The sense of achievement is immense, the buzz
addictive. I spend so much of my life in offices, hotels, planes and airports that
there is something so refreshing about getting out and moving through nature in
much the same way as our ancestors once did with nothing more than their own
legs.
Around
the same time I first heard about the West Highland Way race. An ultra in the
mountains of Scotland - this was too good to miss. I love the mountains as my
father and grandfather before me. A few years ago I read a letter written by my
late grandfather in 1933 as he was courting my future grandmother whom I never
met as she died before I was born. It contained the line “I come off a long line of people who lived among the hills and felt
the hill winds upon their faces; and when I get away and feel the heather
beneath my feet I step into another world.” I could not agree more. I am
sure he would have been proud to see his grandson and great grandson following
in his footsteps.
That
same year my son Dmitri walked the 95 miles from Milngavie to Fort William in
four days for charity and so the seed was planted. I tried to apply that year
only to discover that there is a limit on numbers and entries had closed the
previous November.
But
last November, having completed The Wall together with Dmitri, a 69 mile run
from Carlisle to Newcastle in June six months after La Misión, a grueling 100
miler in the Argentine Andes, I applied and one night last December could not
contain my excitement when I learned that I had been accepted. Dmitri
immediately agreed to support me. All we needed now was another crew member
with a car and to start training for the first time since running Warsaw and
Bucharest marathons a couple of months earlier.
So,
around Christmas I started on a six-month training programme, modest perhaps
compared with those undertaken by most fellow competitors I had been reading
about on the race reports on the WHW website and listening to on John
Kynaston’s informative podcasts, but with a busy job managing GSK’s Consumer
Healthcare business in Poland and Central & Eastern Europe and a family (and,
well, if I’m honest I find the training pretty boring and I need the challenge
of an impending ultra to get me out running) it was about all I could manage.
Nevertheless
it was probably the most sustained and comprehensive training programme I have
done. Starting in late December with just some occasional breaks I have managed
to run for an hour or so 3-4 times most weeks, although living in Warsaw where
there are no hills has made it difficult to recreate the conditions I would
face climbing 14,500 feet, or to put it another way – half way up Everest. Instead
I have occasionally worked on a cross-trainer at home and although sustaining a
shoulder injury at Christmas which has failed to heal itself and put an end to
my pilates, I did manage to get in some proper practice with a 40 mile ultra in
the Welsh Black Mountains in March, the Warsaw marathon in April and a 50 mile
ultra in the Shropshire hills in May. These were successfully completed
and gave me the confidence that I was in
good enough shape despite being horribly aware that this year I will turn 50.
Additionally
I had the motivation of running to raise money for Orange United – a
partnership between GSK and Save the Children, knowing that the sponsorship I
had raised (around ₤8,000 at the start of the race) would be matched by my company.
This was one of the things that would keep me going through the psychological
lows that most runners experience over such long distances especially when
tiredness creeps in and you find yourself up a mountain in the dark wondering
how on earth you ended up doing this again when you promised yourself and your
wife the last time that this really was the last time.
As
I trained, especially in the last few weeks I started to think a lot about what
I would write in this race report as a way of visualizing the whole experience
from start to completion, a technique I find works in so many areas of life.
I
also took inspiration from the race reports of previous years, notably from
that of Fiona Rennie who had overcome serious illness and would be lining up on
the start line to run her 10th West Highland Way race. I had learned
from so many reports that the pain and fatigue are temporary and the sense of
achievement will last forever as will the disappointment if you fail to finish.
That the race would also start on the longest day of the year - the birthday of
someone very special to me – was another sign that all would be well.
During
my last training run, I resolved that I would carry these thoughts, my mantras,
with me throughout the race. That last run along a rather flat 16 miles on the
country roads near my home I found more difficult than I should have, perhaps
due to the heat as well as and using a pair of running shoes I had not worn for
several weeks which resulted in a couple of blisters I could have done without.
Was I really up for this? 95 miles? Everyone else I read about or listened to
on the podcasts seemed to be running far further and more frequently in
training. I resolved to think as positively as possible. I was going to do this
and any doubts seemed to clear from my mind over the next 12 days when I did
little but rest which, along with three weeks abstinence from alcohol and two
weeks from caffeine, felt rather strange but I tried to get as much sleep as
possible, drink plenty of water and kept busy writing race plans, making lists,
checking kit, and re-reading previous race reports.
Then
finally the day came. On Thursday 19th June I took the early morning
LOT flight from Warsaw to Heathrow, meeting up with Dmitri before flying up to
Glasgow where a talkative taxi driver got us to the Premier Inn Bearsden about
a mile from the start. We spent the rest of the day relaxing, thoroughly
enjoying England’s humiliation at the hands of Uruguay in the World Cup, and
eating pasta before an early night.
Waking
at 7.30 a.m. on Friday we had a breakfast of fruit, porridge and toast and then
it was off to Milngavie to shop for vaseline,
plasters, insect repellant and a map of the route. It was hard to imagine that
in a few hours this sleepy suburb would witness the surreal scenes that would
illuminate its main street.
The West Highland Way begins in the heart of Milngavie, marked by a stone
obelisk while the race begins a few hundred metres earlier in the railway
station car park in front of this unassuming underpass.
Next
was a trip to the nearby Tesco supermarket to load up on what I thought would
need - sixteen bottles of Lucozade Sport, water, cereal bars, rice pudding,
bananas, dried fruit, cakes, chocolate, malt loaf and wine gums among other
items - checking the back of every item to select only things with the maximum
amount of carbohydrate per 100g.
Dmitri went off to meet a friend in Glasgow so after
stuffing myself with more food for lunch I went to bed to try to get some sleep
but could not stop thinking about the race and lay with my eyes closed trying
to visualize how the next couple of days would be. Later we watched Costa Rica secure
England’s World Cup exit by defeating Italy and then met up with my friend from
university Ian Brookes who lives in Dunblane and who had kindly volunteered to join
this small crew as driver and all round very organized and trustworthy person.
I put away more pasta and toffee pudding for dinner as
the three of us went through the race plan I had drawn up. The
plan described estimated times for each section, times for breaks of 10 minutes
at each checkpoint with an estimated finish time of 32 hours giving me three
hours to play with before the 35 hour cut-off that was the limit for the race
although cut-off times at each check-point meant that I would have to keep up a
decent pace throughout or face the risk of disqualification.
After
dinner we headed to Milngavie and registered early, being weighed (73kg in my
kit) before Ian dropped Dmitri and I back in the hotel for a few hours rest. We
caught then end of France v Switzerland and Dmitri took this photo in my rather
fetching outfit – black lycra and a dayglo Orange United vest.
I
tried to sleep but it was impossible. For two whole hours I lay awake as
excited as a child before Christmas before getting up at midnight. I walked to
Milngavie station car park eating a banana and
a cereal bar, aware that I would need all the energy I could muster for the
hours ahead and talked myself through the mantras I would recite to myself
throughout the race – a technique I had used during the 62 and a half hours it
had taken me to complete La Misión in Argentina 18 months before [read about my experience here].
The car park was already full of runners
and their crews, many of whom seemed to have camper vans with all mod cons
while my team boasted a modest hatchback albeit with the luxury of a folding
chair that Ian had promised to bring. All manner of fancy GPS devices were
checked and shown off while I checked the time on my ordinary wrist watch and
looked at the folded map one last time. At 12.30 a.m. Ian Beattie, race
director, gave a short briefing and then at precisely 1.00 a.m. we were off.
193 runners switched on head torches and trotted off
through the underpass and along the main street of the town greeted by
enthusiastic crowds. At one o’clock in the morning! Resolving to not get
carried away with the euphoria I settled for a steady pace towards the back of
the field as the path left the town and entered Mugdock Wood. Then suddenly the group slowed. A runner had fallen but many
people had stopped to help her and I hope she was alright.
Fairly quickly though the group began to spread out as
we got out into open country and passed small lochs and fields. I could see head
torches creating little pools of light bouncing along both ahead and behind me.
It felt magical and exhilarating feeling the cool night air and enjoying the
wondrous stimulation of the senses. I stopped to take a photo of the first
signs of dawn although in Scotland on this the shortest day of the year it
never really gets completely dark. Shortly afterwards we crossed a road where a
group of supporters cheered us while blasting out The Proclaimers from the
stereo! This is Scotland I smiled to myself. I was running the WHW and was
really enjoying this.
A
few miles further on and I passed the lights of the Glengoyne
distillery we had visited on holiday last summer and then the Beech
Tree Inn, a pub with cheering supporters – at 2.30 in the morning!
At this point I caught up with a small group of 5 or 6
runners headed by Fiona Rennie. Tucking in behind
such a famous runner and inspiring person made the next few miles pass quickly
and easily as the WHW moves for a while onto roads through tiny sleeping villages
before I reached Drymen at 3.25 a.m. I had now completed the first 12 miles,
just 10 minutes behind schedule.
1.45 a.m. and already
the first signs of dawn in the sky behind the distinctive
outline of Dumgoyne in
the Campsie Fells
It
was practically daylight so I turned off my head torch and by now fully awake I
started to munch on another cereal bar as the path continued into Garadhban Forest. This was the only part of the route that I had any
familiarity with having gone out for a run one morning and by chance finding
myself on the WHW while staying last summer with Dawn, a friend from Drymen who
used to live near us in Warsaw. Little did I know then that a year later I
would be running the whole WHW and Dawn would be meeting me at Rowardennan
later.
I chatted for a while with David Etchells through the cut-down
forest and then on the descent down the hill overtook a runner who shortly
afterwards let out a cry as she tripped and literally bit the dust. I went back
to check if she was alright but she was made of tough stuff. I realized how
carefully I was going to have to concentrate. Having had no sleep and with the
path covered with stones it would be easy to lose concentration for a second,
trip and then be out of the race injured.
After crossing the burn I started to climb Conic Hill
which was not too much of a climb but afforded a wonderful view of the
surrounding hills.
Climbing Conic Hill looking back at the spreading dawn
and the runners coming up the trail behind me.
But just a little further on the sight ahead of me was even more
spectacular.
The first glimpse of Loch Lomond and its islands as I
near the top of Conic Hill around 4.45 a.m.
This view did not
last long as almost immediately began a 1000 foot descent and I had to watch my
footing as the trail plunged into the forest and at 19 miles the first
checkpoint at Balmaha which I now know I reached in 4 hours 11 minutes,
comfortably ahead of the 5 hour cut-off and was in 177th place of
the 193 starters. Sadly at this point 4 runners pulled out, something that
would be a feature at each and every checkpoint.
This was the first
time I had arranged to meet Ian and Dmitri and I was relieved to see that they had
not slept in and were waiting to greet me as were the midges which swarmed
around the car park. I changed my running shoes, foot bandages and socks which
were beginning to rub a little, ate a couple of Mr Kipling’s exceeding good
country slices, took on some more Lucozade and headed off along the path
towards Rowardennan some 7.7 miles further on. This deceptive section
appeared on the map to be pretty flat along the lochside but the path kept
deviating from the road, taking me up little hills and sometimes crossing
shingle beaches which was tougher going but I arrived at Rowardennan to find
another midge-infested car park in 6 hours 30 minutes just 20 minutes behind
schedule (I had dropped 5 places to 182). Dawn’s hot strong coffee was a
welcome boost after several bottle of Lucozade Sport and was the first caffeine
in two weeks (a period of temporary abstinence I had copied from Fiona Rennie).
I was really pleased to see Dawn. She had got up early and driven out to
Rowardennen just to see me. We had a quick blether at a picnic table but ten
minutes later I was back on my feet and heading off to continue along the
undulating forest path which climbs away from the loch. The field was by now
very strung out but I was pleased to pass a couple of runners on this section.
At Inversnaid (33.9 miles) I was
ready for a sit down at the check-point manned by the Trossachs Mountain Rescue
which had kindly provided not only a chair but also a fan to blow away the
pesky midges. I collected the drop bag I had prepared and tucked into a tasty
rice pudding. Several runners passed me at this point including Fiona Rennie,
David Etchells and Robin Wombill so I felt guilty and headed off in pursuit but
they were soon out of sight.
I
had read on previous race reports that the next section was “technical” but
still was not prepared for quite how difficult were the rocks and tree roots
and ups and downs on this section which made it impossible to run without
risking life and limb which I was not going to start doing. I was taking it
slowly, but maybe too slowly and was passed by Scott and Lisa Talling who
seemed to skip along far faster than I was.
The time passed
slowly. The loch seemed never ending. I glimpsed a view of Island I Vow but it
never seemed to pass but then came Doune Bothy and Ardleish and I was at the end
of the loch. I knew the checkpoint was not far now and as I made my way up the
hill stumbled upon Dario’s post which I had read so much about and remembered
from the photograph on the website. The post reeked of whisky, a traditional
tribute that runners on the WHW race bring with them to pour over the post in
memory of the man who organised the race for a decade before his untimely
death. Just one of so many little features of this race that make it so unique.
At the top
of a short climb at the end of almost 20 miles running along the loch there is
a post dedicated to Dario Melaragni, former director of the West Highland Way
race.
Pressing on I caught up with Robin Wombill whom I
followed through the trees to reach Beinglas Farm almost an hour and a half
behind schedule having underestimated how slow my progress would be from
Inversnaid. As it turns out I was still in 182nd place with only 5
runners behind me. 11 hours 20 minutes had elapsed. By now I was only 40
minutes ahead of the cut-off and was beginning to get a little worried about this,
but I needed to take a slightly longer break as this had been a tough section
and after almost 42 miles and with the temperature rising I was beginning to
feel quite tired. It was quite tough to get going again but I needed to press
on knowing I had to make the cut-off at Auchtertyre about 9.5 miles further on.
The path climbed gently out of Beinglas Farm following
the River Falloch but before long there was another obstacle to be overcome - cows!
A whole herd was
happily grazing right in the middle of the path and seemed in no hurry to get
out of my way but I slowly walked through them and continued again before
crossing the road to the other side of the valley and entering the Ewich forest
above Crianlarich. where I had to answer the call of nature and left a generous
donation in the woods.
This was a tough
section with lots of climbs and it was now getting quite hot so I was pleased
to begin the final descent and come into Auchtertyre Farm. The section from
Beinglas Farm had taken about half an hour longer than planned but I arrived in
14 hours 39 minutes, 51 minutes inside the cut-off and was feeling good as I
ran into the check-point, at just under 51 miles. I was now over half way, the
equivalent of almost two marathons. I had made up 5 places and was looking
forward to probably the flattest part of the course since leaving Drymen, the
9.3 miles to Bridge of Orchy.
After
an easy flat section of around 2.5 miles appeared the village of Tyndrum where
according to our plan Ian and Dmitri were
kind enough to meet me again with a cup of tea from the café which I sipped on
the steady gentle climb as the valley opened up to reveal the path of the old
military road as it heads towards the cone-shaped Beinn Dorain with the track criss-crossing
the West Highland Railway which runs from Glasgow to Mallaig, often regarded as
one of the most scenic in the world.
Still an hour and a half behind schedule on reaching Bridge
of Orchy in 17.53 I had made up another 3 places but was just 37 minutes ahead
of the cut-off. I still harboured slight fears of being disqualified so again
could only rest for about 10 minutes as Dmitri prepared to join me on what I
knew would be a tough 11 miles to Glencoe. One feature of the race is that you
are allowed a support runner after Auchtertyre as long as you are no less than
four hours behind the leader. Well, the leader had just finished by the time I
had reached Auchtertyre with Paul Giblin shattering his own course record. So,
with Dmitri as company and with my feet in good shape, I was feeling very fit
and very confident that I would make it having reached the psychologically
important milestone of 60 miles.
Climbing out of the forest and onto open moorland
where the views soon opened up we came across the Scottish saltire flying on
the top of a hill. I knew that this would be Murdo, one of the legendary
figures of the race that I had read about countless times and Murdo meant jelly
babies! Every year this man stands all day on top of a hill dispensing the
little gelatin figures and I was amazed that he had waited for us back markers
for there were only 3 or 4 behind me at this stage.
A little further and
from the top of the hill we had a splendid view over Loch Tulla and towards the
Inveroran Hotel. We descended quickly to the hotel, passing a campsite and
crossing Victoria Bridge.
We jogged along the road, enjoying the relatively rare
flat tarmac section before the road started to climb again and become a track.
About here I stopped suddenly feeling really tired. It was now around 9 p.m.
and I had been on the move for 20 hours and awake for over 37. I just wanted to
lie down for a bit.
Dmitri
encouraged me and rightly did not allow me to rest for long and soon I was up
and plodding across the wilderness of Rannoch Moor, the highest moor in
Britain, and more bleak and empty a place you will struggle to find.
This section seemed
to go on forever and it was all uphill! Two runners passed us on this long
stretch but eventually we reached the top of the final hill and the descent began
with a view of the most iconic of all Scottish mountains - Buachaille Etive Mor - and the entrance to Glencoe. As darkness began to fall we reached
the checkpoint at the Glencoe ski centre just after 11 p.m. in 22.07, two hours
behind the plan but 53 minutes ahead of the cut-off. Now at 71 miles down,
further than I had ever run in one day, beating last year’s 69 miles on The
Wall. Just 24 to go! I was steady in 172nd place. Sadly this was the
point at which most withdrawals took place, mainly of runners ahead of me who
had had enough or were struggling with injuries. I felt fine. Tired but no more
than that.
Still feeling good
and revived with the still warm coffee Ian had kindly brought from home early
that morning we soon set off for the next and possibly most challenging section
over the ominously named Devil’s Staircase.
Crossing the main A82 road we reached the Kingshouse
Hotel and soon after passed a couple of runners who were going even
slower than we were and were clearly in difficulties. It was sad to see Robin
who was hobbling and did not look like he was going to make it. By the time we
reached the bottom of the Devil’s Staircase I was quite exhausted and beginning
to feel a bit low. I was entering my second night on the go so negotiated with
Dmitri a 5 minute rest when I would try to sleep. I lay down on the ground and
must have managed two minutes before he woke me and we started the climb.
One or two lights were
ahead of us working their way up the 1000 foot climb which we took slowly as the
path zig-zagged up the mountain. I was also conscious of a light behind us. We
stopped a couple of times but Dmitri kept trying to convince me we were not so
far from the top and soon after we did reach the summit the light behind caught
up with us. This was not in fact another competitor but Rhona and Ali – two of the sweepers who follow the last
runner. They told us that the runners we had passed about an hour earlier had
pulled out at the bottom of the Devil’s staircase which meant that I was
officially last in the race at this point.
We chatted and I was
relieved that they had no concerns about my state of mind or body with Rhona on
her blog describing me as a “very lucid and capable runner who was moving well and was mentally fine.” Thanks
Rhona!
Rhona and Ali then followed
us down the long descent of 1,500 feet into Kinlochleven along a track which
twisted and turned and never seemed to arrive but eventually we reached the
check-point at the community centre at 4.20 a.m. just 40 minutes ahead of the
cut-off.
I must say that by
now I was pretty tired. 81 miles in 27 hours 20 minutes. Almost 2 hours behind
schedule, but the worst was over. I can vaguely remember being weighed but with
no problems. The doctor was attending various runners in need of medical
attention who I guess had decided to quit. I saw several others sleeping on
mattresses which looked so inviting. I was told that I could rest but only
until 5 a.m. when they would close the checkpoint.
Dmitri and I both lay down but I could not sleep with
so many thoughts racing through my head. I started to think how inviting it
would be to stay here and call it a day. 81 miles isn’t bad after all. My body
was telling me it had had enough and I was not in much state to argue. I must
have fallen asleep for a few minutes though but at 4.40 the lights went on and
I was roused from the briefest of slumbers. I woke Dmitri who was fast asleep
and looked like he had no idea what was going on. He is a student after all and
not used to early rising! I told him I would be fine on my own and left Ian to
look after him and get him some sleep in the car. From somewhere I seemed to
get a sudden burst of energy and by just before 5.00 a.m. I was out onto the
empty streets of Kinlochleven feeling like I was the only person awake in
Scotland. I quickly found the innocent sounding sign reading 'Public
Footpath to Fort William via the Lairig'. The path climbs up through attractive
birch woodland but seemed incredibly steep and was very hard going. I was
worried I was somehow on the wrong path but soon found the track – part of the
old military road – and looked back at the superb view of the town and Loch
Leven. Just 14 miles to go and there was no way I was not going to make it. I
kept doing the calculations in my head – 81 miles done in 28 hours. Average of
2.9 per hour. 14 to go with 7 hours left = average of 2 miles an hour. Nothing
to panic about but I kept myself alert constantly checking the map and
calculating my location from the terrain around me and recalculating the time I
had left.
I
was sure I was still last in the race as none of the bodies lying in the community
centre looked like they were in a fit state to continue – although I was wrong
and one person left after me – Frits van der Lubben – who would eventually
receive a hero’s reception at the prize giving for coming in last.
The
road ahead looked bleak and miserable. The clouds were gathering and I knew the
forecast was for some rain but I plodded on and to my surprise turned a corner
to see a fluorescent jacket some way ahead. Probably a walker out early I
thought but maybe a competitor. I definitely did not want to be last so
quickened my pace and soon caught up with Scott Talling who had passed me about
50 miles before. He was feeling sick and was worried about not making it but I
tried to offer him some encouragement. I caught up with Lisa shortly afterwards
so had now overtaken two people since Kinlochleven. I was on a roll!
Soon
after I reached a vehicle surrounded by Scottish flags where a kind man from
the Mountain Rescue offered me some Irn Bru. This was lovely but I really did
not feel like eating or drinking anything let alone this fizzy bright chemical orange
liquid, Scotland’s other national drink made famously from girders, and carried
on. I had eaten nothing but a couple of wine gums since Glencoe but just didn’t
feel like anything even though it was by now around 7.00 a.m. and time for
breakfast for normal folk.
The track continued,
passing a few old ruined buildings and then to my surprise I saw Ian coming
towards me. He had come out to meet me and we walked together for a mile or so
until reaching Lundavra where not only Dmitri
was waiting refreshed after a couple of hours sleep in the car but also John
Kynaston manning the final check-point just 7 miles from Fort William. With
still around 4 hours to reach the end I could afford to stop and enjoyed
another rice pudding as Lisa and Scott passed me.
After Lundavra Dmitri and I took it slowly through the ups and downs with
him assuring me that we were nearly there. I overtook Scott once more who
seemed much happier and soon we got to the fire road looping through the trees
with great views of Ben Nevis across the glen that took us down to the main
road and the last 2 miles into Fort William.
The official finish of the West Highland
Way but the race ends a couple of hundred metres further on.
Ian
met us on the road and took a photo of me by the sign marking the official end
of the WHW after which I made my dramatic sprint finish into the Lochaber
leisure centre and the end of the race. I had done it. 33 hours, 54 minutes and
21 seconds after leaving Milngavie I had covered the 95 miles, not too far off
my target of 32 hours and with more than an hour to spare before the dreaded
cut-off. I finished 155th of 193 starters. There had been just 36
withdrawals with 157 finishers.
I
am now one of just 895 people who have completed the race in its 30 year
history and am now a proud member of the WHW family.
All
of a sudden it was over. I was weighed and appeared to have lost 3kg and was
asked to have a word with the doctor but she could see that I was perfectly
fine and suggested I have something to eat. That I was weighed without my
rucksack probably accounted for most of the weight loss although I had eaten
far less than planned.
There
were only two more runners still to come in so with nothing worse than swollen
feet and a desperate need for a beer we headed off to take our seats at the
prize giving.
A very
proud moment – shaking the hand of race director Ian Beattie, chairman of
Scottish Athletics, at the finish.
The
award ceremony was a very special occasion. I thought I would fall asleep
waiting for 154 runners to receive their prizes before it was my turn but I was
wide awake and enjoyed how each and every finisher was warmly applauded in
turn. Unlike many of the others hobbling to receive their crystal goblets I was
able to bounce down the steps and receive my prize from John Kynaston.
Too
early to check in at our B&B we had a cup of tea and a toastie before taking
a shower and collapsing in bed for a four hour sleep after 55 hours with hardly
a wink of sleep – the longest I have ever been awake. That evening we
celebrated with a few beers and dinner before I fell asleep watching Portugal v
USA and the next day took the West Highland Railway back to Glasgow (well,
until the overhead wires came down and we had to get off at Dumbarton) and then
a plane back to London and off to work.
For
a couple of weeks I barely thought about the race, glad that I had done it but
also relieved that six months of preparation was over. I ate and drank what I
like and enjoyed a week’s holiday with the family after my second son Daniel’s
graduation. But now, three weeks on, I find myself terribly nostalgic. As I
write this I keep thinking how three weeks ago I was lining up at Milngavie and
who’s to say I won’t be back again next year!
Finally
I would like to record my immense thanks to Ian Beattie and his whole team of
people who volunteered to make this event so special for me and also to Ian and
Dmitri, without whom I would not be able to have done it. The West Highland Way
race is without doubt a very special event. I can highly recommend it.
Two
minutes after finishing
My wonderful support crew – Ian and Dmitri
Father and
son
