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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22 posts tagged Watershed Run
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.
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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Southern Highlands - Day 10
View Watershed Run Day 10 in the Southern Highlands in a larger map
In the Southern and Central Highlands Scotland’s Watershed weaves its way north criss-crossing the A82 taking in some of the most dramatic ridges and mountains south of the Great Glen. But before it reaches that famous road, it runs parallel to Loch Lomond and then accross the tiny strip of land between Loch Arklet and Loch Katrine by Stronachlacher. From there, it crosses wild and remote area towards Crianlarich.
I reached Stronachlacher after covering an average of more than a marathon a day for the first eight days of my Watershed Run. After a semi-rest on my ninth day I was scheduled to tackle this long haul from Loch Arklet to Crianlarich. At just under 20 miles, this day was a relatively short but at 2645m it had the biggest total ascent of my run - not far short of 9,000ft. The day starts with a sharp ascent onto the south ridge of the Corbett - Beinn a Choin and then traverses four Munros in two linked horsehoes – Beinn Chabhair (933), An Caisteal (995m), Beinn a’ Chroin(942m) and Cruach Ardrain(1046m). The picture (above) looks north to Beinn Chabhair from Beinn a Choin. I think you can see Cruach Ardrain in the background.
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Southern Uplands - Day 4
View Watershed Run Day 4 in the Southern Uplands in a larger map
During the fourth day of my run on Scotland’s Watershed I had a difficult decision. I was standing on the A701 after running 15 miles travelling west from the A708. I could either cut the day short or commit to another 17 miles going north to Coulter over Culter Fell.
The decision was a defining moment because I was way behind schedule. If I didn’t reach Coulter that day, I’d need to run close to 50 miles the day after. My plan would be falling to pieces.
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Final Figures
In between several breakfasts, lunches and other meals today I managed to map all the days since May 26th. I didn’t manage to do the whole route I intended - logistics and exhaustion got in the way in some areas. But I ran the whole of the Watershed in the Southern Uplands and close to the whole in the Central Highlands - what Peter describes as the Heartlands. I ran complete sections of the ‘shed in many other areas but had to make a few compromises - in Kintail and the Rough Bounds in particular.
Overall, I ran between 610 and 640 miles with at the very least 33,000 meters of ascent (that’s 33 vertical km). Fewer miles than I had estimated, but much more height gain. The final mileage depends on the mapping I use. If I download my actual route from my Garmin the mileage is probably a bit over 650. Also, Google Maps tends to give a higher mileage compared to Garmin’s Basecamp. So, both mileage and ascent are harder to estimate than you’d imagine.
