The Time We Missed Him

The Runner has requested I tell the tale of the time we missed him. I think he just wants to show that I've been a bad back up person in the past!

I can't remember which year it was but it was an early one (I was still learning!) We had parked at the Inverarnan Hotel, gathered up the stuff we thought The Runner might need and walked along the road into Beinglas Farm. I have to point out (or I'll get a row from Mr Race Co-ordinator) that Beinglas is not and never has been an official checkpoint. However, many backup teams meet their runners there mainly because it's been a while since we've seen our runners. It's physically impossible (at least for us) to go to Inversnaid and then drive round in time to the Derrydarroch checkpoint.

So we trudged up to the farm and set up our stall. We hadn't seen The Runner for about 3 hours and have no idea how he's feeling. The minutes tick by, passing the ETA on the schedule we have. The Bearded One had disappeared back along the Way (remember he does this a lot) to try and spot him. Finally The Bearded One reappears and shouts "He's just coming. He wants coffee and a jam roll."

Mistake No 1 - I didn't have a jam roll with me! I had soup, Nutrigrains, bananas, jelly babies, flat coke, water, coffee but no bloody jam roll.

Mistake No 2- The Runner arrives looking absolutely ghastly. I tell him he looks awful.

Mistake No 3- I tell him he didn't ask for a jam roll to be ready here. It wasn't on the master list!

I think we gave him some soup instead but he was not a happy chappy. We filled up his water bottles and he set off. He estimated it would take him about an hour to reach the 1st crossing of the A82 but warned us he wasn't feeling great so not to worry if it took him longer.

We trudged back to the car with all the stuff. We noticed that The Stagger Inn across the road was now open and serving breakfast. I can't remember who's great idea it was but we decided we would go for breakfast. The Hippy Chick and I went for the full Scottish. The Bearded One had clootie dumping (carbo loading for his later run). Our breakfasts came on a sizzling platter and was beautifully presented. The bacon was cut into little fat free strips, the eggs were a perfect circle. It was truly a work of art on a plate.

We ate up, made a toilet stop in a lovely clean bathroom (these things become important as the day goes on) and set off along the road to the 1st crossing. We got out the car and started to set up. We checked our timings and expected The Runner to be along in the next 5 minutes. We were approached by a Man from the Ibac Van who was someone else's back up. "You've missed your runner. We filled his water bottle and fed him."

Aaargh!!! He'd only taken 52 minutes to get there. We flung everything back in the car, yelled our embarassed thanks to the Man from the Ibac Van and set off again. We pulled in at a farm gate further up the road. The Bearded One got out his binoculars and started scanning the Way. After a few anxious minutes he finally spotted him. We started yelling and waving and jumping up and down to attract his attention. The Bearded One then did the loudest most piercing whistle I've ever heard (he is descended from a well known cattle rustling clan so it's probably genetic!) That did the trick. The Runner spotted us and waved. At least he knew we were ok and hadn't decided to go home!

So what did we learn from this?

1. At every checkpoint have EVERYTHING ready and available, just in case. The jam roll incident gets cast up regularly.

2. Never tell your runner how awful they look. They already know they look and feel awful. Lie to them!

3. Allow extra time to get to the next checkpoint. You can't predict when your runner has a good spell and makes good time.

4. Be aware if a runner comes in and can't find his backup. Fill his bottles and feed him if he needs it. This is where the community of the backup teams becomes outstanding. Don't forget to let his back up know he's ok if they completely miss him.

5. Bring your own breakfast. That's how the tradition of a fry up at Rowardennan started for us.

Someone once told The Runner his backup looked very professional (remember looks can be deceptive!) We've made a lot of mistakes along the way but we've learned from each one. I'm sure this year will be no exception and something will happen. But that's part of the fun!