Revived from the food and shut eye at Carmyle Cottage, I made good progress run/walking along to Bogle Glen, then walked up the Ewich forest full of beans. I must admit to not really enjoying this as much as usual, as the panic stop had brought home to me the seriousness of the challenge, and how much lay ahead.
Refreshed after a short rest, running away from Carmyle Cottage
I ran down the final forest descent, out onto the road, and Steve was waiting there to take my orders for the crew stop.
Can't remember what I said, but I know that by this point I was struggling to eat, so chances are whatever I asked for I didn't want by the time I got there.
Passed two walkers, who turned and said to me I was doing great. Turns out that Steve had asked them to do so. Bless.
On the approach to the farm and the checkpoint Hendo ran out to meet me, and I may or may not have been grinning as we ran into the checkpoint together.
Then met the crew and it was like an F1 pit stop. Everyone had something to do, and it all revolved around me. I think I was probably too exhausted to savour the fact that the world really did revolve around me at this point. What a waste.
Then Santa got ready to escort me to Tyndrum, as buddy runners were now allowed, and the crew wanted to gauge how I was doing when moving. Plus Santa was chomping at the bit to get out and stretch her legs.
This is a section that I usually find difficult. Not because of the terrain, as after everything that has been covered to get to this point, it is comparably very easy running. But because every time I have run it, I have been stopping at Tyndrum, and the last miles of a run I always find the hardest and longest. Today though, it was a middle section, and with Santa dragging me along by running a dozen yards ahead, it passed quite pleasantly.
We arrived in Tyndrum and I was treated to a drink of banana milk, something which by the end was about the only thing I could consume, apart from water.
Didn't stop long here, as it wasn't a planned crew stop, and I only had 7 miles to the next official checkpoint at Bridge of Orchy.
As I ran up the hill out of Tyndrum, I took a drink from my camelbak bladder. Or I tried to. The whole thing was dry. I remembered Hendo filling the bladder up at Carmyle Cottage, and telling him to only put a small amount in, figuring a lighter back pack would assist my recovery. We must have forgotten to refill at Auchentyre Farm.
I turned around but the car was gone. I didn't have any reception on either phone. Knowing it was an undemanding 7 miles, and that the temperature was quite cool, I carried on without. Past the Tyndrum Water Station. lol.
The run was quite uneventful. I ran and I walked, and my ipod shuffle battery died. Having taken two (one for walk songs, the other for run songs) I had realised before the first crew stop that the first had broken. It has since been binned. But I still had my iPhone, and knowing that listening to music used hardly any battery, was happy to do so.
I started to get very thirsty halfway along, and it wasn't helped by having the river twenty yards away and numerous streams running under the path to get to it. But I didn't feel desperate enough to risk the muddy coloured liquid, and having got some phone reception on the approach to BoO, was able to text a request for someone to come out with some water. Santa met me just after the station, and then flew back down the hill with my order.
I was looking forward to the next section. It's not even three miles, and consists of a climb up and a climb down, but I love it. It’s the first time you get to experience being high up on the moorland, and as I wanted to do Rannoch Moor alone, it would be a chance to Steve to see the moors, however briefly.
We plodded up quite contentedly, climbed to the very top by the cairn, then legged it down the hill. We flew. And I loved it.
Enjoying the descent to Inveroran
Arrived at Inveroran to meet the crew with a huge grin on my face.
Had a packet of crisps and some ribena here, but because I didn’t want to stop, I ate and drank on the move. Which of course meant that within a few minutes I was carrying rubbish. Luckily I saw some other crews at Victoria Bridge, and I cheekily asked if I could leave my rubbish with them.
So onwards and upwards. For the gentle climb up to Rannoch Moor. I love this section, but today it was more a case of ‘get to the end’, rather than ‘enjoy the view’. Plus there were quite a few other runners here, and it detracted somewhat from the feeling that I was all alone on the moor.
But then the now familiar feeling of sleep deprivation started to kick in, and this time I knew it would be a bigger battle than before, as darkness would soon be setting in, and thus my fight against my body clock would be almost impossible. At least with the Carmyle Cottage stop, I had daylight on my side, keeping me awake.
But I had got a text from my crew to say they were at Blackrock Cottage, and did I want them to stay there. Once I got reception I texted back an emphatic ‘Yes’, and knowing that they were there waiting for me, and that I could rest once more, I pushed on and ran as fast as I could to the car.
Except they had by now left, and were enjoying the hospitalities of the Kingshouse Hotel. But the approach to Blackrock Cottage is a long one, and after I texted them to say that I was within sight, I still had a fair way to go before I arrived.
As I neared the cottage, so did they. I may or may not have said ‘hello’ or ‘I’m tired’ or some variation, and climbed into the back and shut my eyes.
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