The Devil’s Cut Short

My last long run before the big day… and it was a hot one!

Victoria Bridge to Fort William

09:38 32.74 miles 6:00:47

Average 11:01 min/miles

I’d stayed at the Crazyboy household overnight to make travel easier in the morning. I dragged myself out of bed, and feeling a little tired after a later night than planned, got myself ready. I then sat on the sofa to relax whilst waiting for Crazyboy.

Watching Crazyboy get ready in the morning was like watching Faulty Towers. Mr ‘lack of organisation’ was running around grabbing all the things he hadn’t already packed, as myself and Mrs Crazyboy called out things he had probably forgotten, and had! Needless to say we were running late by the time we left!

We met Pete (or Father pacepusher-in-law!) at Hardgate, loaded everything into his car, and were off towards the starting point, still unsure where I was going to run from. I couldn’t decide if I should start at Bridge Of Orchy, or just set off from Victoria Bridge, the other side of the hill. I didn’t decide until I was almost there, settling for the shorter distance, and enabling me to run with Crazyboy from the start.   

Victoria Bridge to Kingshouse

9.16 miles 1:28:20  Average 9:39 min/miles

Even at 9:30am it was very warm. I was trying something new today, wearing shorts not cycling shorts, and applying Vaseline more often. I’ve been struggling badly from chafing on previous runs and really felt it was a problem I had to solve. I now have, I was pain free all day, and felt more comfortable overall. So Vaseline applied, hydration belt attached, sunglasses in place and WHW race Buff twisted, turned inside out, twisted again, then placed on my head randomly, we were off!

The scenery was amazing. I have hated this section in the past, so today I took time to admire the scenery, looking backwards now and again, and to enjoy the run. It made a big difference and we both really enjoyed it. Crazyboy just kept making comments like, “this is amazing!”. He’d not even been to this area before, let alone had the chance to run in it. I have a new game plan when reaching hills which is to slow down and keep going for as long as possible. By doing this, the big climb towards the end of Rannoch Moor didn’t seem anywhere near as bad as it has before. Maybe I’m just getting stronger though.

Crazyboy was finding the footing difficult coming down the hill towards Kingshouse. This is something I have not considered recently. As I have run on the WHW more and more, I have found myself thinking about the terrain less. I realised that I now run over the rocks confidently, lengthening and shortening my stride, and side stepping as necessary to select the best footing. As someone who has only run on tarmac, Crazyboy commented, “This isn’t running, this is dancing!”.

A comment from a walker, “are you practising for the 21st”, and we were in Kingshouse already!

Kingshouse to Altnafeadh (Devi’l Staircase)

2.92 miles 27:56  Average 9:34 min/miles

After a break of just over 5 minutes (5:20) I was off again, this time on my own. I had eaten a pot of baked beans, drunk a bottle of chocolate milk, ditched my hydration belt, and set off with a bag of salted potatoes and a bottle of water. I loved running towards Buachaille Etive Mor on the road. On a day like this, it’s a phenomenal sight. I actually enjoyed this whole section. I hardly stopped to walk, and slowly ate my potatoes throughout the section. The potatoes were easy to digest and I’ll be adding them to my race day menu.

As I had the camera, Pete took this photo of Buachaille Etive Mor from Kingshouse with my phone as he waited for us. What a view! I love Glencoe, so why would I not love running through it? …ask me that on 21st June when I’ve already covered about 72 miles!

 Altnafeadh to Kinlochleven

6.14 miles 1:15:54  Average 12:21 min/miles

After pouring the remainder of my water bottle over my head (it was really warm now) I grabbed my hydration belt and Crazyboy, and set off up the Devil’s Staircase. “How do we tackle this?”, Crazyboy asked. “Head down and keep moving!” was my suggested tactic!

Crazyboy had really wanted to do this section after seeing the WHWR DVD and we were moving well. I had my determined head on and Crazyboy was relishing the experience. After a quick photo stop we carried on pushing up the hill, passing loads of walkers. I took the photo to the right whilst we were walking (cue title, ‘A Shadow Of Our Former Selves!’). Nearing the top, Crazyboy suggested a 30 second rest, “nope!” I said, “were almost there”. After climbing for a distance of about a mile, and for about 20 minutes, we were at the top, swapping cameras for photo mementos with an American couple. We got chatting and they told us we had, “burned up there!”. They were doing the WHW over 7 days, Crazyboy told them my plans and when I said I was hoping to do it in about 22 hours, they almost fell over. As we left I told Crazyboy that I was going to tell the next people that asked that he was Jezz Bragg and was hoping to achieve a sub 15 hour time!

The hard part over, Crazyboy broke into a sprint, suddenly the terrain not bothering him so much. I followed and we made great progress over the rest of this stage. When we reached the final stage of the path down into Kinlochleven, Crazyboy began to feel the burn of the downhill. We kept pushing on though and we were soon arriving at Kinlochleven about 15 minutes ahead of schedule, Pete relaxing in the sun next to his car.

The view in both directions from the top of the Devil’s Staircase made the climb very rewarding. Crazyboy was stunned by the view ahead as he reached the summit.  

Kinlochleven to Lundavra

7.53 miles 1:23:12  Average 11:03 min/miles

My break was too long at Kinlochleven (8:20) as I had been hoping to maintain breaks to about 5 minutes at the most. I had eaten a pot of beans, drank coke and a pint of milk, and then eaten a piece of carrot cake. I had also applied yet more Vaseline. I decided to run with just a bottle of sports drink and some Jellybabies, leaving the hydration belt behind.

I was on my own again for this section, crazyboy having a well deserved rest. He was really helping to keep me going, and was making the whole experience more enjoyable with his own enthusiasm. He was loving the comments we were getting and the fact that people thought we were mad!

Setting off up the hill from Kinlochleven I was feeling a bit sick. The carrot cake had been a few calories too far, and I didn’t touch the Jellybabies at all over this section. Reaching the top of the hill and beginning my run across the Lairig Mor, I was struggling. The path continued to climb and the terrain was very uneven. I wanted to run and get into a stride but time and time again the terrain, not the inclines, meant I had to walk.

It was really, really, hot now and I was struggling. Twice I used my Buff to wash my face and neck from streams, and put it back on my head wet to try and keep cool. It took me a while to finally get into a stride but when I did I was moving well, generally under 9:00 min/miles. I managed to run most of the hills later on, and really started to move as Lundavra got closer. I had no idea of the exact distance over this section and it seemed to go on for ever. I had run out of fluids about 2 miles from Lundavra and was really thirsty, seeing Pete and Crazyboy with the car full of supplies was like an oasis in the dessert. This had been the toughest section, and is one I will not be looking forward to on race day. At least it won’t be as hot then though!  

Lundavra to Fort William

6.89 miles 1:06:20  Average 9:38 min/miles

Back on track with my break time (5:20), I’d had a large drink of water, more coke, and a Lucozade Alert. I couldn’t face anymore food! I put my hydration pack back on, making sure I had a bit more fluid than the last stage, and set off, once again with Crazyboy.

Twice I stumbled over the first 100 meters. My legs were tired, and I was struggling to get moving. We walked the climb away from Lundavra, then I broke into a run. I don’t know where it came from (I’m guessing the caffeine from the Lucozade Alert) but I was flying, Crazyboy was struggling to maintain my pace (He hasn’t run anywhere near this kind of distance since the Edinburgh Marathon last year!), and was a bit behind throughout the section. I suddenly felt great, and really strong, and was even attacking the hills. Crazyboy became me when running with Sonic previously, shouting from behind, “this is a hill, shouldn’t we be walking?”.

Add some of this to your race day menu…pure energy!

We were out of the woods in no time and I couldn’t believe it. Last time I ran this I felt it was never ending. Hitting the downhill path to Fort William I was off. I remembered JK saying that he ran all the way from the Stile coming out of the woods and I was aiming for the same. I also knew he had run this section in 1 hr 7 mins, so I wanted to be faster.

Crazyboy was struggling to keep up as I hit just over 6:00 min/mile pace down the hill, I was loving it! Hitting the relatively flat stretch towards the Braveheart Carpark, I slowed trying to let Crazyboy catch me,  but he just wasn’t gaining so I decided to push on. Pete was in the carpark so I left my hydration belt with him, told him to point Crazyboy in the right direction, and pushed on. Hitting the road, and despite covering 32 miles already, I was running at a relatively comfortable 7:00 min/mile pace. Picking the pace up further from the roundabout to the leisure centre. I was delighted with my time (which was faster than JK’s - result!) especially after struggling over Lairig Mor.

Crazyboy came in not too far behind me, having done well throughout the day. It had been a great run, but a very hot one, and the shower at the leisure centre was bliss!

Lessons from the run… Shorts and Vaseline work better for me than cycling shorts. Salted Potatoes are a good addition to the race menu, as is Lucozade Alert. I am in good shape for the race, and ready to go!

Thanks to Crazyboy for running with me, it made it much more enjoyable. And to Pete for his support (again!), I really couldn’t have done the run without you!

It’s now taper time for 3 weeks until the big day. What am I going to do with myself?