But something had changed at the last minute - Andy Johns had sent me a message on Friday afternoon, asking if I would mind support crewing him. He was going up unsupported, and really wanted a good result out of it, so could do with someone helping him to keep moving through the support area. (I keep wanting to call it transition zone, I've watched too much triathlon coverage recently, lol...) - I'm sure my lovely Daftie friends won't be insulted by my saying I panicked a wee bit about the pressure of supporting someone at the 'business end' of a race, haha, but I was pretty excited all the same. He'd arranged a spot on a table in George Reid's gazebo area, and getting set up, I found that our wee support area had 7 runners (four in the 12 hour, three in the 24 hour) and there were about 5 of us to crew it. This changed over the day, as we were joined by another, and some of the gang went off to perform marshal duties etc. - or sleep! - but we worked pretty well as a wee team, focussing on the runner we were there to support, but helping out the others as needed.
I'm getting ahead of myself - I knew this would happen. I've tried writing this report so many times, and there's just sooooo much to write about!!
Andy had a box of food etc. and a kit box, and we went through it briefly before the race. It was organised pretty well, and I was happy that I could find what he needed when he needed it - so when he finally went off to get changed, I wandered around to see other runners and wish them all the best. Helen isn't terribly chatty before a big race, but still found time to remind me I wasn't allowed to wear my shoes in the tent, hehe. :) I found a few other friends getting ready to race, or support, then gravitated towards to race briefing. It was straightforward, and easy to understand the rules. People seemed in good spirits, and the sun had come out after a night of heavy rain, so all was set for a special day, as the runners headed to the start line...
They were off, and ran the loop around the tents, up the hill, and away out of sight - the first half hour passed quickly, as we checked on our support boxes etc. and I made myself a cuppa, and so on. Gerry came flying through the finish line after about not even 30 minutes I think, having set out his stall for the 12 hour race right from the off. I knew he was going to be competition for Andy, so I started trying to keep track of the time between them. The problem was, I didn't know which of the other runners were doing the 12 hour as opposed to the 24, it's almost impossible to distinguish them, so I had very little idea where Andy was as the race went on. After a while he started to ask where he was, so I tried to get a clearer picture while he was out on the course. Ada records the laps as each runner goes past, and then every hour or so, a chart gets updated for us to look at, so we're not all constantly bothering Ada (she had a cattle-prod, who would dare?!!) - the problem with this is it's immediately out of date, and you have to wait over an hour until the next update. After a while, though, it started to become apparent there was a problem with Andy's recorded laps. Julie came to the rescue, and discovered that Andy's number (68) had been mixed up with Antonia's (86), and she'd been given one of his laps - this had given the illusion that she was way out in front, and he had about a dozen folk in front of him. When it was sorted, she was in 3rd and he was in 4th - and Andy was sure to shout out his number properly in subsequent laps!! It was pretty funny when the pair of them came through together at the end of one lap, Andy cheerfully shouting out "68 and 86 together!!!" as they skipped past Ada's watchful eye.
This is already sooo long, and I have so much yet to say! In between crewing Andy, i was helping out with the others in our wee group - at one point, after Johnny Fling had been faffing around trying to decide what to eat, as he set off I asked what he wanted next time. He shrugged as he ran off, and shouted back "a hug!" - sadly, I'd gone for a cuppa and to visit Team Munro when he next came through, and it appears he didn't want the hug from one of the blokes... The moment had passed. I'm hoping that missing hug wasn't the cause of his later sickness during the race, I hate to think I let him down. *sadface* He did great, overall, though - a brilliant run, and so cheerfully done!
George had been keeping track of Karen's lap times, and after about 7 hours he asked me to help him do the sums to see if she was still comfortably okay for a 100 mile race. For some reason, for the pair of us staring at a calculator, tapping random numbers in, multiplying by 4, dividing by 60, adding a bit, shuffling that around, etc... we really struggled! I hate to admit now that I actually have an Honours degree in Maths. But I worked out, in the end, that if she averaged 58 minute laps for the rest of the race, she'd be fine. Sadly she was suffering a bit today, and after a 68 minute lap, she decided to withdraw - she'd done an amazing 40 miles, and I was really impressed with not only how she'd pushed herself in her last few laps, but also the strength of mind needed to call it a day. She went and got cleaned up, then shut herself up in the van for a sleep. We were down to 6 runners, and Lorna and Louise had gone to do a marshalling stint, so we were kept pretty busy. Andy asked me to have a cup of tea ready for him the next lap, and to my great shame the 40 mins or so had been taken up with working out where he was in the race and sorting out the laps issue, and I forgot to make him tea! Me!!! Forget TEA! Madness. He was lovely about it, although I like to think there was a small tear in his eye as he ran off. I'd let him down a little bit, and from then on I kept a flask full of red hot tea right through to the finish. When he arrived, I'd pour out the tea and add a bit of cold water, and we'd walk round the field together while he drank. Or, rather, while he splashed tea about all over the place. He mused that maybe next time he'd get a bottle for his tea... I suggested a sippy-cup, lol.
Soon enough, it was 11pm, and the small loop opened up for the 12 hour runners. This really gave a whole new dimension to the race, as the runners all picked up their pace and suddenly started almost sprinting round. Bearing in mind they'd done 11 hours so far, it's simply incredible. Helen flew past me a few times, as I whopped and cheered - she just looked so strong and happy, and it made me feel a wee bit emotional, so I stuck to just "wooo!" After another lap or two, and I was okay with managing words again, so I shouted "You're doing brilliant!" and she replied "LY! I'm doing brilliantLY!" - ahahahahaha, she'd just done over 11½ hours of running, and she's correcting my grammar?! You simply can't argue with class like that. She was just awe-inspiring - I'm so proud of her. x
With 10 minutes to go, runners started being handed their pegs with numbers on, and as the time ticked by, suddenly the countdown had begun. My heart was in my throat, as we all chanted out, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - and the 12 hour runners all stopped in their tracks, planted their pegs in the ground, and - in many cases - collapsed to the floor. I went to find Andy, who was unsure whether to leave his peg until someone had come to measure it, but was generally happy with his performance. He was 3rd male, having beaten his 72 hour target (his 'silver' goal) with a total distance of 72.24. It had been an utter privilige to crew from him from start through to finish - not a single diva moment at all, though he SAYS when he threw his waist pack at me in the last hour he was aiming for his kit box...! ;) - Helen was amazing, she honestly looked like she loved every single minute! The 4 mile loop was measuring a wee bit shorter than that on everyone’s Garmins, so she thought she hadn’t quite managed to get 50 miles, but when they read her name out in the medals ceremony on Sunday, and said “50.36” she was genuinely surprised and excitedly yelped out “I did it!!!” as she got up to collect her medal. I was just so thrilled for her.
After saying well done to the 12 hour runners I could find, I headed off to bed for a few hours. It was sooooo cold in the tent, so I changed out of slightly damp trousers into my jeans and extra socks, left my hoody on, and wrapped up tightly into the sleeping bag. It seemed sleep was out of the question, but I closed my eyes and decided that as long as I got some rest, be in sleep or just quietly lying in the dark, it would be okay. I could hear bits and pieces going on outside, the occasional "whoop whoop!" of Viki making her way around the field, and a couple of hours later I heard Amanda getting into her tent - I momentarily worried, had she dropped out? Through the muffled walls of tents, I figured out she was stopping for a short sleep, and though I didn't hear her getting back up again, I believe it was about an hour or 90 minutes or so she rested.
As the sun began to rise, I decided I would stay in the sleeping bag a bit longer. People started to move around outside, and I was close to where Noanie's wee aid station was, so I could hear snippets of what was happening there. About 6:30-ish, I knew John Munro was supporting Noanie, and I heard her shouting out "F**k off John!" but not what he'd said to illicite such as repsonse. Knowing John a wee bit, I could hazard a guess - thinking back only recently to the Devil o' the Highlands, where she bounced cheerfully though Glencoe and said "wow, look at the rainbow!!!" to John's response "Never mind the f*cking rainbow, you're running a f*cking race!!" - hahaha. It later turned out, however, that the discussion had been based around the fact that Noanie had in mind finishing at 120 miles. John very much did NOT have that in mind.... she eventually finished in overall second place, with 126.21 miles, smashing the women's course record and claiming 1st Lady in just such an impressive performance. Every time I saw her running, she was smiling, bouncing, and generally loving it. At one point she excitedly ran over to me "SARAH! SARAH!!! I just saw a FROG!!!!" much to the utter bemusement of the others nearby. ;) It's another story from the Devil, that one, and maybe I'll just leave you to wonder...
I wandered over to find out news and updates, about 7am-ish, then cheekily coerced Clark (Amanda's hubby) to make me sausages for breakfast - Amanda came through looking tired but otherwise still moving well, so then I went to find out what was happening with Carol and Mark over at George's area. Mark was still comfortably out in front, and still running well. Carol was tiring, but she also had the unending support of David Meldrum who had also been out on a couple of laps with her during the small hours. She was showing such a strong spirit, you can't help but be impressed and humbled in the company of ultra runners, you know...
Mark smiled the ENTIRE time; he would ask after other runners the times he stopped, not from a competitive stance but from genuine interest and concern. We knew he was in the lead after a while during the Saturday evening, and George wasn't sure whether to let him know. When he next came through, George said - all innocent and conversationally - “so, how do you think you’re doing?” “Oh, I dunno, feeling okay” he shrugged. George paused, then tentatively asked: “Do you want to know?” “Errr, yeah, go on then.” “You’re in the overall lead.” “Well something’s very definitely gone wrong then!” he laughed, and off he went for his next lap..!! Really genuinely nice bloke, and an amazing run from him, to finish first in over 130 miles. His mini-laps at the end were quite something to behold – in fact, both him and Noanie were flying round those mini loops, grinning away as they went.
Amanda came through the lap finish line at 10:20, declaring she wasn't doing any more full laps, and would wait for the mini loop to open. She found a seat, and gratefully plonked herself down. I talked with her for a wee bit, as I pointed out that she would be sitting for 40 minutes, then have to get up for a whole HOUR of little loops. She thought about it, and stood up. "I'll have to go for another lap - it'll just be walking though." - she looked dispirited, so I said "if you want company, let me get David -" but he was waiting on Carol, so I hurriedly made a decision, and offered to to the loop with Amanda myself. She agreed, and we set straight off - bit of a daft move on my part, I should have taken my jeans off (I was wearing knee length capris underneath) and dumped my big jacket - I was warm within 15 minutes of starting the walk!! The sun was heating us all up now, as I wrapped my coat around my waist. The loop was absolutely STUNNING, though - Amanda talked to me about some of her laps etc. as we walked, and we chatted about this, that and the other. I tried to keep the pace strong, though I felt her slow slightly on the hill. She'd been running for nearly 23 hours, I had to remind myself, because she still looked pretty great!
Clark joined us on his bike, for the second half, and it passed quickly and uneventfully... Except, that is, we ALMOST got presented with Ray's bare arse as we came round a corner! That was a close one.....!!! We worked out that by the time we got back, she’d have about 30 minutes to get as many of the short loops done as possible, which were about 0.22 miles long – her last lap took her to 92 miles, and she told me she wouldn’t be able to run AT ALL, but keeping up this walking pace, I said she’d get another 6+ mini laps done no bother. However, as she crossed the line at 92 to applause, she started to well up, and then she started running, and every time she came past us on a short loop, she was still running, and he final total was 94.87 miles, so she managed 13 mini laps. Her target was 80 miles. Just... Wow.I settled down by the spot Helen and John had picked for cheering the runners on, and we cheered and whooped and yelled and laughed as all the runners ran round their short laps. This photo (taken with permission from the G24 team, all photos up on the facebook page) kinda shows the crowd support the runners would get as they came down the hill, someone called it a "wall of noise", and I hope it was a boost to some. I loved it, it was just so immense watching the runners finishing their 24 hours in bright sunshine, with support of a crowd like this, many of them running on empty, but others running with an energy they ought not to have had!!
Jo was another runner who really impressed me, and made me all emotional. It appeared she was on the verge of tears the whole of the last hour because her feet were wrecked and her shoes were full of blood from running on burst blisters etc., but every time she came past us all cheering and screaming her on, she tried to smile and keep shuffling onwards – she HAD to run those last loops to maintain her very close 2nd place, as Rosie wasn’t very far behind her, and the sheer determination she showed just makes me go all funny even now, thinking about it. Amazing work from her, absolutely inspirational - what a brilliant year she's had with the ultras. A very well deserved 2nd place at Glenmore.
So many amazing performances, so many incredible people. Every time Ada rang the cowbell to show someone had just done their 25th lap (i.e. 100 miles), it made the hair on my arms stand on end, all goose-pimply. She would then come out of her tent with an electric cattle prod (yeah, I wasn't joking earlier) and threaten ANY runner who said they were just gonna finish there, lol! The work Ada did was pretty immense, really - I don't know how she stayed awake and focused so well! The team of volunteers were awesome to every last one of them - as always, a great set-up, amazing organisation, and just such a friendly, supportive feel to the day.
As the race ended, and runners collapse around he course, I wandered about a bit, congratulating folk, giving hugs and praise to anyone I could, before eventually returning for the prize-giving. It was delayed by about an hour from the schedule, as the final totals were calculated, and presumably checked to within an inch of their lives. The team were also setting up the presentation area to look good in picture; Julie and Ada are stood in the background in many of the shots. Ada was reading out results, and Bill was making the presentation. Just before they got going, Bill shouted “FFS, Julie, you’re wearing a Clyde Stride hoody! Take it off!!!!” – she duly took the hoody off to reveal, underneath, a pink WHW Race long-sleeve top. His reaction was absolutely priceless!!! I think something along the lines of: “Are you f*cking taking the piss??!!!!!” – hahahaha. She went and put a G24 tshirt on over the top. :-)
All of the runners received their medals, and warm applause from everyone else. It was a lovely end to the race, and I was sad that I couldn't stay on for the post-race barbecue, as I had to get down the road. I said a few goodbyes, and jumped in the car before I could get emotional again! I thought a lot about what it had taken for these runners to run for 12 hours, or 24 hours, and the spirit shown in every single case. It makes me proud, and humble, to call many of these people my friends, and to look back on the last 9 or 10 months since they started to enter my life. I'm not saying I'll ever run an ultramarathon myself, who knows where my future lies, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I was remain part of the ultrarunning community for as long as they'll have me. I thought a lot about the day, and linked it to my own abilities, and my attitude to running etc. and it's given me a LOT to process, I think. An amazing day, with amazing people. I've only just touched on it, in this ridiculously long blog post. It was a weekend to remember. x
it was an awesome weekend & great to have you supporting and cheering as I passed - and it was only 'no shoes in the bedroom', not in the whole tent :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat report Sarah and you know it isn't necessary to run an ultra to understand the magic... but I remember saying "I'll never do that!"
ReplyDeletegreat blog Sarah!! Glad u left out Johnny Flings comment on my casserole!
ReplyDeletei know 2 Moonertys wanting to do it next year, just need find a crew.....
ReplyDeleteJust reading this again and realising that I hadn't commented on it, tsk! A great read and I have to say it again: "Thank you Sarah". Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome! It was a total privilege. <3
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