Adventures Up North

My planned weekend destination

I decided to make the most of a request to work in the far North of Scotland again by going for a fortnight and spending the middle weekend being a tourist. My plan was initially to take my bicycle over to Orkney but the weather forecast curtailed this plan. In fact, the weather significantly altered the whole weekend. 

I arrived into Kirkwall in the darkness of Friday night and spent a good part of the night listening to the wind howl and the rain pour down. Unfortunately (for me) I'd volunteered to help out at parkrun in the morning, so I was forced to don rainjacket and get myself down there. The weather kept so many people away (there were even white caps on the tiny boating pond) that I was actually able to run as well as volunteer afterwards (it was one way of keeping warm I guess), and it also meant that the celebratory cakes (someone's 50th run) were shared amongst a rather small number of us hardy people.

Whilst there, I received a phone call from the ferry company to say that they were cancelling all ferries that evening and the next day, as it was predicted that the weather would only deteriorate, and so my only option of returning to the mainland at all was early that afternoon......still, I guess it means I am still keen to revisit the island to actually see something of it!

Safely back in Wick that night, the North Highland Harriers (NHH) came to my rescue for something to do on the Sunday. They were staging the Caithness half marathon (starting halfway between Wick and Thurso) which was doubling up as the North of Scotland half marathon championships. The championship status of the event meant that I could just mosey round and enjoy myself without any pressure to chase some of the speedsters going for regional titles.

The Caithness Half Marathon route

The weather on Sunday didn't seem nearly as bad as predicted.....yes it was windy, but the rain had stopped.....and the seemed to be quite a buzz around registration. We were then all walked across the main road to the start (up a side road......though this was actually slightly delayed as the roads were open so we had to let some cars go by). I didn't really recognise many people in the field, except for a few of the NHH that I'd met at one of their evening runs during the week (but then again, not being from the area, it is rather unlikely that I'd know many people).



A lonely run

On a windswept course

I started near the back of the field and so spent the first mile just getting my legs moving and working my way through the pack, passing several ladies in the process. I spotted a couple of NHH guys away in front but just settled into my own pace, though I confess to getting rather frustrated by one runner in particular. Every time I managed to pass him, he'd then up his pace, sprint past me, cut in and slow down again......as if he was doing a weird kind of fartlek session. After almost falling several times as he did this, I decided to take things into my own hands and put it a slight burst to pass him and get away, but unfortunately this also meant that I pulled away from the two NHH guys I had been reeling in and hoping to run with. 



Another solo section

The first four miles were rather isolated windswept ones, heading mainly uphill out into what seemed like the middle of nowhere, and I wondered exactly what I'd let myself in for. The fifth mile however, turned sharply right out of the headwind and headed downhill back to the main road. I knew that there was a short section where we had to run along the verge of this road and so I was very glad to close up on my friend Kenny and tuck in behind him as we ran along facing the traffic.

Catching up to Kenny

A friendly marshal waved us off onto a minor road and we decided to help each other out, running the next few miles side by side, chatting whenever possible (it wasn't the flattest of courses, but it seemed easier when you had someone to run with). There was a hairpin at about the 7.5 mile mark and I remembered the map at registration showing that we had about 4 miles to run straight along this road heading back towards the start, and hence we then had the benefit of a tailwind (though the benefit of a tailwind never seems as good as the detriment of a headwind).

Into the final 100m

We each felt like we were flagging in places and although Kenny pushed on and dropped me a couple of times, I managed to get back to him with about half a mile to go. He had previously mentioned that his kids would be waiting for him at the end and that they'd never seen him race......which was a great excuse for me to give up and not even try for a fast finish so that he had a clear run in (the man ahead was long gone.....).

Spoils of the day...swopped for more cake!!

Still, I have to say that I was pretty happy to finish in 3rd place overall about 9 mins clear of the next lady. I was actually quite happy with the weather as it had led to slow times (and I couldn't have run a fast time anyway) and hence the speedsters had stayed away......and the smaller field also meant that there was more of the "all you could eat" cake for me at the finish.....happy days!

World 50K Champs

Having spent a few weeks enjoying my own running, it was time to give something back, so on returning from the Rockies, I had a very short turnaround in London and was almost immediately heading off to Romania as team manager to the GB team at the World 50K Championships.

Leaving London 

We had tried something different in the run-up and marketing of this year's event to the UK runners and proactively contacted fast marathoners that had not quite run GB representative marathon times in their sprint races. Several of them were interested in stepping up to the 50K distance and so, on selecting some of them, along with some more seasoned 50K runners, we had a really good team of 5 men (1 had to withdraw prior to the event due to injury) and 5 ladies. On paper, I secretly thought that our teams were some of the best, and in an ideal world hoped for both individual male and female medals, with a strong possibility of our ladies being the fastest team and our men in with a good chance of third place.

Team Management looking tired!

Prior to the event, I was "officially" managing the women, but as with previous events, the men often contacted me with questions, queries, worries and injury issues anyway. When it came to the actual trip, there were only 2 of us on the management team, which actually worked better than having more people involved as although it was hard work, you knew that you had to get on and do things yourself, rather than thinking someone else was dealing with a specific issue, only to find out later that you had to sort it out yourself after all.

Catching up with old friends on arrival

Team GB at the ski resort

The journey there was not ideal, as it took a very long time, but budgets dictate how we get to the race accommodation and how many nights we can stay there. Having solved more lodging dramas on arrival (some athletes had been put into double rather than twin rooms, and some rooms just had a glass window dividing the toilet and shower from the beds), it was a relief to fall into bed for a few hours myself.

None of our runners were needed for the press conference (being "novice" ultrarunners, our fast marathoners were rather sub-radar) so they could relax, stretch their legs with a jog/strides and focus on the upcoming events. I, on the other hand, ran around the place (we were staying in a ski resort half an hour away from the town staging the race) making sure everyone had water, food, the correct race kit, and attending both welcome and technical meetings (we'd arrived too late for me to take up my place on the panel of an ultrarunning conference).

The flag parade

By the time this was all done, we just had time to meet up with our athletes, talk through their race plans, discuss any questions/queries they had about race day, and get them on the bus down to the opening ceremony. As opening ceremonies go, this one wasn't as long as the ones I've attended before some of the 100k champs, but in the distance the teams have to parade, and the length of time everyone has to sit, listen to speeches and watch dances. Even so, you still get grumpy runners, who just want to eat, drink and go to bed (though I always prewarn them to take food and drink to such official ceremonies). 

Presenting "Team GB"

"Listening" to the speeches

We made sure they were all fed, watered and tucked up into bed....and then went through their race plans/drinks bottles etc to ensure we knew who needed what at what point in the race, and discussed a possible order that the runners would come through the aid stations. The course consisted of 1 small loop and 6 large ones, so we would have an aid station at the start/finish of each loop, and at the far point of the long loop. I was going to man the far point as I'd managed that successfully in the 100k in Croatia last year.

My aid station

Unfortunately for me, it meant that I did not get to see the runners starting the race, but Spencer (the other member of team management) and I kept in touch by What'sApp about how our runners were doing and what they had taken/might need that they hadn't planned on, every time we saw them. 

I have made various friends at these events over the years and so it is always good to be able to catch up with people, both runners and support crew. The support crews provide good banter when we're out on the road all day, and I like being able to cheer other nationality runners on by name (and actually ended up handing water to people, I knew representing Poland, Ireland and Argentina as they had limited people there assisting them). 

It was great to see some of our guys in the big leading men's group as they came past on their first long lap, whilst both Aly and Helen were running solo races in clear first and second positions in the female race. Some of our runners were metronomic with their pace and picked up exactly what they had asked to have handed to them (and nothing extra), but as it was a relatively hot day, I was handing extra cups of water to many of the team. They all did brilliantly, though possibly not quite as you'd have scripted it beforehand, especially the men.

Dan Nash

GB did end up with the individual bronze medal in the men's race, but it was 50k debutant Dan Nash (our youngest runner) who came through so strongly in the last lap that he moved up from 7th to 3rd place and set a new British record by about 5 minutes (and the previous record had stood since 1985). He was backed up by great team performances with 3 men in the top 10 (all 4 in the top 20) and so they did pick up team bronze behind South Africa and Germany (with the USA not featuring as highly as we'd expected).

The boys cheering Aly home

Aly Dixon led the ladies' race from gun to tape, only looking slightly tired as she came past the final time. I screamed at her to go get that record.....and she did it, not only rewriting the British record, but also setting a new 50K world record (from one that had also stood for many a year). Helen Davies had one of the standout performances of the day for me, as she was not far behind Aly, also way under the previous British record, and she had done this whilst being unable to get away for any warm weather or altitude training, as she has 2 young boys at home.

Our podium getters in drug-testing

Team Gold!!!!

Our other ladies also proved their mettle with the team winning gold by a considerable margin, so the atmosphere afterwards was brilliant....not one member of team GB came home without a medal, equalling our tally from the world 100k in Doha 4 years ago! I was so proud of them all, and delighted to have been able to support and watch it all unfold on the day. Go Team GB!