Devil report

Look at these 2 happy chappies! It's 5.30am and Mr Race Director was raring to go. I, on the other hand, was still half asleep and went over on my ankle minutes after I took this photo!

Weather conditions were good at 6am as the race started. Cool with a slight breeze. The Runner and I went for a leisurely cooked breakfast in The Green Welly which was open specially for the race. Beardie, Hippy Chick and Allyski had to dash off to make sure they were at Bridge of Orchy in time for Mr Record Holder.

We arrived at Inveroran where we had arranged to meet Mr Race Director in plenty time to see the front runners run down the hill. The Runner thought some people were a bit fast but everyone looked comfortable enough. By this time the midgies were starting to appear. We wished everyone luck through our midgies hoods.

Next stop was Kingshouse where we met with Sonic and his Laydee with a Baby. By this time it was starting to rain. It was windy and cold. But the midgies didn't seem care. They were out in force. Sonic bravely drank a coffee I made him that ended up being half coffee/half midgie! The Runner ran up the path to met with Mr RD. Later he said Mr RD was looking good but by the time they reached me he was "having a bad patch." We poured lots of Coke, 'suicide gel' and banana into him and sent him on his way.

45 mins later we met him at the bottom of the Devil's staircase. He looked and felt much better. The Runner changed into his running gear and they both set off up the hill.

I drove on to Kinlochleven and noticed that my ankle was starting to really ache. I parked in the usual place and set up the wee stove etc to heat the soup and water for coffee. The Runner planned to have some (tinned)soup here. Most cans now have ringpulls on them and the beans, spaghetti and tomato soup cans I brought all had one. However, the chicken soup didn't. Undaunted I got the tomato soup ready to heat and then sat in the car, not expecting them arrive for ages. M&M stopped briefly for a chat but the midgies were horrendous so he kept on moving. He was running back to Kingshouse.

Just as I was thinking there were about 20 mins before my runners appeared I got out to start warming the soup and making coffee. I got out the car to find The Runner approaching. They were ahead of schedule. Mr RD was running well despite being at the back of the field. They set off in good spirits with the sweeper and I was left to clear up. By the time I left Kinlochleven I was the only car left. Even the officials had left!

As I left the town my phone went crazy. I hadn't had a signal since Kingshouse so the 5 texts and 3 voice messages, from people wanting to know how it was going, all arrived at the same time. I pulled into a layby as I knew I would lose it again by the time I reached Lundavra. Beardie had left a message to say that Mr Record Holder had finished in a new record time. 5 hours 22 mins for 43 miles!

As I drove up to my favourite(!) place at Lundavra I knew that my ankle needed some medical attention. I took my shoe and sock off (big mistake) to find that I had a tennis ball sized puffy lump around my joint. I raided my first aid kit and sprayed it with freeze spray. Didn't work. I tried to put a Tubigrip on it but it was the wrong size. So when The Runner and Mr RD arrived we quickly changed the plan. Mr RD set off with the sweeper and The Runner took me to A&E at Fort William.

Fortunately, I was seen very quickly. An x-ray ruled out a break and I was bandaged up in plenty of time to see Mr RD finish in a fantastic time of 10 hours 45 mins. Well done! Just look at the determination as he crosses the finish line with 5 other runners behind him.

Tired but happy!

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It really was a pleasure to provide the backup. He's much nicer and is more appreciative than The Runner at checkpoints!

After the race there was much talk about the 24 hour race in Perth. It looks like a few runners are planning on being there. I guess I should start practising putting up the new tent The Runner bought for his base!

The Devil!

Tommorow is The Devil o'the Highlands race. I'll be doing my usual backup role but this time it won't be for The Runner. We have the honour of providing backup for Mr Race Director (aka The Godfather) himself. I'm looking forward to it and am sure it will be an interesting experience for The Runner to see what it's like from my end.

Beardie is also providing backup for another runner although I suspect his runner (Mr WHW race Record Holder) will be faster than ours!

Hopefully I'll see all the usual suspects tomorrow. Good luck to all the runners.

Storm in a DD cup or An Inch too far!

Since The Runner has decided that he'll probably do the 24 hour race at Perth next month, I was a good wifey yesterday and accompanied him on a training run. He has already blogged about it so I'll spare you the details. However, he didn't blog about my attempt to run round the loop at the North Inch.

I hadn't planned on running as I was feeling rubbish when I got up but it was a lovely morning and there were lots of runners running round the loop. And The Runner was trying to run at a very slow pace (which matches my normal pace!) so I decided to join him on his last loop. Big mistake.

Yes, I had my trainers with me but I was wearing thick joggers, a cotton vest top and mostly importantly a pretty pink underwired bra! I know, it's a girl thing but a good sports bra is essential for those of us, ahem, blessed with larger boobies. And I own several of them (bras that is!) but unfortunately wasn't wearing one. Let's just say it probably didn't look pretty and I still have both eyes!!

I think the following photographs sum up how we each felt at the end of our efforts.

Told you it wasn't pretty!

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Someone looks happy!

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I guess I'm just not a natural runner. I'd love to be but hey I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it. If I'm fit enough I'll do the 10k at Inverness. If I'm not, I won't.

Happy Anniversary!

Today we celebrate 22 years of marriage. How strange to think that all those years ago neither of us knew any runners or anything about ultra running. The Runner had completed 2 Glasgow marathons in his late teens but running in any more races was the furthest thing from our minds in 1986. Who would've thought our lives together would have been this fun?

How to live with a grumpy Ultra Runner

If you live with an Ultra Runner, it is certain that you will have to deal with grumpiness due to injury, poor results in a race or worst case scenario - a DNF.

Here are some handy hints should you ever find yourself in that position.

Injuries

If the injury is a recurring one, memorise the most effective treatment so that you can offer appropriate advice as soon as it happens. Your runner will be impressed that you know how to treat ITBS or groin strain.

If the injury is a new one, then spend hours on the internet googling the symptoms and asking other runners for their tips.

If the injury is severe enough to stop your runner from running, then you need to have a range of distractions to take their mind off not running. Suggestions from personal experience include taking up another sporting activity (like golf) to spend quality time together, a family holiday, romantic distraction (I don't need to elaborate further, do I?) or food poisoning (guaranteed to take their mind off not running!)

Poor race results

Now this one is a bit trickier. Again a good memory is useful as you can suggest many reasons for a poor result. Like

1. You've been working very long hours
2. You didn't have time fit in all the training you needed.
3. The day itself was too hot/cold/wet/windy.
4. You had a dreadful journey getting to the race.
5. You had a cold/virus/food poisoning the week before.
6. You didn't eat/drink enough before the race.

There are some things we just don't have control over but meticulous planning can avoid some of them.

DNF

This really is the worst of the scenarios. If your runner has to drop out of a race, then something serious has happened. In my experience it's usually down to an injury (see above tips) or a virus.

A virus is the hardest thing to deal with. Unless you get a blood test PDQ from a willing doctor, you just don't know what it was. You also have to take post-viral tiredness into account as well. So, effectively it's a double whammy.

The best advice I can offer in this case is to stock up your whisky cabinet and let your runner wallow in their misery for a few days/weeks depending on the importance of the race. When you've just about had enough of their greeting face, tell them to get their running shoes back on and JUST DO IT! Remind them that running is supposed to be fun. If that doesn't work, advise them to take up knitting!

OMG! I poisoned The Runner!!

We had an unplanned hospital trip this evening to A&E in Stirling.

We had just left the house to drive to Stirling when The Runner said "I feel a bit funny." By the time we reached the village 4 mins later his whole head, face and neck were red. Not just a bit red. I mean REALLY REALLY BRIGHT RED, as if he had sat in the sun for 24 hours without suncream. He still wanted to go to Stirling so I insisted we change places so I could drive. By the time we got there 15 mins later he also had a splitting headache.

Now sensible people like me would go straight to A&E to get a medical opinion. Not The Runner. I insisted on calling The Doctor to get his opinion. Funnily enough his advice was also go to A&E. Since The Runner always waits for someone else to confirm my opinion on most things, we then went straight to Stirling Royal Infirmary.

In medical matters I would usually expect that doctors and nurses know what they're talking about. However, I was a bit concerned when the triage nurse said she'd never seen anything like it! But when the doctor said she'd never seen anything like it either I was extremely concerned!! And when she said she'd go and Google his symptoms I was nearly on the floor!!!

After a quick Google she came back and diagnosed scrombotoxin - food poisoning from eating oily fish and sometimes Swiss cheese. It's a naturally occurring bacteria in fish like mackerel that becomes toxic if inadequately kept chilled. It can occur any time from the time the fish is caught until it lands on your plate. Within an hour of eating the symptoms appear. The Runner ate 2 fresh mackerel fillets 30 mins before we left the house.

Fortunately his symptoms died down quickly after some paracetamol for the headache and an anti histamine for the rash. The sickness and diarrhoea took a bit longer! He's fine now.

I wonder how much mileage The Runner will get out of this. Many years ago I got a speeding ticket for doing 83 mph on an empty bypass. I was teased mercilessly for years until he got one himself! Any cracks about my cooking will earn him a week of eating sandwiches. Tinned mackerel and Swiss cheese ones!!

Crieff 10k

Ok, so the last post wasn't really the last post! I thought I'd share some thoughts on today's 10k where I was the Race Director.

I'm sitting here with a large glass of Chardonnay and a huge sigh of relief that everything (more or less) went to plan. We had 250 finishers and had a new course record to boot. But my goodness I'm so tired! I can't begin to imagine how The Godfather organises the WHW!

Like many events that have been going for a few years, the organisation of 'stuff' relies on those club stalwarts that have always manned the water station or put out the signs or baked the cakes or manned the car park. Without people like these many races could not be run. I am extremely grateful to them all!

First the funny stuff. As Race Director I get all the emails asking stooopid questions. Like -

How long will it take me to get to Crieff?
How hot are your showers?
How deep are your prize categories? (from an American!)
Where can I get lunch in Crieff?
Can you describe the course? (from a lady who ran it last year!)
Have I already entered the race?
What shoes would you recommend? (the most popular question)

As Race Director I didn't have a job on the day. But that meant I had to deal with every problem that arose (and play with radios!) Luckily there weren't too many things but there was a gala on nearby that was also using the field for parking. Unfortunately, they were going to be charging for car parking and someone(!) decided to charge our runners for parking. As soon as I realised what was happening I went to investigate. As usual there was no-one in charge and the guy taking the money gave me an 'I'm only doing what I'm told hen' answer. So if you were charged £1 to park, please accept our apologies. At least the money was going to a charitable cause.

We had our first serious injury where a lady runner fell and bumped her head. She knew her name but unfortunately not much else. I'm VERY grateful to The Fireman (who was our sweeper) for coming to her rescue. (Isn't that every woman's fantasy!!) Luckily I was able to get her and her partner back to the pavillion where she got medical advice. It's every Race Director's nightmare to have a casualty. I'll find out how she is tomorrow.

It's curry night tonight where some club members go out on the town. I'm really looking forward to not cooking tonight. Just got some paperwork to do and that's the race over for another year. If you were running in it, I hope you enjoyed it. If you weren't, why not and see you next year!