REPORT NOT FINISHED – STILL IN THE PROCESS OF EDITING AND ADDING PHOTOS!

Preliminaries

I finished writing this exactly one week after the race. My legs are no longer stiff and I am going to start exercising again after having a week off. This is a long report. I wrote it for myself. It’s not the best account of a marathon you’ll ever read but I wanted to make a record of the weekend while the event is still fresh in my mind.

The Day Before

The marathon was on Sunday morning with registration Saturday afternoon. I had just been at university for a week after the summer break so I was in Glasgow. The weather had been variable all week and the forecast for Inverness had been flip-flopping. The thought of running for four hours in the rain was not very appealing so I was desperately hoping for a nice blue sky (actually anything apart from rain and I would have been happy!).

My parents came up from Dumfries on Saturday morning in the car. I had packed my stuff the night before and after triple checking my running shoes were there we set off (forgetting them was my worst case scenario). It’s about four hours to Inverness from Glasgow by car and we stopped off in Dunkeld for lunch.

On the motorway there was a very heavy downpour that I didn’t like the look of. Thankfully we passed through it and the sky was just slightly less grey in the direction we were heading.

I got to registration about 3:30pm in Bught Park. The place was a lot busier than last time I went there a year before for a camping trip. There is a campsite at Bught Park that would have been very convenient but they inexplicably shut 3 days before the marathon. Registration turned out to be very simple and quick. I soon had a brown envelope containing my race number (704), my timing tag and some final instructions about baggage.

The Loch Ness Festival of Running is a major event with over 8000 participants in the various races. Being a student I was in “search-for-free-stuff-mode” that any self-respecting student goes into when at a major event. I found a Lucozade stand where I got a rather suspicious energy gel (I don’t like the taste and hadn’t trained with them). More usefully they had “Pace Bands”. You told them the time you wanted to run the race in and they gave you a band with the split times for each mile. I’ll talk more about them later.

I also had a look at the lovely marathon branded clothing that was on sale in the big tent. Sadly my budget didn’t stretch to Gore-Tex vests, shorts and jackets! I decided my tshirt at the end would be my souvenir.

We then headed into the city centre and went to Costa and Morrisons to get dinner. I wasn’t sure what I would want to eat at the end of the race so I decided to buy all the possibilities! Needless to say they weren’t very healthy except an Innocent Mango Smoothie which I like very much.

I booked a **Bunchrew**campsite about five miles away a few months before. There were some other runners already there when we arrived and a few more arrived after us. I had a 3 man tent to myself so I had plenty of room. We arrived at 6:00pm and by 7:30pm it was already getting quite dark which made it feel much later than it was. This was a good thing as I needed to get up early on Sunday morning so I wanted as long a sleep as possible.

A small amount of rain fell for an hour at about 9:00pm but thankfully after that it stayed dry for the rest of the night and I got to sleep sometime after 11:00pm.

Race day

My intention was to get up at 6:10am and have a shower. Unfortunately my when my alarm went  off my tent was very chilly and the thought of shivering to the shower block was not appealing. I reset my alarm for 6:30am and enjoyed a doze. I had laid all my clothes out and organized my bags the night before so I was ready quickly. My dad and I left for the bus-pick up at 6:50am with plenty of time to get there.

My dad returned after dropping me off to help my mum strike the tents. It was certainly handy not having to pack all my stuff away properly, a support crew is great!

When we got there I hopped out of the car and visited the portaloos. There were people around but I did expect it to be busier, there just didn’t seem to be the 3000 or so runners I expected. However, the line of buses was impressive. They charter buses to take the runners to the start for logistical reasons (it’s quite remote and with roads shut if everyone came by car it would be chaos). I headed off to the buses and after 10 minutes they let us on.

A man with a “Security” jacket on a large motorbike zipped from one end of the buses to the other every few minutes probably to communicate messages. He looked like he was having fun.

The timetable had us leaving at 7:55am but there was still a constant stream of people coming from early morning registration to the buses. As time passed they started to run across the field. By 8:05am there was only the odd strangler and we left. On leaving Bught Park I saw two ladies dressed in running gear walking in the opposite direction to the buses. I wonder if the late arrivers did get to the race in end, I hope so but the organisers had a schedule to keep.

Being in a convoy of over 20 buses was a strange experience. We were escorted by motorbikes and the roundabouts were temporarily shut off to other traffic. Being early Saturday morning there wasn’t much around.

To get to the start the buses don’t just do the marathon in reverse and took a different route there along some narrow country roads. There were some bewildered drivers that had pulled in. I had my small carton of orange juice and eagerly awaited arrival – I needed the toilet.

About an hour later at 9:10 we arrived at the start and it appears plenty of well hydrated runners were in the same boat as me. The buses stopped in a line on a single track road above the start and it was another odd sight as men sprinted off the buses that had stopped in front and went to the side of the road to relieve themselves. A line of runners stretching for about half a mile relieving themselves is quite a sight. If I learnt anything that day it’s that runners have no shame and if it means saving time then they’ll do it.

There were toilets along the route but not many and most people just went slightly off the road. I do wonder what it’s like in City marathons!

It wasn’t too cold but unfortunately it was raining. I hadn’t brought a poncho/bin bag with me to stay warm so I delayed putting my jacket in the luggage truck for as long as possible. The road leading to the start was very straight so I could see the elites getting ready.

There were lots of people with waistbands with gel bars attached and some people looked quite serious and getting “mentally” prepared. However, most were happily getting ready and chatting. The atmosphere was relaxed and maybe slightly dampened by the rain.

I grabbed a bottle of water and admired the massive line that had formed for tea/coffee.

I moved with the flow of people heading towards the start line until the crowd was too dense to move through. A local radio presenter was going through some kind of warm-up routine but not many people were following it but it was nice to have some music being pumped out. There were dozens of large speakers set up all the way up the road from the start and it was great they had gone to the effort for a set up that was only going to last about 30 minutes.

I stretched and loosened up. The announcement went out that there was 5 minutes to go. Time was going very quickly and after some of the elite field was introduced. Apparently the first time in Scotland for the Ethopian woman who later went on to win her category (I smiled at the patriotic Scottish weather it looked like she would be running in).

The countdown came suddenly and we were off. Or at least the elites were. It took another 2 minutes for me to cross the start line but I wasn’t in any hurry as you wear a tag on your shoe that is used to give you a personal time from start to finish.

I crossed the start line and my first thoughts were on the interesting sound effect coming from the speakers behind me and there apparent chain effect due to them all being different distances from me.  Because no speakers were pointing in the direction I was running in the sound from the other speakers wasn’t blocked out by anything.

The Race

I couldn’t quite believe it had started. I’d been waiting for the moment for many months and it had finally begun. It was the first time I’d ever ran in such a large group of people but thankfully the pace seemed comfortable. I popped round a few people that seemed to be going a bit slow but soon settled into a steady pace.

We had driven the first three miles on the bus so I knew what to expect and I’d also carefully studied the profile map. It was downhill for the first seven miles so I needed to be careful not to let my stride get to long.

If you ever wanted some nice running gear then follow a marathon. Clothes were discarded all along the course but most at the start. I’m not sure what happens to all the discarded clothing but I hope it’s not all binned.

At the first mile marker I checked my watch and pace band. I was going a little faster than the pace needed for 4 hours but I felt comfortable and I felt I was running quite slowly. I therefore tried to keep running at that speed.

Loch Ness Marathon doesn’t have many people dressed up like the London Marathon but for the first few miles I ran near two men dressed as tigers and “The Pink Panther”. I also passed some guys in military uniform that had full packs on who I later found out were running for *******.

I would like to dress up for a race in the future. My favourite outfits are the lines of runners that form centipedes and other long bugs. You’d just have to be certain you were all going to run at the same speed!

I was however quite comfortable in my shorts and t-shirt. One of the pockets in my shorts had a hole in it so the snacks I’d brought with me were in the inner lining. It did mean that I could fit more in but it was slightly annoying having them swinging around.

The plan was to have a Kellog’s Fruit N’ Fibre bar every 5 miles but I got hungry at the start and had one early. Being my first marathon I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted but it turns out I got it just about right but I could have done with an extra bar. I was carrying an energy gel with me that I got from the Lucozade stand for free the day before. However, I was loathed to eat it because I had never tried that one before and I didn’t think it would sit well with me. In the end it got opened slightly and oozed out a bit but I never needed it.

At about mile 3 I decided it would be nice to listen to some tunes so I pulled out my MP3 player and spent about 3 minutes untangling the headphones but when I tried to turn it on I found the battery had somehow gone flat. I was disappointed, not for the lack of music but the fact I had to carry the useless thing round for the rest of the way.

We were still some way off from Loch Ness at this point and it was still raining. There was the odd group of people outside a car cheering us on. I had to admire their spirit standing in the cold and I’m grateful for them doing it.

Although the road was generally downhill to Loch Ness it did undulate and twist and turn. If it had been flat then I think it would have been less interesting and duller. I was still running comfortably and gradually getting a few minutes faster than each split.

I can’t remember which water water it was but I think it was the second where a young helper (he must have been about 10) got an open bottle of water accidently knocked at him. Not nice at the best of times but when it was raining it can’t have been pleasant. The drinks stations were fairly well manned but it was a busy job for those running it. There was a constant stream of runners going past with nobody wanting to stop. Usually about 4 helpers stood on either side of the road while another 2 or 3 unpacked the bottles. Unfortunately for the young boy the runner in front of me misread the movements of one of the people holding a bottle out and knocked it onto him.

The drinks stations were well spread throughout the course and they certainly made the race easier. Not having to carry fluids with you as you do on training runs felt much comfier. Unfortunately the wastage was high. Many runners just had a few sips before discarding their bottle at the side of the road. Most bottles were practically full that had been thrown to the side.

It was quite a mess the runners left. In the later stages the bottles discarded near the drinks stations were already being cleared up but they would have had to wait until the end of the race to clear them all up. This is where I have mixed thoughts about having an event in an area as beautiful as Loch Ness because there will always be bottles and wrappers missed. With a race every year the litter will slowly build up. We were asked to use bins one mile after every station but many runners didn’t adhere to that.

As we reached the shores of Loch Ness we passed my favourite supporter. This man had parked his car up a side road and in his boot was a boom-box playing upbeat highland music. He was standing there clapping along and he got a good response from those that passed him. It’s funny just how big a morale boost something like that is. When you’ve being running for a while something out of the ordinary really brightens your mood.

Suddenly Loch Ness became visible to our left and we were running along beside it. Just as I got there the weather brightened and it stopped raining. The views were good but I didn’t spend much time admiring them as I would have stumbled over other runners.

The race was more spread out by now but it had formed clumps of people. The group I was in was going at a steady pace that seemed about the speed I wanted to go at. Daydreaming and watching the Loch meant that before I knew it I was slipping off the back of the pack. I decided I would like to stay with it so I made a conscious effort to stay at the back.

It was a good move to make because running in a large group somehow feels more comfortable. There were a few people from a running club in Aberdeen who were chatting away. For most of them it was their first marathon or first one in a while. Lazily eavesdropping without the need to participate in a conversation was a good way of saving energy and still getting entertained.

This stage of the race seemed to go on for quite some time. It wasn’t even halfway yet and nothing much was happening, you just need to keep running. This is where mental strength plays a part. 26 miles is a long run and it seems even longer when you have only done 10 miles with another 16 to go!

I broke the race up into discrete parts; first 5km (3.1 miles – a distance I do for speed in the gym regularly) and then 10km (just length than a month before I did my first ***10km race***).  My next marker would be 13 miles. There is something special about being half way round. You have got this far, you just need to do the same again.

There were a few cheers from the Aberdeen runners at 13 miles so I wasn’t the only one celebrating!

I was tempted to shout “There’s Nessie!” but never had the guts to do it. Like all bad jokes everyone thinks they’re the first to come up with it. I did hear one or two others using it and it didn’t go down that well so it’s probably best I never shouted it.

At a drinks station just after 13 miles I left the Aberdeen runners behind. Not intentionally, but they must have slowed down and I never saw them again. This was the first station that I got the Lucozade drink from. For some reason I had thought it would be fizzy (I don’t like carbonated drinks) but to my delight it wasn’t. “Body Fuel” tasted like orange squash which at any other time I would rather not drink but now its sugary goodness was quite satisfying! I drunk the whole bottle far quicker than I should of and although I definitely wasn’t dehydrated before drinking it (I had plenty of water before this point) I felt much more “energized” instantly. Bless the placebo effect!

I had done 13 miles in about 1 hour 51 minutes. I didn’t expect to do the next 13 miles quite as fast but I didn’t need to. To get sub-4 hours I just had to keep my pace. This is where the wrist pace band was invaluable because I knew I hadn’t gone above the split time needed per mile to get the time I wanted. Without the pace band I would have been worrying.

My next mini-target was 17 Miles and Dores village. I knew there was a hill there that would take me to around the 20 mile mark which would be a major step for me.

By this point I could see no reason why I shouldn’t finish the race. I felt comfortable and although a little bit tired I didn’t feel any different from several miles ago. Being by first marathon beforehand I just didn’t quite know what to expect. I now knew I could finish it and that was a major confidence booster. When you are sure of something in your head it just makes it so much easier to carry out.

I passed a couple of guys with a vuvuzela that were trying to “play” it. When they did manage to get a sound it was mighty impressive and blasted round the countryside to the cheers of runners.

Another lady following the race (quite literally) was on a bike that stopped and started. I saw her periodically until about mile 24.

As we moved away from Loch Ness the road was coned in the middle and we were encouraged to run on the left. There was barely any cars so I think it was just local traffic.

Dores finally came into view and it looked like the whole village had come out to support us. For about 400m the pavements were lined with over 200 people. They were very vocal and supportive and you couldn’t help but smile and wave back. The people of Dores were the most supportive crowd of the race and I suspect many of them had watched every Loch Ness Marathon.

I’ve helped marshal race’s before and cheered people on but I never realized how beneficial it is to the runners. It feels like you’re shouting the same thing over and over again. But to the runners you’re not repeating yourself; they only hear the cheers once.

It’s one of the only times in my life I’ll get cheered when doing a sport. I’m just not good enough at to get cheered by a crowd. But in a marathon you feel special despite being one of many people. If you only have so many cheers to give then save them for the people behind the front group, they’re the ones who need it most!

I left Dores ready to tackle the infamous hill I heard so much about. It came very soon and was just as people said. It’s not particularly steep but it does drag on for quite a distance.

My theory is that I can only run as well as weakest part of my running fitness. For this race it was my legs going further than they ever had. I never became out of breath at any point in the race so aerobically I was fine. For me the hill at Dores was a bit of an anti-climax, I still had plenty of energy and I just kept running at a constant pace. I passed a lot of people who were walking the hill. My preference of running fast for training was a benefit for me here because the hill just didn’t faze me.

About halfway up the hill I met a guy called Gordon who was running at the same pace as me. It’s a small world and he had just recently moved away from the West-End of Glasgow (where I live). We had similar hobbies and he did mountain biking too. It was nice having a relaxed conversation to take the mind off the distance left. Mile 20 had now been passed and I couldn’t believe I had less than 10km to go.

We ran together for a few miles and even picked the pace up and passed quite a few people. From mile 20 there were a lot more people walking parts of the course, even flat sections. At about mile 23 I could feel my legs slowing down and resisting the pace. I knew there was no chance I could keep the pace going that we were at. He was more comfortable so I told him to and wished him luck. I didn’t see him again (it was very busy at the finish) but I checked his number and he finished the race about 4 minutes in front of me.

I did a quick evaluation of my position. I had effectively hit “the wall” or at least a mild form of it. My legs weren’t painful but I just couldn’t run as fast. My calves had turned into a biological speed limiter and I had to understand that. I checked my watch and pace band. I was pleased to see that even with a substantial drop in speed I would still do sub-4 hours. I was over a mile further than I needed to be if I was running 9:09 miles.

This was very reassuring and I was pleased to be in a position where even though it was getting difficult I was on target. This knowledge meant I was quite happy with my current state and I just continued to plod along.

The anticipation of finish was building. I only had a couple of miles to go and I couldn’t quite believe it. I had a final bottle of Lucozade stuff and continued running. After 3 and ½ hours running I knew it would all be over shortly.

As I entered Inverness my speed dropped to the lowest in the race and I was passed by a few people but most were now going at my speed, we had all slowed down together!

There were a few people at the side of the road shouting support and I spotted a man handing stuff out. I shouted ahead and asked what it was. His reply was “jelly babies”. Yes please! They gave me a small boost and by this point it was getting hot as the sun came out. At the final drink station I had a short sip of water and poured the rest on my head. I certainly didn’t want it all over myself but just the head cooled me off nicely.

Less than a minute later I spotted my mum. She was standing in a crowd and I wasn’t suspecting to see her so I was quite chuffed at being so alert. I shouted and got her attention and she turned on the camera. I did some kind of demented dance in the spot as I wasn’t sure if she had started the video. She waved and I continued.

I got a second round of jelly babies from someone about a minute further.

The final part of the marathon involves running along a river to a bridge and doubling back on the other side. Depending on how you look at it, that’s either demoralizing or reassuring. I was just pleased to be in a familiar area and the end seemed definite.

My time was good (about 3:45) so I ran the fastest I could comfortably but didn’t strain myself.

My mum took a shortcut across a bridge before the one I crossed and had the camera ready for a second video.

I passed the 26 mile marker. Only 385 yards to go. Not that yards mean much to me as a unit of measurement, all I knew was that I was very, very close!.

I saw the finishing line and if I didn’t smile with my mouth I was smiling inside. Months of waiting (and a bit of preparation) were finally going to be realised. It was an odd sensation and I finally managed to appreciate why people could easily cry and feel very emotional at the end of the marathon. Of course, I am a real man, so I didn’t cry!

I picked the pace up a little bit (not that I was fooling anyone into thinking I had run like that all the way round!) and made sure I didn’t look like a zombie for any pictures that might be taken. I spotted my dad just by the finish line with the camera. I looked up to see my gun time, crossed the finishing line, heard a bleep to confirm my timing tag had been registered and took my first few steps as a successful marathon runner.

It’s all Over

I was handed a Goodybag and my race tshirt. I took both water and Lucozade because I wasn’t sure which I would want. I was just about to leave the finish enclosure when a helper shouted over and asked me if I wanted a banana. I did and nearly asked for two but decided not to get greedy! I left finishing area with both hands full.

It still hadn’t quite dawned on me that I’d finished. For nearly 4 hours all I had thought about was the need to keep running. It felt strange to be standing still. I had my banana and walked around waiting for my parents to arrive and had a look out for Gordon but I suspected he had left.

The park had turned into a mud bath from the rain in the morning. Apparently it rained for the whole of the 10k race.

My parents arrived and congratulated me. I expressed pleasure that I had managed my sub-4 hour goal. My mum’s response was that she was just glad I got round without injury. I am certain she thought I was going to turn up in an ambulance!

I didn’t want to stay in Bught Park for long. I didn’t fancy the complimentary soup. My dad collected my bag from the trucks (I felt sorry for the guys working on those with numbers being shouted at them non-stop for hours!) while I went to the toilet.

All that was left to be done was pose with the giant inflatable Nessie and head back to the car. It was the first time I got a chance to sit down properly since leaving the bus about 6 hours before. Those seats have never felt so comfy! My after race food bag was in the back seat and I promptly tucked in.

I enjoyed effectively vegetating in the car for an hour or so. We stopped off at Dunkeld again but this time only for a toilet stop. I didn’t realize how stiff my legs had become sitting in the car and it was with some effort I hobbled around.

We got back to Glasgow just after 6:00pm. My fridge was empty so I decided I fancied pizza for tea. I decided it would be good to stretch my legs so my mum and I went to get it while my dad uploaded the pictures from my camera.

I had a peaceful evening and slept well that night. I hobbled round with stiff legs on Monday and Tuesday but it was definitely worth it, my first marathon was a huge success!

Final Thoughts

The Loch Ness Marathon and Running Festival was an extremely well organised event. It’s hard to believe the organisers of an event this size could pull something off to near perfection. The £40 entry fee is very good value for money. All the things that come together to make it the event run and be a good one; buses, tshirts, portaloos, medal and the sponsors. The atmosphere is something money can’t guarantee but Loch Ness had it in abundance.

The event is not televised or widely known but I think it benefits from that. The people involved are doing it because they really want to.

The encouragement from the spectators was great and my personal race was made a lot easier from the help I got from my parents.

I don’t want this to me last marathon. I can definitely seeing myself doing another one in the future. This is now not just a one off event I did as challenge from my New Year Resolutions list.

In saying that, my preference just now is towards events shorter than a marathon. I think I will target 10km and half marathons in particular. I would like to run faster for a shorter distance.

When I return to marathon racing I will aim to beat my personal best set in this race. I can see myself going for sub-3:30 hours. I like the idea of going under 3 hours but just now I am not committed to the training needed. I’m just not interested spending that much time running when there are other things I enjoy doing. Hopefully in the future I’ll think differently and return with a much faster time!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11465535