Watershed Running
Mountain running and ultrarunning in Scotland. This is also a picture blog about a 650 mile run on Scotland's Watershed in 2012 - and the training and recovery involved.
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Weather perfect for the trails in the North West. This looks over to An
Teallach from the Scoraig peninsula. 22 mile trail and road run.
Running in the HIgher Hills - Training Course June 7th, 8th and 9th
I am organising another running course in North West Scotland - Running in the Higher Hills - in June. This course will combine some of the best hill-trails in Wester Ross with training in the key tactics needed for runs in higher places: navigation, route choice and gear choice. There will also be plenty of time to cover important techniques for trackless or tricky ground.
I am helping to organise the 2013 Tame the Wild boot camp in the far North West based near An Teallach. As one of the instructors I’ll be organising trail and mountain runs in the area depending on numbers and demand. Participants can pick and choose from a range of activities over the three days. See the gofurther Scotland page for more.
For more on my talk at Run and Become: http://run.runandbecome.com/event/edinburgh-watershed-run-inspiration-evening/
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS | A FILM BY JAMES URQUHART
Beyond the Mountains film trailer from James Urquhart on Vimeo.
I can’t wait to see this film. I met James just days after running the Watershed when he was still on his epic walk over every Munro in Scotland. We sat in the sun, drinking tea talking about mountains. Good luck with the editing James.
I’ll be giving a talk for Run and Become at their Edinburgh store. Really looking forward to the event and meeting Tarit and the others. I ran with a few of the Run and Become staff during the UK World Harmony Run in 2010.
Days 24, 25 and 26: The Beinn Deargs, the Cromalt Hills and Conival Ridge
Pointing north from the summit of Conival to the bright quartzite-capped ridge to Mullach Leathaid Riabhaich.
60 miles. 13700ft height gain. Three days.
Big runs or races always come with a bit of an edge. An uncertainty about the outcome. The bigger the run, the harder the edge. But towards the end of those runs, there is often a moment of calm and concentration when you realise you have the finish within you. And so it was on the Watershed. When I reached the A835 east of Ullapool I still had about 160 miles still to run.
Day 24 – the Beinn Dearg Munros and Seana Bhraigh
I know few hills better than I know the Beinn Dearg’s and the weather couldn’t have been kinder – it was cool, dry and bright and the cloud base was just above the summits – giving the mountains around an added sense of scale.
Sometimes during my run on the Watershed the little niggling pains, the fatigue and especially the nausea clouded out all else. More than once I was so focused on those distractions that I almost felt like giving up. But the day on the Beinn Deargs was the other extreme. I was tired from the accumulated mileage for sure; but I was meant to be there that day.
Left: Loch Broom and Ullapool in the distance from Iorguill. Right: Enjoying some ginger beer back at base in Ullapool - same day.
Iorguill, is one of my favourite mountains in Scotland. Long before I was even aware of the Watershed I noticed how its summit has a view of Loch Broom and the Minch to the west, yet the Allt Mhucharnaich in the vast glen below its summit drains to the east to reach Loch Glascarnoch and then - the North Sea. Iorguill has one of those intriguing Gaelic names. It probably means place of the skirmish or uproar. What happened here to give it this name? Over the centuries, how many have used this land-bridge to connect the high places of the Beinn Dearg hills to the Fannichs and the Dirie Mor?
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IT Band Injuries
Everyone who runs a lot expects an injury now and again. But what is it about an IT Band injury that’s so infuriating? I’ve struggled with an IT Band problem since the Ayr River Way Challenge. Things are improving but…not very quickly.
The IT band injury I had last year kicked in after about 6 miles while in the last few weeks the pain has me limping after just 1 or 2. Obviously you can’t go to a doctor complaining about how you can only run two miles. You’d rightly be shown the door.
Other injures - such as shin splints, cartilage problems or pulley strains seem to be easier to define and while the recovery phase may be long - the actual treatments are well established. But there seems to be very little consistent advice about IT Band injury. Well, the advice I’ve been given isn’t consistent. As ever, the best advice appears to be written by runners - for runners. So - following my own instincts and reading around, I’ve focused on cross training with lots of open-water and pool swimming. I’ve been doing a lot of stretching and some speed work in bare feet on the beach. I’ve combined that with run-walks on easy ground.
Here is some advice I’ve found (really) useful:
Research on 100 mile ultrarunning tactics
There isn’t much research on ultrarunning and even less on tactics many ultrarunners take for granted - such as starting out slowly, using NSAIDs etc. But here’s a good paper on a survey of ultrarunners competing in the South Downs 100….
http://www.centurionrunning.com/assets/files/research/SouthDownsWay100Report.pdf
Days 5, 6 and 7. The Central Belt.
Three days. 90 miles. 6800ft total height gain.
View Watershed Run Days 5, 6 and 7 Lowlands Traverse in a larger map
The section of Scotland’s Watershed that runs through the Central Belt may not be the highlight of the route - but it does manage to wind its way between almost all the built-up areas and industrial plots. The average elevation of the Watershed here is a surprising 280m – a little over half that of the elevation in the Southern Uplands. It hops from hill to hill and carves an amazing line from close to Coulter (near Biggar) to the Southern Pentlands and then it snakes north-west to the Campsie Fells and Balfron.
But even though it avoids many built up areas there are many parts of the route here that are a trial. There are scrappy bits of plantation and awkward fields, ditches and endless boundaries: barbed, electric, deer fences, metal fences, dykes and hedges. But that was part of the challenge.
My plan, however, was first and foremost a run. It wasn’t an attempt to battle over the precise line of the Watershed in every area. In any case - there are some places on the Watershed in the Central Belt where canals, roads, plantations and other man-made barriers make this is impossible. So, in many areas where the actual line of the Watershed runs through crop-land, farm yards, plantations and even the odd garden – I ran on roads and trails nearby. There was no way I could tackle all of the barriers in the three days I had available. But, where the line takes to the hills, I followed the route as closely as I could in the time I had.
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The Fannichs - Scotland’s Watershed
Here’s another of the best routes I ran during my journey on Scotland’s Watershed in May and June this year. Given the schedule and logistics, there were some days when I had to commit to nearly 30 miles or more - my day on the Fannichs was one of them.
View Watershed Run - Fannich Mountains in a larger map
The exact line of the Watershed (red on the map) reaches the A835 from A832 well to the west end of Loch a’ Chroisg and then snakes over some minor tops before it reaches the Fannich Munros. But as I had to cover this area in one day I started on good trails from just west of Achnasheen.
These early miles made for beautiful and relaxed rough trail running before a better track follows the hydro pipe along Srath Chrombuill to Loch Fannich – one of the best locations on the entire Watershed. From this spot you look north to the southern flanks and narrow shoulders of the Fannich Munros. The western end of Loch Fannich is a stunning spot where the trail connects with a new track heading west along the southern shore of Loch Fannich to river Abhainn a’ Chadh Bhuidhe.
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Sutherland and Caithness Days 28 and 29
Here is some more detail about my month-long run on Scotland’s Watershed. For other posts like this hit the Watershed Run tag or see the archive.
By the time I finished day 27 on Ben Hee, I knew - barring an injury - that I’d finish the journey. But I was finding any kind of climb impossible to run and my pace had slowed. To have any chance of reaching Duncansby Head within the 30 day deadline there was no way I could stick to the exact route of the Watershed. But even so, I still had to run more than 60 miles in two days to reach the village of Watten.
View Watershed Run Days 28 and 29 in Sutherland and Caithness in a larger map
With over 550 miles behind me I set off from the Crask Inn on the A836 with a cold easterly blowing in over the hills of the Loch Choire Forest. Low cloud was scudding across the sky and it took me ages to find any rhthym on the boggy trail to the stunning Bealach Easach - a high and lonely pass that leads to Loch a’ Bhealaich and Loch Choire. I was standing directly on the watershed when I took the picture above. It captures some of the drama that day as the wind swept along the glen and the towering crags on both sides were drowned in mist.
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September 15th: RAW 12. River Ayr Way Challenge Ultra. 41 miles.
The River Ayr Way is Scotland’s oldest long distance way-marked trail which is a true ‘source to sea’ route that follows the river from Glenbuck Loch to the west coast. The ultra route starts on undulating ground over farmland and open moor with some riverside bog but quickly reaches beautiful wooded sections with steep climbs through dramatic gorges as the river winds west through Ayrshire. A great trail that is often divided up into two or three days of running or walking with plenty of places to stay on the way.
Finishing time - 6 hours, 37 minutes.
25 August: Speyside Way Ultra. 36 Miles.
The Speyside Way Ultra starts part way along the trail at Ballindaloch and heads directly north following the line of the disused railway and then some rough trails to the north coast. It has two significant climbs close to the middle of the route. Inexplicably, I ran passed a checkpoint without refilling my bottle and ran about 14 miles without drinking. I’m sure that’s why I had a horrible dip in form in the second third of the race. Either that or I just went out too fast. Who knows - probably a combination of both.
Finishing time: 5 Hours, 38 Minutes.
