2009 Race - Hendo

Stockholm Syndrome  by Hendo

I’ve been thinking about how I could record the events of the weekend.  The idea of a blog felt a bit wrong somehow so I wasn’t sure if the story of the WHW race 2009 should be left to Jen to tell.  But having talked about everything in the hours spent in Glasgow Airport yesterday it was agreed that a blog would be a good idea.  So here it is.  I have no idea how long it’s going to be or how much detail I’m going to go into, I’m just going to start writing and see what comes out.  I make no apologies if it turns into War & Peace.   *edit* okay it’s a biggie.  Go get a coffee and some flapjack. *edit again* get two cups, it’s a feckin monster. The subtitle to this blog should be “be careful who you meet off the internet”. The weekend essentially started once I had stepped off the train at Gatwick.  The morning had been spent going to see the Physio (yes I’m still properly broken but that’s not for this blog) and then a haircut before going through my list and packing requirements.  All set then. I hobbled off the train at Gatwick and into the check-in area where Jen stood looking anxious.  Within about 5 minutes I had made her cry.  This was to be a pretty central theme for the weekend.  In fact, all the time up to the start at 1am on Saturday morning, I had an almost magical ability to activate her tear ducts, sometimes by just uttering a single word.  “Balmaha” was a favourite of mine.  I bet it’s set her off just seeing it written down.  Anyway, fact is she was nervous, petrified, excited and overwhelmed by it all, but most of all she was ready.  She may say something different, but she was. We checked in and got some lunch.  Another theme began here as my nagging began, making sure she was eating and drinking enough.  We went through some planning points and discussed various aspects of the course and what would happen where.  We had agreed to be flexible to a point on who would buddy run with her, and from where, because unfortunately my injury had scuppered some pretty fundamental plans on that front.  We had it covered though; it was going to be fine.  Thinking about it, in the end it may have actually been a blessing, but that’s for later, although the others may have seen it differently… Too much detail Hendo, get on with it.  We got on the plane, more planning talk, a few more tears, arrived at Glasgow, picked up by Siouxsie, drove to Milngavie, picked up Santa from the station, bumped into Loon Dod, had a chat, Jen cried some more, went to M&S and Tesco for supplies, went to pub to settle down.  More planning talk, more tears, this time all three girls were at it ffs.  We ate and joked and planned some more.  Team bonding.  Phew, that’s a fair bit covered off nice and quickly right there.   Before too long it was time to get even more focussed.  Jen and I went off back to the station car park to get her registered in the church hall next to it.  This is when it really properly began to dawn on me what was happening.  Not that I didn’t know before, but now it was very real.  She was weighed, got her goody bag, kit checked and so on.  There were more people to meet, chat to and cry a bit more.  Too many to name drop, but they were all going about their business, be they support crew or runners, milling about and getting ready.  It was about 9.30pm now I think. We headed back to the pub for final preparations.  Tpod showed up after getting a later flight, and team LoonDod and Lintie arrived for more banter and preparation.  By midnight it was time to leave.  The runners (including support ones) got ready and we all headed back to the station where the start was, as a team.  A few final jobs done, Jen and I headed to the briefing and soon enough, after many hugs and good luck wishes, it was time to set off.  Remembering a conversation in the airport that we had, my final words to her were “It’s all about the journey”.  I got a nice smile for that.  1am and the race started. Two things I need to mention here, save me saying the same thing over and over again. 1.  Midgies.  Easy to think that they are a minor nuisance like the odd mozzie you might get in Lanzagrotty, but to see is to believe.  They are like a permanent swarm, in some places for much of the day and night, in others some respite during brighter daylight hours or where the wind has picked up a bit.  If you look up you can see them, turning the sky even greyer, and they all want your blood.  Now.  You sit in the car for hours and you can’t open a window and get fresh air.  You step outside for fresh air and you have to make sure you’re covered in chemicals and netting and never really get that fresh air you need.  You can’t drink, eat or anything outside the car without potentially letting them get close to you.  You get back into the car after a checkpoint or whatever and you have to keep your netting on until you’ve driven far enough with the windows down that they’ve all blown out, or been killed by spray, fists, whatever.  It’s an astonishing thing, and you can see why battles in the olden days of Highland warfare were often postponed because of them.  At first the sight of us all in midgie nets was funny, seeing other people milling around even more so, but by the time we’d spent a few hours at Balmaha they were as essential as having shoes on. 2.  Time.  I lost all concept of it.  Come the end I didn’t know night from day or dawn from dusk, let alone what time it was specifically.  So any references to what time it was from hereon in may be wildly inaccurate.  The dark of night only lasted 3 or 4 hours and even then the sky was never really black, more a midnight blue, if you were to choose the tone from a Dulux colour chart.  Fact is, we didn’t really sleep from Friday morning until Sunday afternoon. So here we go then, the race has started.  How on earth do I talk about what happened next?  Maybe a heading for every time we stopped.  Would that work?  Let’s give it a go. ***Beech Tree Inn*** This was an impromptu stop so that we could see the spectacle of all the runners ghosting past with their headtorches on, while everyone whispers well done (not allowed to clap or shout because of the residents).  We were all in good spirits, excited at what lay ahead and keen to see our runners go by.  Fearful of blinding runners approaching along the disused railway line, I didn’t shine my headtorch on them until they had passed, so missed LD and Lintie.  We hoped we didn’t miss Jen, and as we whispered well done to one runner, she replied with “thanks” and was almost past us when we realised it was Jen!  A quick proper hello and she was off again.   And so were we, to Balhama to get some rest. And so were we, to Balhama to get some rest. No really, so were we, to Balhama, to get some rest. Uh-oh.  Schoolboy error.  We, or perhaps more accurately, I, had neglected to keep the engine running while the travel kettle was on to make us a coffee.  The battery was dead.  Nothing.  Even the hazards didn’t work properly, and the combined efforts of other support crews couldn’t muster enough forward momentum to jump start it.  Shit on a fucking great stick.  Okay, calm heads.  A plan was formed, with a back-up plan in case that didn’t work.  Thankfully a knight with shining jump leads was called in by the race organisers and we were soon on our way with no further drama.  The kettle got a very stern look from me, I can tell you. And so to Balhama to get some rest. ***Balmaha*** Sitting at the foot of Conic Hill and on the shores of Loch Lomond, Balmaha is about 18 miles into the WHW.  I parked up and everyone settled down to try to sleep.  I lasted about 10 minutes of fidgeting before midgie netting up and joining Flip for a coffee, who had spotted us and tapped on the window.  He had taken the sensible option and got a gas stove.  Lessons learned.  By now the lead runners were coming through and there were little buzzes of activity here and there around the car park as respective support crews did their thing.  A most surreal sight as people milled about under the grey skies of a 4am Highland dawn, mostly in dark netting and hats covering their heads.  It was like a scene out of a really bad 70s Sci-Fi movie. More lessons learned.  You can’t drink coffee through a midgie net. We were soon joined by Tpod who also couldn’t sleep.  A few updates on Fetch were made, photos taken, including some of Siouxsie and Santa who had managed to drop off.  Santa was to prove that she has an incredible ability to sleep anytime and anywhere, regardless of what is going on about her.  I have no such skill, sadly. Soon enough the time was approaching where we would be expecting Jen to come through so Tpod and I began to get prepped, soon joined by Siouxsie too, who had stirred.  The two camping chairs I bought in Tesco in Milngavie were given their first outing.  We got lucky getting those, god only knows what we’d have done without them.  And so we sat and waited. Now around this time we began to notice the runners who would be around and about where we could expect Jen.  There was onelegandhalfanarm man, blonde lady, funnylittlewalky man and tall man in buff, amongst others.  One random thing happened here as a runner met with his crew who were parked up next to us.  I recognised him as man with dog at the Highland Fling!  I said hello, remember me, and he did, I think, despite the midgie net.  Anyway, he and his support crew were to become companions of ours for the whole journey.  A footnote to this is that after the race he fmailed Jen because it turns out that he’s a Fetchie, so hello Scotmark!  He’s still man with dog though, even though the dog didn’t run the whole way this time. My god I get sidetracked easily don’t I.  Where was I?  Oh yes, waiting.  Jen arrived soon enough looking good and barked orders at us, to which we all responded like a well-oiled machine.  Water topped up, food, sit, wipe, spray and on your way.  It was fab.  If we were ridiculous Americans we’d have high-fived, but we’re not, so it was an understated “well done chaps”, pack up and on we go to Rowardennan, the first official checkpoint. ***Rowardennan*** Midgies.  We braved the kettle again and remembered to keep the engine running.  The tea and coffee were most welcome, as was the chocolate that went with it.  A diet of coffee and chocolate was to be another recurring theme.  Those who could tried to get more rest, even if sleep wasn’t forthcoming.  Some of you who know a little of my background will know that I have done some things that have left me sleep deprived for many days at a time, so I am no stranger to it and know that rest is as good as sleep if that’s all you can get.  That’s all I got. As the time approached to be expecting Jen, we got prepared and Sandra took off down the way to see where she was, and to get any specific requirements off her so she could run back ahead and we could be prepared. The stop this time was less frantic than the last.  A bit more time was taken to eat and rest.  Was there a change of shoes and socks?  Maybe, can’t remember exactly.  It was good though, everything was delivered, she was in good spirits, had run a marathon and only had another three to go. ***Auchtertyre Farm*** The next scheduled meeting point for us was the next official checkpoint.  There was a good few hours before Jen was expected here, so we took a bit of time on the hour and a half journey to relax and put some music on.  Muse, mostly, with smatterings of Stereophonics and no small amount of Starsailor for quieter moments.  We went past the checkpoint and onto Tyndrum to meet with Flip and Ultracat for an all you can eat breakfast for £5.  Happy cholesterol and caffeine days.  We even managed to wander around outside without midgie nets on.  It was a welcome break and I had a poo too. Back down to the Farm once we were fed and watered, for a bit more rest.  This time I requested some back seat action rather than the driver’s seat, and managed to catch 45 minutes of actual real sleep before being rudely awoken by the arrival of Llamadance. Up and at ‘em again to see Loon Dod come through and then Lintie some time later.  We were all quite relaxed and happy.  There was a shop where we stocked up on one or two things, and a decent loo, and shower facilities.  Jules and HappyG had also shown up by now (part time support crew) for their duties with Lintie.  Spirits were high.  Siouxsie decided she wanted to freshen up and have a shower, and I was about to clean my teeth when Tpod suddenly announced the arrival of a text from Jen.  “Carmyle Cottage please”. Fuck. This wasn’t part of the plan.  All the nice relaxed vibes went immediately and, thinking about it, that was pretty much the last we saw of them, save for the odd exception.  The washbags were thrown in the back and I drove like a nutter back down the main road some 5 miles away to the cottage, even overtaking an Audi who looked quite put out by being overtaken by 4 people in a Sunshine Bus. ***Caramac Cottage*** In hindsight this was obviously going to happen at some point, but I at least wasn’t expecting it just yet.  I don’t think Jen was either.  I don’t know what time it was but it was the afternoon.  Maybe 2ish?  Anyway, she’d been going for about 12 hours and had covered 40 odd miles.  At the Fling she was strong at this point, but the difference was that the Fling didn’t start at 1am.  The lack of sleep was now affecting her and she was falling asleep as she ran, so desperately needed a rest.  By the time we rocked up, she was sat with another support crew, but thankfully had only been there 30 seconds. We all set to work tending to her physical needs.  Now there was an extra dimension to these stops though and it was the mental side of things that needed extra attention.  Jen didn’t know it yet perhaps, but it was certainly the case.  From here through to the end I got to know her faces, how she was looking at me and how she was talking to me.  As the “leader” of the crew I took it upon myself to focus more on this part while the others did what they were good at.  That’s not to say that throughout the race their words to her were not equally as important (indeed, they were undoubtedly more so when actually accompanying her), or I didn’t rub her legs or tie her laces while the others spoke to her, but I just think we just slotted into our roles naturally and without discussion or contention.  Sometimes all I had to do was update the thread as to her position!  The team was working.  Good. Caramel Cottage face was a bit of a worried one, with not-so-subtle undertones of utter exhaustion.  We had a chat and it was “only” the lack of sleep that was the issue at this stage, so she lay on the back seat and rested for 5 or 10 minutes.  I assured her that the sleepy stage would pass and she would get through it.  The difference in her face here was that she was looking at me like she was listening, like she wanted to hear what I was going to say, maybe to hear that it was normal and she was going to get through it.  I dunno, I might be talking crap, and maybe that’s why she was looking at me like that.  Hard to explain.  Anyway, she may have dozed off for a few minutes, I don’t know, but after the rest she ate, drank, got herself together and was away back up the road, running.  Her face had changed markedly from first seeing us to when she left us and even got a smile when I reminded her that it was all about the journey.  We all got back into the car with a mixture of concern and relief.   This was Jen’s first low point (that we were aware of), and there were darker times to come.  We headed back to Auchtertyre Farm to wait her arrival. ***Auchtertyre Farm Again*** Time now to recoup after the unscheduled stop, sort a few things out and get more rest where we could.  Jen had agreed that Santa should run with her from the Farm just to Tyndrum, about 3 miles further up, to see how she was doing (she wasn’t allowed buddy runners until the Farm) and then we’d leave her to head up to the Bridge of Orchy alone.  An uphill but relatively straightforward section.  Santa did her sleep anywhere thing, Siouxsie got her shower and I had a wash and cleaned my furry teeth. Soon enough the time had come where we were expecting her any moment, so Tpod ran a while down the track to spot her and we prepared everything so we were ready when she arrived.  When she did, I managed to run/hobble about 20 yards with her to the checkpoint to get her weighed and signed in, while the others, orders in hand, got what she wanted ready. Jen was much better at this stage and she had no unexpected signs of additional fatigue or confusion.  She knew what was happening, what she wanted, and was eating and drinking well.  Peach flavoured iced tea was a welcome addition to her energy intake.  I was happy, and pleased to see her and Santa trot off together on the short leg to Tyndrum. ***Tyndrum*** Not long to wait here and in the time we had we caught up with man with dog as well as HappyG and Flip who had seen Lintie through and were waiting around for us to arrive.  Jen and Santa came through and Jen looked as good as when she left us at the Farm, but had a sit down and some sustenance nonetheless.  Some feet issues were starting now so I took her shoes off and had a look.  Some blistering was starting on the heels, I think from where she didn’t want them done up too tight and the heel was rubbing as a result.  A fixit job with a safety pin and some antiseptic cream, I retied the laces to try and stop the heel rubbing more, (only for her to loosen them up later!) and off she went again. She was to be a good while on the next section, and it was a main road cutting a corner to get there so would only take us 10 minutes or so, so we took the opportunity to go to the Real Food Café and  claim our free coffee in our Highland Fling mugs, and some chocolate of course.  Actually that’s a lie.  Me and the Pod bought a caramel shortbread each, but I only had half of one because Siouxsie decided she would share mine.  Santa bought some chips but ruined them by putting the devil’s urine that is vinegar on them, so I didn’t partake in the sharing.  Pfft.  The owner of the café came out to talk to us while we were there and explained her involvement in this race as well as the Fling and the Devil, even canvassing us for opinions on what she should sponsor to put in the Fling goody bag next year!  She seemed to think that buffs would be too expensive, thus perpetuating the myth of tight Scotsmen. It just goes to show though how these events capture the imagination (yeuk, I hate that expression) of the local communities up there.  Somehow you never quite get the same effect down here, thus perpetuating the myth of arrogant and ego-centric Englishmen. Anyway, this blog is about me, so I shall continue and you will listen. ***Bridge of Orchy*** Although by now Jen’s pace had slowed more than we were originally expecting, she was still holding her place in the group and as such we had an indicator on each section as to how she was progressing.   Onelegandhalfanarm man, blonde lady, and man with dog had all arrived so Santa went off to do her thing and meet Jen up the path to get instructions as to what she wanted.  This time it was water first and foremost. She had run out of water very early in the section and she thought she’d not topped up at the Farm.  Now I’m not saying this wasn’t the case but I am disappointed because we refilled our bottles there twice (the water was slightly brown) and it was one of the things that I did on each stop.  I’m only saying this because I feel bad, maybe I topped up at Camomile Cottage and forgot to at the Farm.  I think the water fairies stole it though.   Schoolboy error number 2.   Santa ran back up to her with water and in she came.  I topped the water in her pack up. Still looking good (all things being relative having run 60 miles) and certainly still working hard, the water issue didn’t seem to have thrown her too much.  No more dark places as yet.  More food and drink.  Mostly muller rice, M&S pasta and flat diet coke, if you’re interested.  Oh, and chocolate brioche too.  Just a few mouthfuls of each, enough to provide energy and keep hunger away.  I had very little to do in terms of talking, just the usual bollocks about looking great, doing well, etc.  :-o As a team we were in good, but tired, spirits.  There had been no real opportunities for rest since the Farm, but that was fine.  Jen wanted to run the next very short section over to Inveroran with Tpot, so he got ready to go, Santa did her sleep anywhere thing, and soon they were off and we were sorting the Sunshine Bus out after the stop again.  Reports from the marshalls here were that the weather was set to close in overnight, so be prepared.  We were prepared for all such eventualities of course. What time was it now?  I’ve not got a clue.  Lets say about 5 or 6 in the evening.  Does that sound about right?   Have I mentioned the views yet by the way?  They were all stunning.  We stopped many times between checkpoints to just sit/stand and look at it.  There, that’s pretty much that. ***Inverornan*** Not a real stop but worthy of a mention because it was one of my highlights.  Less than 3 miles up a hill and down the other side.  We were waiting on the ‘down the other side’ bit.  The sun was shining, the midgies hadn’t quite descended yet but were close, Jen was in fine fettle, Tpod was running with her, and her stop at the Bridge of Orchy was brief - a clear indication of her state of mind at that time.  Top form. She had left Orchy a minute or so behind blonde lady despite coming in 10 minutes or so after her.  By the time two little figures crested the hill in our line of sight, she was in front of her so was clearly going well.  They stopped for a minute but then came bounding down the hill.  We just sat and watched and grinned at them.  Turns out they’d stopped at the top for a snog  :-o Very brief stop here just to make sure she had enough kit to get her over Rannoch Moor given the forecast, and she was off on her favourite section, alone, as she had wanted. This brief moment of joy was the turning point.  The race became very, very different from hereon in. ***Kingshouse*** Driving over Rannoch Moor was incredible.  Again we stopped a couple of times to soak it all up and get some fresh air away from the hustle of each checkpoint.  It was clear now though that it was getting quite cold.  The wind chill was high, and the air temperature was about 11 degrees.  As we went along the main road we spotted Black Rock cottage – quite a famous landmark next to the Glencoe Ski range.  We decided to stop here, get out, and have a look.  Santa was asleep in the back. Well I’ll be buggered if we didn’t bump into team Lintie!  Jules was waiting with Ultracat, while Flip and HappyG were running across the moor with her.  Jen wasn’t expecting us here, mainly because of her stubborn independence, so we saw Lintie go through looking fantastic and headed the short mile down to the Kingshouse Hotel, the next checkpoint. We had time to spare here and Jen wasn’t expected for a while.  We headed to the bar for coffee (or wine) and kept warm.  Come the time to get ready for her anticipated arrival we were just setting up when we got another message to meet her at Black Rock cottage because she was struggling again.  This is where is all started getting a bit messy…. ***Black Rock Cottage*** We shot back up to the cottage (it only takes a couple of minutes) and waited for Jen to arrive.  By now the pattern was set.  Man with dog.  Blonde lady.  Colourful buff man.  Jen. This time she was suffering again from lack of sleep (and the obvious fatigue of having run 72 miles) so she lay down in the back again.  That wasn’t working.  Her legs were twitchy and she was getting cold, despite saying that she was fine and would warm up again once she got going.  Clearly not the case.  We got Tpot ready to accompany her down to the Hotel and got windproofs on to keep her warm.  Some gentle persuasion to get her down there asap so she could have a proper stop off at a sheltered checkpoint rather than up on a windswept moor where it was getting dark.  She was now more confused and disorientated, although lucid, and Tpod had the look of a concerned man.  Justifiably so!  So now the role of talker was slowly creeping into talking to the support crew as well as Jen.  For the first and last time in my life I had Jen on her back on the back seat of a car with her ankles on my shoulders.  She was loving it.  Well, I did say she was confused and disorientated. I digress.  After the rest and massage to get the legs going again, Tpod stepped up to the mark to get her down to Kingshouse.  We all jumped in to the car and headed down to meet them.  There was some thinking to be done and some plans to be made. ***Kingshouse Again*** Santa was scheduled to be doing the next section with Jen.  8 miles up the Devil’s Staircase and down the other side on a tricky descent into Kinlochleven.  By now it was pretty much dark, so probably about 11pm, maybe later.  Again, don’t know.  She was getting herself ready to go and geeing herself up.  She’d gone very quiet… Taking longer than expected, down came Tpod and Jen off the moor and into the checkpoint.  She had stopped a couple of times to try to be sick and was really struggling.  Tpod got her into the car and tried to get her to eat and drink.  Which she did, eventually.  Although I think it was here that she pretended to give her brioche a blowjob.  She’s all about the class that girl. A worried Tpod came to speak to me as we left Jen to rest for a few minutes.  She was refusing to put warmer clothes on and wasn’t making a huge amount of sense.  We discussed our options together and I spent a bit of time reassuring him that this was normal and to be expected, but to think about what kit he had and how quickly he could be ready to go.  I went to speak to Jen who was still in the back of the car.  Her face was now childlike and she just looked at me with big open eyes.  Long story short, I basically told her what was going to happen.  She was going to finish eating, then she was going to put warm and waterproof clothing on, then Tpod was going to get kit and spare kit together for his pack, and Santa would be doing the same to make sure they were well prepared for the Staircase.  Jen nodded with half a smile. This also perked Santa up, who I think was worried about the responsibility of taking Jen over there by herself.  In hindsight this was the best decision of the day (although maybe that could be turning the car round on the mountain pass, but that’s later on), and soon things were checked, double checked and the three of them were ready to take on the final stages and the last 22 miles of the West Highland Way together.  A new fellowship was formed.  I was envious because that should have been me, but proud of the way they had taken a deep breath and just got on with the job in hand. The food and warmth had transformed Jen who had the colour back in her face and was making sense and smiling and joking with us all.  A hug from Santa, Tpod and a big one for Jen with some more wise Hendo words and they were off.  As they faded into the darkness I felt sure that they’d be okay. ***Kinlochleven*** Siouxsie and I spent some time sorting the car out again and topping up water supplies before leaving.  A brief detour to catch the threesome about a mile up the path was all we did before a short hop around the outside of the mountain to Kinlochleven.  A metropolis in comparison to the last few stages – there were roads and everything. The car was now very quiet.   We got to the penultimate checkpoint, parked up and got shown down to the leisure centre where a base had been set up for runners and supporters to get some basic facilities.  We had a coffee and some biscuits and sat down for a bit in the warm and then returned to the car and waited.  The alarm was set on the phone just in case we managed sleep, but to be honest I’m not sure we did.  It’s all a bit of a blur.  We were parked up facing the road and where the runners come off the path and onto the road to the checkpoint, and any slight movement or noise got me on edge and looking to see if it was them.  Even when it couldn’t possibly have been then given the time that had elapsed.  I may have caught half an hour or so of sleep here, but I can’t really remember.  We had a cuddle on the back seat to keep warm   :-o You know I mentioned dark points for Jen, and now we’ve had two?  We’re about to get onto the third, final and darkest one. I had been updating the thread on Fetch but it was what, almost 4am now, and no-one was there to update, save for a few updates from team Loon Dod and Lintie.  Llama was texting me when he could and I was sharing what news I had. We were just waiting and waiting – every noise, every movement set me on edge.  Man with dog had come in and was setting off again.  He stopped for a chat (as he did on most stages), enquiring as to Jen’s progress, and we wished each other well.   Midgies, by the way.  Don’t forget the midgies. I called Santa and Tpod to see how they were doing.  Spoke to both in the end but the consensus was that they were 1.5 miles away.  That 1.5 miles took an hour!  Not sure that was a strictly accurate estimate that they were given by some marshalls, and it played with their heads a bit.  You’ll have to read their blogs for that bit though.  We had thought that the checkpoint closed at 4 and it was now 3:45 and still dark.  One of the medical staff assured us the cut-off was 5 though, so that took some pressure off, but Jen didn’t know that. Next thing we saw was Jen and Tpod running down the pavement trying to reach the checkpoint in time for what they thought was the cut off.  Although they were relieved to be there in time, they were cross for busting a bollock getting there for 4am. Time to spring into action again though.  I took over escorting Jen to the checkpoint because she needed weighing, and Siouxsie took the other two down to the leisure centre.  Jen told me she wasn’t ever coming back here. Jen now just needed sleep, she was properly out of it now.  We got her inside and straight onto a crash mat in the gym where there were 3 other runners sleeping, and she was out like a light.  The other two looked like they had run the whole way with her too and were clearly shaken by the whole experience.  I can’t recall the exact comments but they weren’t especially positive.  We told them to get some sleep while they could because they were needed again as soon as we woke Jen, which would be in 45 minutes time.  They were not happy campers at all, but dozed off, so Siouxsie and I worked to get their kit ready and food set for when they woke up. An update to Llama to say that Jen was in, and then after 45 minutes we woke them up to the smell of freshly made coffee and pot noodles.  Food of champions.  Although the humour wasn’t exactly appreciated at that stage of the game.  I sent Siouxsie in to rouse Jen as the softer female voice would be a bit kinder than mine. Once I’d seen she’d stirred I went in too to see how she was.  Jen did not have a clue where she was or what she was doing.  We managed to convince her that she hadn’t dreamt the whole thing so far and that she really did only have 13 miles to go to complete the West Highland Way race.  She seemed quite pleased at this, but was still dreadfully out of it.  I left Siouxsie to help get her together, and went to get the other two up.  They were less pleased, especially as I was less sympathetic with them.  I needed them to look strong and positive for Jen because she was relying on them.    Jen was sat down next to Tpod to get some food down before setting off.  He was doing that shiver thing you do when you’ve just woken up and Jen, in her still confused state, just looked at him and then at me as if to say “what’s going on”.  Despite teetering on the verge of exhaustion, the two support runners got it together and while we focussed on Jen, they were very much ready to go by the time I’d had another poo and were all set to tackle the next stage to Lundavra. Jen’s ability to come into the checkpoints in the state that she did, and to leave them looking fresh and happy never ceased to amaze me, and it was a vastly different Jen that left Kinlochleven to the one that entered it.  Once the post-sleep daze had passed she was up and eating and coherent once more.  We checked her feet and there was proper swelling, so I re-laced one of her shoes to take the pressure off and Siouxsie helped her get dry clothes on. By the time we’d cleared up after ourselves and set the car straight, it brought a massive grin to my face to see them all *running* down the road to the start of the next section.  They were only going to bloody well do it you know! A footnote to this section by the way – Santa’s and Tpods accounts of getting ready to go will be very different to mine and will mostly be slagging me off  :-o  lol. ***Lundavra*** Bit of background required here, for the third and final schoolboy error.  In the planning of this whole thing, I had meticulously entered all the checkpoints into my tomtom (you can tell where this is going can’t you?).  The final checkpoint is the most remote, up a mountain road and then a short walk to the Way.  I had taken about 45 minutes one evening checking an OS map against the map in tomtom to enter the point manually, because there was no road name, place name or postcode.  I was 100% confident it was the right place, and knew that we had to go into Fort William to find the road up to the checkpoint.  For some reason though I blindly followed it out of Kinlochleven where it decided to take us up a road almost immediately.  I blame fatigue.  Only when the wheels on the Sunshine Bus were losing grip going up a hill did I figure something wasn’t quite right.  There was obviously a road in the tomtom’s map that it thought would be quicker, because it meant the checkpoint was 6 miles rather than 16 miles away.  Unfortunately that road would have taken us over the mountain…. I did a quite scary three point turn where going to far would have meant an untimely death off the side of the mountain and headed back down onto the main road.  We found the checkpoint with no further incident and tried to get more sleep.  This time it worked and I reckon we got a good half an hour or so.   I was woken by a combination of my alarm and man with dog’s support crew packing up and heading off.  This must mean Jen would be relatively close.  So I got up and left Siouxsie sleeping, midgie netted up and spent 10 minutes having a damn good sort out of the kit in the back, binning all the rubbish and getting the right food together, for three runners.  Because we had a walk up to the checkpoint I needed everything in the coolbox and to carry the chairs up too. I was getting anxious about other people concerned with Jen’s welfare too, as well as being out of contact with the team on the mountain.  There was no signal up there and we’d been unable to update them for a number of hours. Siouxsie stirred and took the piss for me being anally retentive (she has a point).  We freshened up a bit with some spare water, cleaning teeth through a midgie net is an interesting experience, and headed up to the checkpoint to sit and wait. It really wasn’t long until they showed up and I was jumping about and ran down to be hugged by Tpod who told me that, although he was ready to twat me at the time, I had done the right thing at Kinlochleven to get them up for the next stage, and I walked alongside Jen to get her signed in.  The stop here was brief and relatively quiet.  This is where I took the photo that’s in my blog from yesterday. Some final words from me to Jen along the lines of “go and get it done, you’re a fucking hero” and they went off with smiles to do their thing.  Again, I am sure their blogs will give a better insight as to what they were all going through.  Whatever it was wasn’t pretty though. We headed back down the mountain road and texted Llama as soon as there was a signal.  I was getting a bit emotional thinking about the finish line now and was keen to get to where the Way meets the main road to see them in. ***Fort William*** Some time later and still on track to what we expected, the markers started coming through.  Man with buff who had run a blinding last section came through looking strong.  He must have overtaken a bag full of runners.  Man with dog (still no dog though) got a big well done from us.  One guy who I didn’t recognise was hobbling along at a snail’s pace so close to the end.  Blonde lady came through, followed by funnylittlewalkyman, which meant that Jen was next.  And as we waited the three of them appeared on the road.  Smiles from Tpod and Santa but just a look of grim determination from Jen.  She was nearly there.   A text back to those at the finish line and we drove the 1.1 miles down the road to the Leisure Centre and the finish line.  I was both gobsmacked and overwhelmed by the number of people who were all congregated there to see her home, it was brilliant.  Team Loon Dod, Team Lintie and many others involved with the race were all stood on the corner waiting.  We even got a little cheer as we rounded up into the car park, although I’m not really sure why. I was still anxious, excited and downright impatient for them to appear, so I forgot the pain in my heel and trotted off down the road to see how they were doing.  I managed to get a couple of pictures of them passing the “official” end of the Way, which was about a quarter of a mile before the finish to the race. I told her she was going to be mobbed at the end so gave her a kiss well done while I had the chance. I trotted back and let them all know how close they were, and before I knew it there was Jen, running by herself into the car park to massive cheers, determined both to finish and to get in under 34 hours.  I grabbed her card for the official finish and along with Flip guided her to the finish and held her hand as she crossed the threshold and announced her arrival.  She had finished.  Can you believe it, the silly cow had just ran the West Highland Way! She was offered a wee dram of whisky, but got fruit juice because she’s teetotal.  I had the whisky.  I hate the stuff but that was beautiful. ***Afterwards*** I think this bit could be a blog in itself, but Jen sat down in a chair and just cried in amongst all the congratulations and hugs.  One by one the support team got their hug and thank you and there was not a dry eye to be seen.  I will remember that hug for a long time.  What an amazing moment for everyone, for Jen, for Team Jen, and for everyone else there who had lived and shared every moment of the last 34 hours be it with Jen or through updates and checkpoints and texts.  Utter, utter madness, but utterly, utterly brilliant. The next hours involved the prizegiving, sleep, food, and strange foreign folk in hotel bars.  I won’t go into much detail but the haggis was lovely. We set off back down the Glasgow the next morning and took in the drive back down through the mountains and Rannock Moor.  Sheer astonishment at what had been conquered.  The talk soon turned to next year, and coming back in October.  You may hate it at the time but the West Highland Way is somewhere very special indeed.  I love it, the big doofus.