Marathon #10: September 2020 – Lairig Ghru Hill Race

ANOTHER REAL LIFE RACE!

I ran this marathon for Grace.

This race was supposed to happen in June but was never actually cancelled, instead the organisers took entries without payment and said they would monitor the situation and try to put the race on “before the end of September”. I hoped it would be September since I already had an August race, thankfully it was!

Having said that I was hoping the race would happen, when entries did open I was in two minds whether to enter. It’s an A to B race though a mountain pass, this means that start to finish is an awful long way round by road. Normally there is a bus to take you back to your car at the start but this wasn’t going to be running due to COVID. Leaving a difficult logistical problem of getting to the start in Braemar and home from the finish in Aviemore.

Thankfully Ali decided to head to his parents near Inverness for the weekend meaning it wasn’t too far out the way to pick me up in Aviemore on his way home, I organised a lift to Braemar and we were good to go!!

With Ali and the kids away for the weekend, I kept myself out of trouble by cycling to the pub with my neighbour and going kayaking on the Saturday morning: probably not the best prep for a marathon!

Early Sunday morning and Garry (aka Splasher the dolphin) collected me and we headed up to the start in Braemar. It was so good to see other runners and orienteers that I knew but there wasn’t much time for chat. After a socially distanced registration and kit check, 6 of us were marched down to the start and we set off.

To comply with covid regulations the runners started in groups of 5 or 6 at 5 minute intervals with slowest starting first. Four of us from my start group ran together for the first 10ish miles up past Derry Lodge and we enjoyed a steady pace with some chatting.

When I ran this race last year I had no idea what to expect and I struggled for the first 14 miles or so up to the boulder fields. It is so rocky all the way and hard to get going. I found once I hit the boulder fields though I started passing people and it gave me such a lift that I picked up my pace and finished strong, totally buzzing in pretty much dead on 5 hours.

So this year, the run up to the boulder field was going better than last and I was expecting that same lift at the boulder field as most people hate it and I quite enjoy skipping over them. I started to think I might smash last years time, even worried Ali might miss me finishing!

And then folk started passing me: the faster runners who had started later were now skipping past me. These people that I normally never see in a race as they’re well ahead from the start. It started to take the wind out of my sails. And then I got to the boulder field and found I couldn’t skip over them like I usually can, a niggly voice in the back of my head telling me that I only had two marathons of the challenge left to go and now really was not the time to break an ankle. And there was no one for me to overtake, no moral boost. And certainly not much hill fitness after a lockdown spent, well, not in the hills!

So, head down, trudge through the forest at the end, no more pictures, get the job done! And then, just as I hit Aviemore, the eventual race winner and running legend, Robbie Simpson, cruised past me, having started a mere TWO HOURS AND TEN MINUTES behind me. He gave me an encouraging shout out though, and I thought this might be my only chance to finish a race anywhere near him, but alas I still couldn’t keep up with him even for the last 800m!

So I staggered into the finish, 14 minutes slower than last year, but to a lovely welcoming committee of Ali and the kids.

I do love this race but it really is brutal, how the top guys cover that terrain so quickly is completely beyond me! But I’m determined to get strong enough to do better, maybe next year!

This one didn’t have a medal so I also entered a virtual race so I could get a medal for my hanger: