Deeside Runners

Following in their footsteps some considerable time later I was surprised, first at Derry Lodge and then more so at Luibeg Burn, just how little water there was around.  No wet feet crossing the burn was a tremendous bonus. The going was extremely good (a doddle really) all the way to the boulder field where I knew that three weeks earlier there was still a lot of snow. I wasn’t disappointed – it was still there! By the time I reached the boulder field there was a slight drizzle in the air making conditions quite slippy and I was uncertain about the integrity of the snow but seeing a trail of runners ahead (heavier than me) slip-sliding their way across it gave me the confidence to give it a go. Not so Donald Kerridge who (much earlier than me) decided to take the high route round it and give himself some extra distance to travel – as if the race wasn’t long enough!  

The downhill was as boulder strewn as usual but a relief after all the earlier hard work. I decided it was a good time to try my new energy food – baby Banana Brekkie from Tesco. It comes in a sachet with a small screw cap just like energy gel and it packs a massive 500 calories into 100g of banana, yoghurt and brown rice – yummy! I was flying down the hill until I took my first trip – no damage done but I took it as a warning that I should be more careful. Which I was, until I took a much harder fall just above the forest. I picked myself up as fast as possible in case anyone saw me sprawled out across the path and ran/limped on as best I could only to realise a minute later that I was no longer wearing my glasses. I had to make a split second decision to go back and find them since they’re prescription Oakleys and too precious to leave behind. Ok, I lost a bit of time but it motivated me for the rest of the run to do the very best I could.

After the bridge in the forest the path opened up and the sun beat down and seemed to drain the last reserves out of most of us. The temperature up top was really ideal for a long distance run but the temperature coming out the forest at Coylumbridge definitely wasn’t. I think most people were glad to see the finish in Aviemore. Most of the runners I saw at the end were sporting bloodied legs or knees or both but all seemed to have smiles on their faces. It was a good day.

Just to let you know how dedicated some people are to their racing I can tell you that there was a V60 lady (Sarah Marzaioli) who’d travelled all the way from Hastings on Saturday, stayed overnight in Braemar and had a seat on a bus booked from Aviemore to London leaving at 7 o’clock on the Sunday evening! Edward, the second placed runner, was also a long distance traveller who’d flown up from London to Edinburgh, driven to Braemar and was going to drive back to Edinburgh from Aviemore for an overnight train back to London in time for work on Monday. I take my hat off to them and if either of them need accommodation next year they are more than welcome chez nous.