Track Wars - Legends edition, with Phoenix Running, 12.09.2025

Back down to Phoenix for a mini break running round and round a 400m athletics track for 24 hours!  

Travel report: when I did this event in May, I tried to be clever and save annual leave (it's precious!) by getting the evening flight down from Inverness after work on the Thursday. This backfired, as the plane was very delayed, so I didn't get to the hotel till after midnight, and got 4 hours sleep, which isn't ideal prep the night before staying up running all night. This time, I thought I would learn from the experience, and be sensible and take a few hours annual leave, and get the afternoon flight. This actually also backfired, as the flight was even more delayed than last time, but all in all, it all worked out better than last time, plus I finally got to finish my book during all the waiting, and was still in bed by 10.30!

Race report: We started off at 08:00 on Friday morning, in the anti-clockwise direction around the athletics track at the Xcel Sports Hub in Walton-on-Thames. The direction changed every 3 hours, when Rik (the Day Cone) / Gavin (the Night Cone) would appear at the timing mat, and we would all run around him and change to running round the other way. This saves getting too dizzy, and also prevents issues from running the same way around the curves of the track for too long.

Chat report: Sarah and I ran the whole way together, which provided 24 hours of opportunity for chat-athon-ing (it has been a full 2 weeks since the last one)! Gavin joined in for an evening marathon, plus there were lots of other catch ups with my Phoenix pals. A very lovely 24 hours!

Weather report: Weather wasn't quite so lovely! Well, it was to start with, nice and sunny. Then came pouring rain, followed by sun again, more pouring rain, repeat, repeat, thunder (exciting!), loads of rainbows (never seen so many!), spiteful wind. The night was cold and sometimes wet, and Sarah and I spent a lot of the night shouting bad words at the weather, which of course had no effect whatsoever, but made us feel better.

Nutrition report: finally did a 100 miler where I didnt feel sick!! At all! Beyond excited! Did better with eating small bits regularly, like salted oranges (thanks Sarah!)....

..... juicy fruit, mint chocolate, humbugs, Babybells and grapes, ginger, sandwich, 8pm pizza etc. Did well with hydration too, and was super proud of how much Sarah and I wee'd and of it being a pale straw colour! The things that you find exciting when you do endurance running and are a dietitian! 

Body report: everything felt good and I didn't need to take a single headache tablet. Felt a bit tired overnight, which is to be expected. Feet hurt! Annoying, as I've spent years working out how to manage foot problems on long runs and thought I'd got a strategy sorted. Still, running the whole time on the same surface is hard on the trotters I suppose.

Wildlife report: lack of wildlife (probably all stayed away/ went somewhere better due to weather) until Saturday morning when all of the birds arrived! 

Summary report: 412 laps, which is 102.4 miles. Today marked my 7th time doing a 24 hour track event, which I guess means I've spent a whole week of my life running round a track. Woops! Thank you Rik and Team Phoenix for a brilliant event! And to Gavin for manning the aid station overnight (after working, and then running a marathon) and for the lift to the airport - you are an actual legend! Thanks Sarah for an, as always, very fun 24 hours! And very well done to all on an epic weekend! 

Speyside Way 50km, with Moray Way Ultras, 16.08.25

It was nice to do an event again after a few weeks of entertaining myself running wise.

The race was organised by Moray Way Ultras, and started at the Tamdhu Distillery, in Knockando.

The night before, we stayed at The Delnashaugh hotel, an old fishing lodge, about 15 minutes drive from the start. It was proper old school, and excellent. Our room was called "Polly's Poo", which the manager explained had been a typo on the original sign, which was meant to say "Polly's Pool", after a nearby salmon fishing pool, but they liked the typo, so kept it.

In keeping with interesting signs about the place, outside our room I found this:

Which turns out is the motto of several Scottish clans, and is a warning "Don't touch the cat without a glove", using the fierce Scottish wildcat as a metaphor to tell rivals to be cautious when disturbing the clan, as the clan members are ready to fight back. Gee wizz!

It was a leisurely 11am start, as there was also a 100km going on which had started at 5am in Aviemore. I was a bit sad to not be doing that one, to be honest, but I just couldn't figure out the logistics.

Andrew dropped me off (thank you!) at Tamdhu, and I registered, and saw Liz! 11am came round quickly, and it was time for the off (supervised by the dog at Thistle Timing)!

The first part of the route followed the old Strathspey Railway. It was nice and runnable, mostly under the trees, and very pleasant. Speyside is whiskey country, and the smell of malt permeates the air all around!

After 15km or so we got to the first checkpoint at Craigellachie. The checkpoints were all well stocked, and were run by really great volunteers.

After this, the part I was apprehensive about; the climb up Ben Aigen! It actually felt better than I was expecting, and I managed to run most of it. From here, it was down, then another spirited uphill, before dropping down again to Fochabers and the second CP at 36km.

The last section followed the river Spey to the coast at Spey Bay, along the old railway line to Portgordon. I was feeling tired by then and not really in the mood. It was hard going underfoot, and I had a fall (my third in a week!!). Still, you just keep on keeping on, and every step gets you closer to your goal.

The final few miles were along the cost to the finish in Buckie. Great atmosphere at the finish line, and I snuck in under my target of 5 hours.

All finishers got a nice goody bag. I've noticed that all events I've done in Scotland so far have included a beer/ whiskey at the finish!

Irn Bru ice cream at the the finish with Andrew, Donald, Robert and Freya!

Thanks Moray Way Ultras for a great event and Stuart Ross Media and Ray Liversidge for the photos!

From there, it was over to Aviemore for a mountain day, and to focus on one of my new projects - The Munroes....more on that another time!

Marathon at Sunset Running Festival, with Blast Running, 05.07.2025

Had a blast, at Blast!

My first time running with Blast Running, and it was brilliant. 

Continuing with the trend of my lack of appreciation of how big Scotland is when looking for "local" events, the journey to the start actually turned out to be a 3.5 hour drive from home. But luckily, the event had an unusual start time, at 3pm, so that left plenty of time to get there on Saturday morning without a super early start.

I wasn't sure what to do nutrition wise with a 3pm start. Events usually start in the morning, so having some breakfast 2 or 3 hours before starting is usually my go to plan. I settled on a warm cheese scone and an Americano at Killiecrankie on the drive there at about 11.30, which seemed as good a plan as any to try.

Killiecrankie is notable, as during the Jacobite Rebellion in 1689, the Jacobites took the government forces by suprise and won, at the Battle of Killiecrankie. And in other historical facts, just before this, in 1680, the last wolf in Britain was killed here.

Back on the road, and got to Edinburgh. The event was along Silverknowles Prom which is on the Firth of Forth a couple of miles north of Edinburgh city centre. I had no idea what it would be like, and it was a beautiful spot!

Registered, and met Craig and had time for a good catch up at the Boardwalk Beach Club (an Edinburgh version of Sydney Opera house, with a Christmas tree in the loo) before the run. 

There was a 3pm start for the 6 hour event and for marathoners wanting to start earlier. There were maybe around 100 people starting then, and it already had a great buzz about it. At 5pm there was a bigger start, with the rest of the marathoners, half marathoners, and 7km runners joining in, and it suddenly turned into a pretty big event! 

6 x 7km laps made for a marathon. The course was great, if a trifle windy going in the easterly direction, which became a bit wearing after a while. 

It was really to catch up with Craig after far too long, and along the way we caught up on months of news, travel tips and marathon ideas, explored all the things a 2p can fix (and could it fix a hangover?), and I picked up some charm tips, whilst Craig practiced each lap to become (even more) charming. It was really good fun, the miles seemed to pass by quickly, and we even managed a negative split (not usually one of my strong points) and came in at 3.56, so that was nice. 

It was really well organsied, there were marshals all along the course who were really fun and funny, and at the end we got a glass medal, a can of beer, haggis crisps and some juice, which was all very wholesomely Scottish. I would recommend Blast Running, and hope to be back! 

June events

North of Scotland LDWA, Highland Coast 2 Coast marshals event, 36.2 miles, 14.06.2025

The North of Scotland LDWA do a wonderful thing, in that they put on a "marshals event" for people helping at the main event, so that anyone marshaling and wanting to do it still gets the opportunity.

The Highland Coast 2 Coast is a crossing of Scotland, from Ullapool on the west coast, to Ardgay on the east coast. The route is a low level route, following lochs and rivers along three valleys, with a small amount of hill to get between them.

I've done two NoS LDWA events before; the Laich o'Moray 50, and the Speyside 100, and since moving to Scotland, we've joined it as our local group. It was a great day getting to know some of the members, what a lovely bunch!

We were to be at Ardgay for 6.45am, in order to be on the minibus at 7am for the journey over to Ullapool. The journey over was a highlight in itself, as the mountains and lochs sailed by.

The forecast was dreadful, but the weather actually held until the evening, so we escaped getting too wet at all.

We set off from Ullapool harbour a little before 9am, and Andrew and I walked with Graham and Sue for the first section. Such good fun getting to know people and learning about their stories, and the miles flew by. 

The first section was up and into the first valley and along Loch Achall, along the Rhiddoroch river, to the first CP at Rhiddoroch Lodge. Along the way, we met two free running sheepdogs out on the hills, who took it in turn to herd us for a few miles. 

Roger did a sterling job looking after everyone at CP1 with hot and cold drinks, snacks, and pizza (until one of the sheep dogs ran off with the last slice). 

The next section went up to the high point of the walk, then along Loch an Daimh, past the bothy at Knockdamph, and along some muddy landrover tracks. 

Next it was on to the river crossing at Abhainn Poiblidh. The river wasn't too high, and Dave and John had kindly rigged up a rope and were there to help everyone across if needed.

Then it was a mile or two along Glen Einig to CP2 at the Schoolhouse Bothy, where Alison and Roger had set up a comfy CP, which even had milkshakes!

From CP2 the next section was mostly through the Croik Estate, and along Strath Cuileannach. Saw loads of deer! 

CP3 was at Croik, opposite the church (a significant location in the Highland clearnaces), where Roger had managed to leg it over from CP1 via CP2 and set up another fabulous CP in his car boot, even with deck chairs and a stove, although the midges had gatecrashed the party!

The last section was along a quiet lane along the River Carron, all the way back to Ardgay and the sea at Dornoch Firth, to complete the walk across Scotland!

Julie had prepared drinks and food at the end in Ardgay Hall and it was so nice to have a sit down and good chat with everyone. Absolutely loved the day, and so excited to have walked across Scotland! Thank you NoS group and all those on marshaling duty for being so amazing! 💚💙💚

Saltire 12 with Rebel PT, 59.8miles, 21.06.2025

I've never done a 12 hour event before, so thought it would be fun to try out something new! My first time running this event, which was organised by RebelPT, and it was brilliant!

The event was held at Knockburn Sports Loch, which is slightly south of Banchory over on the east coast (near Aberdeen). Andrew, Tricia and I made a road trip of it, and went over east for the whole weekend, and did some sightseeing too.

There were 6 hour, 12 hour, and 24 hour events all starting off at 10am on the Saturday, and solo runners and teams taking part. 

The weather was all encompassing; started off with the haar fog, then got sunny, humid and hot during the day, followed by big winds, a downpour, and then back to being hot. The weather is never boring in Scotland! 

The route was challenging, but brilliant. 4.2 miles, from the event village by the loch, a tiny bit on a tarmac track, then the rest was on rough trails. We headed first part way up Kerloch Hill, a great section along a track lined with pine trees and heather with lovely views, a nice downhill part, across the moorland and to Knoll Gallacher....

... then back down, through the campsite/festival village, woods....

...round the loch, up the evil hill, back down it, and past the start to "dib our dobbers". 

The marshals were incredible! 

Met some lovely people and it was a nice way to spend a Saturday. The evening was gorgeous!

I did find it tough, but I enjoyed it and managed 59.8 miles in 11 hours 50 min, with almost 5000 feet of ascent, and came 2nd lady and 4th overall.

 

Thank youRebelPT for an excellent event!

North of Scotland LDWA, Highland Coast 2 Coast marshaling on the main event, 28.06.2025

Up at 3am for a 5.30am start at Ardgay Community Hall for marshalling duties on the Highland C2C event! 

Early morning duties included car parking (Andrew and Dad) and registration (me, and my Mum also put in a shift before setting off to the start of the walk!). The start had a great buzz about it; people registering and getting their tally cards, fitting in some last minute tea and toast, and general pre-race faffing. 

Once everyone (157) were registered, the coaches set off at 7am to the start all Ullapool, so participants could walk/run back to the finish at Ardgay.

We then had a marshals breakfast, before having the day to ourselves, before going back at 5pm for the evening shift.

That was epic! Andrew and I were on serving duty - directing finishers to a table, taking food and drink orders, getting this from the kitchen and making sure everyone had a good meal to recover. The marshals in the kitchen were just incredible - making a two course meal for all 157 people (plus marshals) all ready in time for whatever time people finished, and all in a little village hall kitchen! 

It was such a nice experience, chatting to everyone at the end and celebrating people achieve a crossing of the country on foot!

Big congratulations to my Mum, aunty and cousin who all completed the walk in excellent time. And all other participants!

It was a brilliant experience, and served as a reminder of why I love the LDWA (especially NoS!) and what a fantastic organisation it is. All credit to NoS LDWA group and all the marshals for putting on this excellent event!

Got to bed at 1am, and slept so well!