Loch Ness Mark 2

We flew to Inverness on Thursday 30th and returned on Tuesday 3rd October. The trip is etched in the happy section of my memory – even the marathon bit. Everything went well, B&B, eating out, sightseeing, bus trips, a boat trip and miles of walking. Then the main reason for the trip was the 26.2. A record entry of about 2,500 was handled very well by the race director. It was quite a spectacle as a convoy of over 40 buses took us out to the middle of nowhere for the start. A bit like the Seaview but on a grander scale as motorcycle outriders blocked off side roads and held traffic back at roundabouts.

Lesley and I were upstairs on a traditional double-decker and it had to be the one without a toilet resulting in us making a pit stop in open countryside for a female runner who was over hydrated. She handled the huge round of applause with some dignity. As we approached the drop-off point it grew bleaker, windy and rather wet. There was a bit of a rush to sort out running gear (helly and gloves!), get the bags on the baggage bus and the find Lin and Martin in the crowd. Imagine 2,500 runners crammed onto a single track country road, with slightly boggy ground either side, trying to warm up or keep warm.

We knew Lin and Martin were going for fast times – maybe even prizes, so we pushed to the front and found them by the start line eyeing up the Ethiopians – a bit optimistic we thought, but it turned out to be a very good position. For some reason there was space at the front. Maybe because there were chip times the bulk of the runners hadn’t pushed too far forward. So there was room to stretch, run through the start and even jog next to the Ethiopians as they limbered up. However prizes were awarded on gun times so the front line was a good place to be.
Lesley and I were going to move back but a wall of runners behind us meant we were caught and had to start embarrassingly close to the leaders, quite an experience. It was a fast start – lots of downhill,( although other runners insisted it was more undulating than I remembered). Best case scenario – on a fast course with a tail wind I had hopes of 3:30 at 8 mins per mile. I knew that if I dropped to 9 min/mile or 3:56 Lesley would surely beat me (for the second time) a fact I couldn’t cope with.

I clocked the first 7 miles at about 52 mins, which if maintained would put me on about 3:15, obviously with a lack of training and a history of stomach problems that would be a miracle. Fortunately slightly more demanding undulations slowed the pace and I still felt very comfortable up to 11 miles. After a couple of poor miles I felt OK again and sped up until 16 miles. At this stage I was still about 4 mins under 3:30. Other runners were very friendly – seeing my SWRR-Exeter vest one local runner called out “welcome to the Highlands, nice to see you,” as he eased past. Someone from Coventry tried to engage in conversation as he used to live in Exeter, but at this stage being sociable was lower on the menu than normal!
At 18 miles one of the undulations turned into a small hill, but it hurt like a big hill. My pace was slowing and although the sky was brightening and the sun was out my spirits were getting a bit low. Negative thoughts began to nag, “why bother, just stop now, no more pain”. Funny how there’s always another voice that says “just keep going, you can finish”, and it’s always a real high crossing that finish line. The main fear of course was that Lesley would come steaming past leaving me in her wake. (She admitted later that if she had seen me injured, sick or dying ahead she would run alongside a big bloke so I wouldn’t see her). I did plod on – no walking- but by mile 24 my left knee was hurting and the last 1.2 miles took over 12 mins. I really needed the spectators help to keep running to the finish and was very pleased with 3:42:27. Lesley finished not far behind in 3:49:07 knocking a massive 9min 10 secs off her previous PB, although in the crowds I didn’t find her for another 90 mins.

I did spot Lin and martin already changed and heading for the prize giving! Both looked refreshed although Martin looked a bit different when he smiled – something to with a sticky energy bar and a dodgy tooth. Was he smiling on any of his race photos? Talking of which, look at the brilliant photos of Lin and a rival female sprinting to the finish after 26.2 miles! Well done to the Lascelles excellent planning – they even forsook their excellent campsite and parked overnight next to the registration in order to avoid any stress. Starting at the front was crucial as on chip time Lin was 4th, but on gun time she was 3rd making a huge difference to the prize awarded. I was obviously the most photogenic with 11 photos on the race website.

Post script from Lesley. I had a pretty good race and finished in a time I was very happy with. More stats: I was 48 mins at the 10K point – faster than I have finished some 10K races, and 1:50 at the half-marathon point which would have been a PB. One of us at least had time to look at the scenery, and although for the most mart it had to be glimpsed through the trees, now and then there were good views of the Loch and Urquhart Castle which we had visited two days earlier. Another good place was the village of Dores, where the inhabitants were out in good numbers to cheer us on. Up the hill at 18 miles and still going strong (apart from the right calf which I’d had to put tubigrip on at about 8 miles. Was glad to see the 20 mile marker, always feels like you can start to count down the miles from there. At 23 miles we were on the outskirts of Inverness and by my calculations I knew I should finish under 4 hours and possibly in 3:50 if I kept up the pace. The spectator support was growing from 24 miles, and it wasn’t long before the river and then the bridge were in sight. This was so welcome as it was only just over half a mile from the end of the bridge to the finish. Richard mentioned the photos – he looks so happy to be crossing the line. Although I was really glad I’d made it under 3:50, and I felt happy enough, the photos show a different expression.

Four days later and Richard is bounding around and has been out running. I’m still hobbling around like an extra from a zombie film – the calf muscles have just totally seized up and won’t work.

(I may not have beaten Richard but age-graded I was 71% and he was 65% !!!)