No thanks
June 22, 2008West Highland Way Race
17 miles (ish)
I am so tired at this point in time, I am struggling to write this but if I do not do it now I won’t get it done so I think this will be a pretty rubbish post.
Unlike most people I know who were running today I had to work on Friday and was there for 10 hours so not a great start to a weekend of little sleep. I then came home, prepared food and went back to East Kilbride for our staff night out. I was only going to say hello and was not eating but I was glad I made the effort to go as I was given a card and present since I am leaving the school. So it was then a strange, emotional start to the weekend for me too. Came home and cooked some more before leaving for Milngavie.
Enjoyed seeing everyone at Milngavie although the actual start seemed like a strange anti-climax and it was so strange seeing so few runners set off.
Went off to the Beech Tree Inn and that was one of my favourite stops. It was really amazing seeing these head torches come into view from way down the path, especially once the first couple of runners went by and it became one long line of torches as so many people were still together at this point. I had sports drink and jelly babies for pacepusher but was really worried I would miss him as it was so hard to see who was who and I could only go by the colour of the tops. My dad had gone further down the path so he could shout out to pacepusher where I was.
Drymen next and again here it felt like we did not have to wait that long for him. Again I had sports drink and this time a jam roll and some thing else for him. He was of course too fast and my dad and I were a bit worried about that. It was good to catch up with Sharon, Deb’s back-up at this point.
Onto Balmaha and I managed to shut my eyes here but I did not find it easy to sleep here and it felt like I only dozed off when my alarm on my phone went off and pacepusher was coming in. He complained here that he was feeling really tired but he looked a lot fresher than I felt! Did not say this though! He was about 20 mins ahead of schedule here but seemed to be doing alright. I felt really groggy and horrible here and it felt like it was going to be a really long day!
Onto Rowardennan and managed to shut my eyes again but took ages to doze off and again the alarm went off all too soon. Heard that Marco had gone through the checkpoint first here and caught up with Sharon again and Silke too.
Had a longer break next as we would not meet up until Beinglass farm. Parked at the Drovers Inn and spoke to my aunt, eventually as mobile phone reception, who had seen him at Inversnaid. He was still going about 20 mins faster than the schedule and I built that into the time I allowed to shut my eyes. Allowed what I thought would be plenty of time to walk across but he was just going by as we walked in and shouted that he would get us at Derrydarroch farm. I must point out that he was now 35 mins ahead of the schedule which I had not expected in distance from Inversnaid. Of course I knew I would not hear the end of this but told myself I would put up with it while the race was on. Went to Derrydarroch farm and walked up the hill with some food to meet him. Of course it was my fault that he had run on empty to here and had had a really bad section! Met Katrina here and she said she had seen pacepusher at Beinglass and tried to phone me to let me know – I got the message about 6 hours later!
He complained of blisters but decided to wait to put stuff on them until the A82 crossing so he could get new socks. Went there and tried to put on granuflex(?) which he had been supposed to put on before he started but had forgotten about as he was too busy watching the football. I did not managed to do it very well though and we gave up, he just put vaseline on his feet and a new pair of socks. John caught up at this point and was surprised and pleased to catch up with pacepusher!
We then went on to Auchtertyre Farm and had a bit of a longer wait there. Met WHW runner and Allybea here, I thought I was seeing things when I saw WHW runner no longer running but it sounds like he made the right decision to stop. Pacepusher came in fine here (I think, it is all starting to blur) and got weighed, where he had stayed the same.
I published my report having finished it but the web connection lost and I only have the post until here. I was already enough of an emotional wreck today without having that happen and am too tired to rewrite it so am just going to finish my report about the actual race very quickly.
Various people ran with him pretty much from Tyndrum until the end. I got really tired at Tyndrum and did not know how I was going to last the day but in the end was fine, running from Kingshouses to the Devil’s Staircase and from Kinlochleven to the end.
I had been really worried in the week before the race that I would let pacepusher down as I am so busy with getting ready to go away to Malawi for the summer and with packing up my class at school since I am moving on that I have not had much time to think about the race. I found the day quite stressful as I was constantly thinking would I have the right things ready etc and although I enjoyed watching the race it was hard going being support.
I do not think at this point in time that I would be back-up crew again as after all that worry and trying so hard all day I got no thanks for it at all and obviously did not do a good enough job, as I was worried about. All bar two comments have been to criticise me for not being at Beinglas farm and the two comments apart from them were about when I was running with him and nothing about what I did the rest of the day. I don’t think it’s worth it for that!
Well done to everyone who finished, I really enjoyed seeing everyone I knew coming through the various checkpoints. Hope you all recover quickly!
HOW MANY TIMES? I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU DID! AT THE END OF THE RACE I WAS ON A MASSAGE TABLE RECEIVING MEDICAL ATTENTION, YOU WERE OUTSIDE. I THOUGHT I HAD THANKED YOU ON THE NIGHT… APPARENTLY NOT, BUT I WASN’T EXACTLY WITH IT. SINCE THEN, YOU HAVE REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE ANY COMMENT I MAKE REGARDING YOUR HELP!
SO, ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU! I COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU, YOUR DAD, BOYRACER, BOOKSELLER OR WILLY… NOT TO MENTION ALL THE PEOPLE WHO CAME TO WATCH, ESPECIALLY YOUR AUNT FOR HER MEDICAL EXPERTISE ON MY FEET!
I’LL STOP TRYING TO SAY THANK YOU SOON IF YOU DON’T JUST ACCEPT THAT I MEAN IT!
I know EXACTLY how you feel Caroline. The backup crew rarely gets the credit I think we deserve.
You’re sleep deprived and going through an emotional time work wise. You’re leaving the country. Give yourself a break honey.
Men are thoughtless. They just don’t realise the importance of timing. If it’s not said at the right time then it doesn’t matter how many times it’s said.
Looks like someone has a year to be extra extra nice to you
As someone recently said to me ‘He needs a support team more than you need an Ultra runner.’
Hope you have a blast in Malawi. You have a big heart giving up most of your summer holiday.
Much love
Alison x
I also understand something of what you are feeling. The backup does involve a lot of organisation and waiting. When your runner comes through with just a quick acknowledgement of your presence it can make you feel a bit despondent.Even though John has told me how much he appreciates what we do – at the time when you are so tired and out of routine – it can be hard to accept and believe he means it. The second year of supporting has been much easier. I knew what to expect. I am married to the most organised of people and if it isn’t on his yellow laminated clip board then it doesn’t get done. The jobs were distributed – Jo the photographer, Hollie the chef, Laura the fashion guru, Josh the technician – all I did this year was drive and cook a huge amount of pasta for the previous 3 meals he ate.
You had more responsibility, you were also a support runner and on top of all that you are packing up a classroom and preparing for 5 weeks in Malawe – no wonder you are exhausted!!!
I hope that the next few days will be a little more relaxing and a lot less stressful than your weekend. Have a fantastic time in Africa.
Katrina.
Hi Caroline, without wishing to get drawn into any arguments, can I make a few suggestions regarding support. I know you’re probably thinking “never again” but you can’t be angry forever and chances are, Neal *will* want to do it again.
Of course, having seen you running over the Larig Mor this year, I think you’ve got WHW running potential yourself so maybe Neal could support you next year?
Anyway, back to my suggestions. Firstly, if you can, have the day off work before the race. It’s a tough job supporting and like the runner, you need to be well rested and not stressed pre-race. Of course these things aren’t always within your control. Secondly, I don’t thank any ultra-runner fit to run the WHW should need any support before Balmaha. I always send my wife Muriel up to Balmaha straight after the start to get her head down (we can fit a Z-bed in the back of my car). She finds that helpful.
As a runner, I always try and phone ahead to warn her of my approach (if possible) as you can’t always predict your pace pre-race. I also don’t stop at Beinglas farm. It’s too far to carry stuff and instead I carry on to here (http://www.zen31010.zen.co.uk/highlandflingrace/images/whwmap/whw08t.html). It’s a relatively short walk up to the WHW where the road is on the same side of the river as the route. I don’t stop at Derrydarroch as again, it’s a pain for support crews. I use the A82 crossing where the tunnel is.
http://www.zen31010.zen.co.uk/highlandflingrace/images/whwmap/whw09t.html
My wife found it very helpful to catnap for short intervals this year. 10 minutes sleep here and there might not sound like much but she found it made a big difference.
Neal ran a great race and couldn’t have done it without you. During the race, I think all runners have a degree of “tunnel vision” and don’t always appreciate what their support crews are going through so don’t be too hard on him. The goblet may have been given to Neal but a part of it is legitimately yours.