Puff, puff, puff, puff, puff…it’s 0400 and for the third time I reflate my thermarest. It is too early to pack up my tent and head for the 0700 ferry to Tiree and if the air leaks as slowly as before, I should just about be comfortable till 0520 when I was planning to get up anyway. The Tiree Ultra Marathon should be one of the easier in my summer series but the logistics are somewhat complicated – or at least time consuming, requiring bikes, trains and ferries. While the scenery along the way is stunning – the speed of travel gives you plenty of time to look at it. Having travelled in Switzerland in the summer, the West Coast travel system could do with an upgrade.
Pete Buchanan’s write-up on his bestpartday.blogspot.co.uk last year with the stunning photos of empty beaches and green trails (are better than my shots) had wetted my appetite having described it as “Possibly the best race I’ve ever done”. 40 folk completed the 35 mile route last year. This year, nearly 200 had registered as single, doubles or quad relay teams. Several other Carnethies were on the list including: Phil Humphries, Dave Hanna, Ida Donat, Fiona Mackenzie as an ERN in a pair. There were a lot from Edinburgh clubs plus entertaining dogs from Cani-Sports.
If taking the train from Glasgow to Oban and back – book your bike on the train! The ferry terminal on Saturday morning was buzzing with sleepy racers and dogs with about 120 bikes loaded and the boat restaurant working double time to serve full Scottish then a long slumber. We docked and folk then dispersed to their various accommodations on the island ready for a 0800 start on Sunday. The thing to say about Tiree is the coast line is amazing, there are 3 wee hills, it gets 5 stars for wind based sports, but there are few redeeming features in the middle.
And for the race. Brilliant, beautiful, flat, fast in places, tricky in others with cow hoof potholes in the mud, a bit wet and boggy here-and-there to mud you up, a tiny hill, firm sand apart from the soft bits, plenty of water to wash-off in, and repeat…. The weather behaved with not too much wind overall but cold on the West side of the island until you turned East and had it on your back with some nice cooling drizzle. All the way were things of interest – the white remote spotless beaches and coves with blue waters, the green trails through ancient sand dunes, the black houses and old crofts, interested cows, scared sheep and friendly locals cheering us on. The odd bit of tarmac seemed to help the road runners but wasn’t my favourite, but soon gave way to more remote trails and trods and more stunning coastal scenery. Apparently, there was a broch but I seemed to miss seeing it chasing after Phil Humphries.
The route follows the coastline with a few detours to visit the best beaches or to miss out the un-runnable ground and was split into 4 sections to give some CPs and places for relay handovers to happen. Each was about the same distance apart and by half way I was in the unusual position of being 6th overall. As the 6th Ultra this year I seemed to have improved a bit. At CP2 I took time for a good feed and enjoy my baby potato and rice combo and let Phil H plus a couple of others overtake me. Then Dave Hanna and Madeline Robinson nipped past and disappeared into the distance. I then chased Phil for 18 miles getting one or two people back. At a rock on the second last beach I timed him as 3.5 mins ahead of me and upped my pace to see it I could get him in the last 8km. He clocked me and kept his speed enough to come it about 2mins ahead. Great food and catering after the race and a dip in the sea set me up for a nice cold shower in the hostel as all the water was used by the relay team! A memorable trip with a fantastic ceilidh band in the evening enabling some enthusiastic dancing.
So the results gave 3 Carnethies in the top 10. Provisionally:
Tom Smith (1) 4:42 (CR)
Dave Hanna (7) 5:14
Phil Humphries (8) 5:16
Mark Hartree (9) 5:18
Ina Donat (a bit later)
Jenny (Rogers?), who was the tail ender in over 12hrs, arrived to great applause as we started the ceilidh and is due her baby on 1 Dec!
Full results here at some point: http://www.tireefitness.co.uk/tiree-ultramarathon/
After 23hrs of travelling, I made it home with a new thermarest on my shopping list. Others travelled for longer – hence book yer bike on the train.
Mark Hartree