West Highland Way Race 2015

Artwork by Ross Lawrie

The dust has well and truly settled, two weeks down the line, on this year's West Highland Way Race, and my blog post is now well overdue, but I felt still important to write. This is for two reasons - one to record the weekend, but two, to be included in the list of posts on the WHW race website, because you don't often get many marshal write-ups, and hopefully it will add a slightly different perspective on the day!! (Be warned: it's a long one.)

I've struggled a little, knowing where to start; mainly because in the couple of days post-race a surprising number of people were posting things online along the lines of "if you're not a runner or support crew, you have no idea" - well, I beg to differ. This year I wasn't a runner, nor a member of a support crew (as I have been the last 2 years), but the race is still a very special experience, and one I'm proud to be part of. Just because I don't run these kind of distances, doesn't mean I don't "get" the race. So, let's go back to when the ballot entries were revealed...

I was asked, within a very short time, to crew for two separate friends. For a variety of reasons, I ended up a few weeks later turning both down (not an easy decision), but then signing up to be part of the volunteer team this year (a much easier decision!). Once that decision was made, I sat back and watched the build-up online, and watched friends prepare. Some had an easier year of training than others, some knew their fitness was not right for a race of this magnitude and withdrew, and others just did what they could and hoped for the best. Regardless of where they were with their training and fitness, there were months of preparation, nerves and excitement for everyone, it seemed. And I'll admit, I was excited too!

I'd got my allocated roles: registration on the Friday night, then working at the Kinlochleven checkpoint on the Saturday night. KLL is the last official checkpoint before the finish, and the time between the first runner getting there and the cut-off time on Sunday morning is something along the lines of 17 hours. Julie runs this checkpoint, and splits the shifts into 2. I told her I would have happily worked the double shift, but she put her foot down - she wanted me for the second shift, and she would prefer I was rested, and able to deal with whatever the night would bring. The runners and many of their crew are all sleep-deprived and exhausted at this point: it wouldn't help if the marshals were of a similar state! I would be working there from 8:30pm on Saturday, right through the night to around 5:15-5:30am on Sunday - no easy shift, by anyone's standards. I felt a bit grumbly - I wanted to be involved!! - but I accepted her experience and authority, and agreed. That meant I would have almost all of Saturday free to rest, eat, rest some more, and so on.

Logistics-wise, I decided to book (and check into) my Fort William hotel from Friday - it wasn't my wisest decision in the world, but since I had Friday off work, I headed up to FW nice and early, having a very lovely drive in the sun. After passing Glencoe ski centre, a mile or two later my eye was caught by a runner leaping around a grassy stone outcrop to the side of the road, with a photographer crouched down shooting 'action shots'. I slowed my car a little, and looked to see if I recognised the runner: it was Marco Consani. I laughed to myself as I continued on my way to Fort William - go to the hills, spot a random runner, and the likelihood of me knowing them gets higher every year!!

It was a nice drive, and I was checked in to the hotel nice and early, with time for about two hours of rest, and sorting luggage, before I headed out for food, and the drive back to Glasgow! Typically for someone writing so much about their weightloss of late, while coming out of MacDonalds with my arms full I was recognised, as a van full of Wee Grumpies was in the car park! Fiona shouted me over, with Rachel adding hi from the back seat, and we had a nice wee catch-up. Then it was on to Glasgow. The drive went well, again, and I made it to Milngavie in good time, for helping set-up registration in the hall. I'd checked my phone just when I parked, and had spotted a post in the WHW Race FB group from Davie, encouraging people to celebrate my weightloss by getting a 'skelfie' photo taken with me. Lois had made the reference to Skelf (my surname is Self), and Davie - being cheeky - had stepped it up a notch. So within a very short time of opening up registration, I was being asked for photos!!! Some I agreed to, some I laughed and said No, and some I laughed and said something a bit less ladylike!!

When I was setting up in place at registration, I agreed to do the weigh-in, alongside Norma. Sean, the race medic, informed us that if someone turned up in jeans, we were to ask them to remove them for the scales. This is for a Very Important Reason (it would look like you'd lost a LOT of weight at the first weigh-in when you're in much lighter running kit) - and hence as terrible as it would be to ask guys to strip down to their pants over and over, I was ready to do what was required of me!!!! #supermarshal

A surprising number of guys turned up to register wearing jeans and heavy jumpers (seriously, people?) so my evening passed quickly in a blur of bare legs, hugs from friends, finally getting the full Spine Race Dog-Saving story from Neil Rutherford, and loads of silly photographs! We closed up registration, while Ian and Sean got ready to do the race briefing, and I went outside for more hugs, catch-ups, and - yes - 'skelfies' (sigh). At one point, talking to Pete (on the sweep team), I joked that I hoped he didn't have his phone on silent (as some of the sweepers had at the Fling), and he checked and admitted "oooops" - so I joined him with the others and laughed "Ada! Should've seen what your sweeper here did - he was only about to go out with his phone on silent!!" - only to see two of the other sweep team, George and Gordon, grab at their phones, check them, and shamefacedly switch theirs off silent too!!! hahahaha. Gave me a giggle.

Then the runners were away - and I drank tea in my car, before setting off up the road for FW, and my hotel bed. The drive was... well, not as easy as the two times I'd already done it that day. It was pitch black, and the roads are windy, and my eyes were going a bit weird with tiredness. At one point, a little after Pulpit Rock, I turned a corner and like some special effect out of a sci-fi movie, a dark puddle of viscous material whooshed diagonally up and across the road, before sucking back into itself and returning to be a normal puddle on the road. This weird hallucinatory effect made me realise my tiredness was too much for driving, and I pulled over into a layby for a welcome 30+ minute nap.

I drove through Tyndrum as the first signs daylight were just starting to appear, and passed Glencoe ski resort in thick fog. A little bit north of the base of the Devil's staircase, two HUGE deer leapt out of a bank of fog to my left, across the road in front of my car, and I slammed the brakes; my heart pounding. A moment later, I started up, a little slower, and carried on. A moment later, spotting a car coming towards me, I flashed my headlights in warning, and he did the same in return - so I was on alert when I turned the next corner and a whole herd of smaller deer were in the road and on the roadside, in the gloom. I slowed right down, and passed these beautiful animals, marvelling at this stunning part of the world. The rest of my drive was uneventful, and I was in my hotel bed by 4:30am.

About 5 hours later, I woke - and decided to get up and log online to see how people's race's were going. Sitting in a big comfortable bed, with the kettle providing me with hot tea aplenty, and my iPad filling me in on the stats of those out there who had been running for almost 9 hours, I felt a little bit guilty. (But then I made another cuppa, and stretched out on the bed, and felt better... hehe.) - The checkpoint splits were suggesting Paul Giblin was a few minutes slower than last year, but with a comfortable lead, so I decided that I would head to the leisure centre at about 3pm (14 hours, race time). Until then, I went out for food, a walk in town, and sorted out my food for KLL.

RD Ian hugs race winner Paul. Aww.

I made it to the leisure centre with only maybe 10 minutes to spare, as it turned out Paul had blasted the last section - just so, so impressive!! He's had some amazing runs over the last year, some of them in a national vest, but you can't take away his WHW Race victories as being something incredibly special. I don't really know Paul to talk to, and I didn't know what I would say other than just being a little gushing, so I left him to talk with friends and family, and after a short while I slipped away. Before I did, though, I asked Davie Gow (who had been out and about on the course either doing his own training runs, or supporting Paul etc.) what the midgies were like at Kinlochleven. He told me, and I wish I'd got this in writing, there wasn't a single one, it had been absolutely fine. Buoyed on by that, I headed back to my hotel. (Note: he lied.)

I had a couple of hours more sleep, before having a hot bath, covering myself in midge repellent, and getting ready for the off. I ate some dinner, all the while checking results updates and facebook, especially for updates on friends who would be too fast for me to see them at KLL - such as Gerry, Robert, Johnny Fling, and Neil - then off I went to KLL. I arrived around 8:15, and got settled and sorted, including a walk round to the Co-Op for plenty of milk (I wouldn't survive without buckets o' tea, lol) - everyone was wrapped up in midge nets, and slapping at themselves and whatever, but I was out in a short sleeve tshirt, no midge net, and I was fine. Being naturally repellent, plus a slight scent of Eau D'Smidge, is clearly enough for me. :-)

Inside the checkpoint, I was shown the ropes, and the shifts handed over - Aurel was doing a shift that bridged the two halves, and put me to shame by the fact that she'd been out for a nice long run before starting work! I'd done nooooo exercise at all! Very quickly, I was put to work - helping runners 'bleep' their timing chips, and step on the scales (literally helping them step on the scales, in some cases - I was used by people to balance on, for those who were struggling with the few inches step up, and I even lifted one guy's foot off the floor and onto the scales at one point) - giving their weight to the other marshal, who would note it on their card. We took a quick assessment of the weight difference, and I made sure to talk to every single runner, and watch their replies, etc. Weight alone is no indicator of problems, but looking at them and how they respond, etc. can also help - any concerns we had, we would be able to get the medic, Chris, to assess the runners' ability to continue.

Other than basically clocking people in, and weighing them, we had a variety of other tasks as and when - things such as liaising with staff, helping people who need to see the medic, keeping an eye on the kitchen supplies and state of the bathrooms/showers, making sure people were keeping the car park quiet, giving about a million hugs, giving directions, and answering questions from runners, crews, and other friends/family. After darkness fell, we also had to make sure all runners leaving the checkpoint were with someone else for the next section - either a support crew member, or leaving with another runner. Safety is paramount, when they've been on their feet for that long, and exhaustion is kicking in. Additionally, we tried to keep track of all the runners who had stopped for a sleep - as we headed towards the cut-off times, Julie even did a sweep of the carpark to make sure no runners were still sleeping in their vehicles.

For such a long shift, I don't have a lot of stories to share (some stories I want to keep to myself anyway) - and some of them are funnier in the actual face-to-face telling. The runner who couldn't find his crew anywhere for half an hour, even though the van was in the carpark, unlocked, with a sleeping child inside... for example! The banter with the sweep team (Ada, Norrie and Pete) on their arrival. The grossness of Pete's feet. The awesomeness of an excited Dave Meldrum as he stepped on the scales and in answer to the standard 'how are things going?' replied: "I don't mean to boast, but I am fucking rocking this!". The silly skelfies. The extra-special hug with Spider-Man. The eagerness with which Izzy grabbed my mug of tea from me as I waved it towards her. Seeing so many of my friends coming through the checkpoint, still moving well, still smiling. Trying to figure out how to communicate with a Breton runner and crew, when my French vocab is somewhat limited to 'bonne chance!' and their English wasn't all that hot. ...it goes on.

The last runners left just before 5am, and we tidied up, then Julie and I headed to Chris's house for a welcome breakfast. After that, I drove back to the hotel room, and tried to sleep for a couple of hours, before meeting up with the Moonertys and heading off to the prizegiving. More hugs, more congrats, and it was something special to see so many friends go up to collect their goblets (including the magnificent Fiona Rennie, who has so many of the things now it's getting silly - wonder what I would need to do to get one of hers?). The more SUMS races I attend, the more people I know, and each year the number of familiar friends and acquaintances at these events grows and grows. It's a special time of the year - and the prizegiving ceremony really is a vital part of the event. My phone rang halfway through the ceremony, and I quickly silenced it, looking down to see it was my Dad trying to ring. I flushed as I remembered; it's Father's Day!! And I just hung up on my Dad! Ooooops..... I phoned him back as soon as it had finished, lol! And then, back to the hotel for food and bed.

Skelfies with Stoney

I didn't manage to stay long in the party in the pub that evening - I was exhausted, and it was feeling a little claustrophobic. But it was fab to catch up with the Stoney gang, and to chat to Lois, Julie, and others. A lovely end to an amazing weekend. Back at the hotel, I bumped into Katie and Graham - Katie thankfully looking remarkably better than the last time I'd seen her, arriving into KLL in a fairly zombified state! She'd slept there for over 2 hours before continuing on, and that 2 hour sleep had clearly done her the world of good. It had been touch and go if she was making that last stretch, for a wee while... So it was fab to catch up with them, at the hotel, and congratulate her on a well-earned goblet.

Monday morning, I drove home, stopping at Tyndrum for a late breakfast at the Real Food Café - and bumping into Lois and her hubby while I was there! I felt, as I finished up and left to head back to Edinburgh, like this weekend I'd made a bunch of new friends, and the pride and inspiration I'd got from seeing friends old and new succeed in such an amazing challenge is impossible to quantify.

As for next year - well, I won't rule myself out of being on someone's support crew if I'm asked, but volunteering and being part of the race team at race so expertly and seamlessly put on by Ian and his team was absolutely fantastic, with memories I'll hold for a long time. So, who knows what I'll be doing next year over the midsummer weekend, but I know where I'll be... See you in Milngavie. x