I will start with a little of the background. The Cateran was my first serious race since the double last year. following the DC I took about 3 months to recover and with only the GO33 on my radar I decided to do Glen Ogle as a training run. I was unfit, overweight and mentally not ready to hurt myself, so my GO33 performance was sub-standard (although the route and the after party were sensational). It was a kick up the arse and I went back to basics, spending November working on tecnique and form. Since then I have never run in anything other than minimal shoes, occasionally sandals, and a few times barefoot. I also saw a coach (the legendary Julian Goater) to work a little more on technique. Bare in mind that by November last year I was training hard for the DC. In December I intended doing Marcothon. I managed up to Christmas Day but it was often a late night 3 miler owing to being away on exercise. My main aim for 2015 is the Lakeland 100 so I wanted to train hard from January, which started well. Soon however I got ill and then once I was training again I got a disc problem in my lumbar spine which crippled me in March. Whilst my overall mileage was similar to last year, there were fewer long runs (max 22 miles vice 32 in 2014) and fewer interval sessions. Plus my back was still a little sore and didn't inspire hard downhill blasts.
In my head I wanted a sub 10 hour finish (originally I had been thinking sub 9 but all the setbacks shelved that plan months ago), but mainly I wanted to get round and pace fairly evenly. I also used this race to improve my drop bag content and checkpoint discipline. My usual approach to drop bags is to wander round the supermarket thinking what I may like to eat and then stuffing it all into a bag and crudely taping it up. At checkpoints I then sit down tearing it apart and losing what I did want and taking things I don't, like pork pies! In short, lots of fannying around and zero forward progress.
Marc Laithwaite (L100 Race Director) posted some great race nutrition articles which I read. I decided that I would use Osmo in my fluids to get some carbohydrate then supplement it with humous, avocado and lettuce wraps and home made energy balls (oats, manuka honey, peanut butter and chia seeds), and finally shot bloks. I only packed enough to account for 60g carb per hour, plus a babybel and a sachet of baby food as mental insurance for my strategy. The rest would need to come from body fat (I still have plenty of winter reserve to use up). I had also worked out how much water I would need for each leg. Having marshalled the Fling at Inversnaid, I saw so many different strategies and drop bags and realised there was much room for improvement. So I laminated labels and used small neat bags. They at least looked the part.
I was intent on arriving early enough to see the start of the 110. That race means so much to me as it was my first long ultra. It is a serious challenge within tough time limits (30 hours this year). Several people I met at last years event were back with a score to settle. I went a little way up the hill to watch them start their great adventure. Morgan and Gregor Heron led at the stile. Those back for seconds knew what was coming and went out more conservatively this time. I then set out to mark the 3 miles from Spittal of Glenshee for the end of their first lap which many of the double runners would do in the dark. The highland coos seemed very passive as I marked, tested and remarked the trail to ensure maximum chance of successful navigation for the tired runners.
After a great feed (thank you Helen, Sandra et al) at the Gulabin Lodge (superb new venue), I decided it was too early to sleep and there was a race going on, so I talked Derek Fish and Iona MacKay into going to Alyth to see the runners go through. It felt really special, just like it had when running last year. My cheers and encouragement were deep and heartfelt. I could really empathise with their suffering.
And so the morning came and the tail end doublers were coming through. George Chalmers looked dreadful but I told him he looked great. At half way last year I thought I was finished but I came good again 5 miles later and stayed strong for another 35 so I knew he would come good too. I desperately wanted him to finish.
The dawn was lovely and sunny and just right for a race although the wind strengthened considerably later. I intended to pace on heart rate, using the same percentage of LT as Robert Osfield used in the Fling. For me that meant a target HR of 140, not to exceed 143. I started off slowly and was caught by John Kynaston who was using a similar strategy. I knew from Strava that he has prepared well and I expected him to be slightly faster than me. This was borne out in HR, where I was often at 144 to maintain his pace. I was enjoying his company and our chat so I just continued. We ran together comfortably through Dalnagar, high fiving the marshals (Noanie and Donald) and on over to Glenisla.
We saw Ali Black (DC) who looked pretty grim just before the big hill. He later got timed out at Blairgowrie, but continued from Alyth knowing he wouldn't make the time. Brave man and a courageous performance. We saw George and Alan Cormack just before Glenisla. I was pleased they had teamed up. I was delighted to see George moving well. They finished together and seeing George cross the line really did make my day.
So to the 80's disco (sorry, checkpoint). John is a master of CP discipline and it showed. He was fuelled, took photos, gave hugs, shared a joke and was away before I had sorted my shit out! I was happy though, it was a huge improvement for me. I may well start using bottles as this will speed things up. I'm just nervous about losing food storage at the front because if it's not accessible I won't eat it.
On through the diversion, I trailed John by 50 metres, but he went off piste for a short way and I shouted him back as we continued together. We passed 3 Doublers Craig MacKay, Peter MacDonald and I think Gordon Halliday who all seemed to be in good spirits if moving a little slowly. Peter again had blisters and was pulled out at 80 miles the same as last year; heartbreaking. A couple of miles later I had a stumble and needed a pee so John moved ahead to catch Johnny Fling who had been a short distance in front of us for some time. I would see John all the way to the final climb but never caught him again. I predicted a 20 minute gap and at the finish it was 12. Not bad guesswork. Just before Alyth I eased off a little and several runners caught up, including Chen. I sorted my food out, then sorted my head out and struck out to Drimmie Woods. I was catching Mr Fling on the hill, then ended up catching Jo Wilson and ran with her and a guy whose name I never knew (fellow Englishman) and we chatted on the drop to Blairgowrie. I didn't stop here other than to look at the Minions! I left the others and wouldn't see them for a few hours until the finish, but now caught Keith Ainslie, who I had often seen and heard of but never met. I felt ok on the climb and pushed on, also catching John Moffat (déjà vu from the DC last year) who looked strong. I congratulated him on an excellent UTMB and kept going. As I hit the fields I saw a runner approaching fast. It was Elspeth Luke, clearly on top form and pacing her run well. I stayed with her for a mile or so but couldn't keep my heart rate at 140. In fact it was now an effort to keep it at 134 and I felt that lack of endurance and dipping into the tank slightly earlier had caused this. Nonetheless no one else caught me. I meandered along thinking of the last time I crossed the moor with Lynsey Mackay.
I felt good at Bridge of Cally and remembered passing the 100 mile mark soon after here last year. I was alone all the way to the swampy bit and even then I could only see a couple of others ahead (including the lime green clad Mr Kynaston). The road to Kirkmichael was tough with a strong wind and newly laid sharp stones which smarted having chosen minimalist shoes (a first for me in a 50 mile plus race). I was now plodding and not feeling great. At Enochdu, Noanie was cheering and told me to pull my finger out. I caught a small group in front and we all pushed as hard as we could until a pecking order was established which remained until the finish. 10 hours was out of the question so I just enjoyed the final couple of miles and trotted in for 10 hours 22 minutes and 56 seconds. Not particularly quick, but I had completed my first long run of the year without any real back issues or injury. This was vital as preparation for the Lakeland 100 which will be a couple of orders of magnitude tougher.
Noanie again popped up and offered me soup. After that were a happy pair of hours eating and watching friends come in. For some it was their first ultra and a huge achievement. It's a leg sapping (if beautiful) route and at times can be lonely. The biggest cheers were reserved for the double finishers, especially Morgan, Alyson and George who all exorcised their various demons having gone to some dark places over the previous day and a bit.
The after party was fantastic and this year I actually managed to be lucid and to drink whisky from my quaich! I even won a raffle prize which was a selection of mouth watering running goodies. It was great to spend time with old friends and make many more through the medium of shared passions, shared hardship and shared whisky. As a race the Cateran Trail Ultra is hard to beat in 55 or 110 format. As a weekend experience it is without peer. It needs to be experienced to be believed, but it is the friendliest family of runners and volunteers you could ever hope to meet. A huge thank you to everyone who helped, marshalled, crewed, cooked, encouraged, dressed up, timed, etc. Well done indeed to Karen and George who organised the races in such difficult personal circumstances and with a new HQ, not to mention Mike who gave up his own chances of winning the 55 to stand in as RD for the 110, a true mark of the man. It was also great to see George on his feet and making progress. Sadly I will be overseas for the race next year but I will definitely be back for the best weekend on the calendar!
