Here is Tim's report of lovely running and trophy winning at the Glen Lyon Ultra https://runyarocket.com/race/glen-lyon/
I’ve long wanted to run the Glen Lyon Ultra, a classic race from the Rocket Races stable, and finally this year I found myself driving to the far end of the stunning Glen Lyon. No ‘phone signal, single track road and more sheep than people and so quiet. The journey to this remote place is fabulous, and to be able to pitch my tent next to the Loch Lyon dam and hydro-electric station was a real privilege. There are few better ways to start an ultra than to camp just a few metres from registration and the start. The river and bird noises lulled me to sleep - and the midges weren’t too bad. It was a surprise to emerge into thick mist at 7 am, but by the time I’d boiled water for tea and porridge the sun was burning through. By the 10 o’clock start it was warm, and the small (but perfectly formed) group of runners had decided it was going to be “a wee bit toasty”. We agreed this was fine - weather for this event has previously been anywhere from freezing to “a roaster”.
The course is simple - a figure of 8, first a 15 mile lap anti-clockwise right round the loch on a very runnable dirt track ( undulating and with at least 6 cooling burns to paddle through), then a 16 mile loop over a significant hill then along and down into the next-door glen before returning up and back over the hill to return to the start.
Nothing too technical, just as well because this was a hot day and a location to look at the views. Not a cloud in the sky, brilliant blue loch, green and brown hills and still some white snow patches high up above. The heat was a challenge, but a bit of breeze now and again, and water stations every 8 miles or so made it ok. Having completed the first loop in my target 3 hours, I walked up the mega hill from mile 16 , taking the opportunity to eat lunch, apply more suncream, enjoy more craic with other runners and just enjoy being alive. I met the lead runners coming the other way at the summit, then it was time to start the long loop into the glen. We had been warned this bit would be even hotter, but the kind marshals reassured us that those were white-tailed eagles up in the sky, not vultures. An incentive to keep moving...
Other wildlife here included cuckoos, which were calling loudly from below, and butterwort - an insectivorous plant with beautiful violet flowers on stalks held above a rosette of sticky yellow-green leaves which trap and digest unwary runners - sorry, insects. I’d never seen them flowering before, and they were all around the loch trail.
This is an event organised by runners for runners, and had a great atmosphere with lots of neat touches. The race director made time to wander round the ten or so of us who were camping the night before, to have a wee chat and talk all things ultra. It was great to just blether away with like-minded folk. It is always so reassuring that some of the very best ultra runners around are genuinely happy to be there in such a special place in just the same way as us slower mortals.
I had expected to finish somewhere between 7 and 7 and a half hours. In the end, it was about 7:39, so I was delighted. What a day, what a wonderful place and what a great bunch of people to run with. The race organisation was excellent - with safety paramount, adequate water stations and drop-bags halfway. Actual distance was just under 32miles, with about 3,500 ft ascent. Would I do it again? Oh yes, you bet - but I think next year I’ll run the 15 mile option (the loop round the loch) on the Sunday. My body tells me that may have been my final ultra, but this would be a perfect weekend runfest for Moorfoots, with camping (albeit no facilities except portaloos) and a choice of the ultra race (Saturday) or 15 miler(Sunday). A few hardy folk were doing both (of course).
Like I said, lots of neat touches - including a trophy for the final ultra runner home. Don’t ask me how I know that....... (Actually, I am very proud of it - my first ever trophy, and in possibly my last ever ultra. It really doesn’t get much better than that).
The course is simple - a figure of 8, first a 15 mile lap anti-clockwise right round the loch on a very runnable dirt track ( undulating and with at least 6 cooling burns to paddle through), then a 16 mile loop over a significant hill then along and down into the next-door glen before returning up and back over the hill to return to the start.
Nothing too technical, just as well because this was a hot day and a location to look at the views. Not a cloud in the sky, brilliant blue loch, green and brown hills and still some white snow patches high up above. The heat was a challenge, but a bit of breeze now and again, and water stations every 8 miles or so made it ok. Having completed the first loop in my target 3 hours, I walked up the mega hill from mile 16 , taking the opportunity to eat lunch, apply more suncream, enjoy more craic with other runners and just enjoy being alive. I met the lead runners coming the other way at the summit, then it was time to start the long loop into the glen. We had been warned this bit would be even hotter, but the kind marshals reassured us that those were white-tailed eagles up in the sky, not vultures. An incentive to keep moving...
Other wildlife here included cuckoos, which were calling loudly from below, and butterwort - an insectivorous plant with beautiful violet flowers on stalks held above a rosette of sticky yellow-green leaves which trap and digest unwary runners - sorry, insects. I’d never seen them flowering before, and they were all around the loch trail.
This is an event organised by runners for runners, and had a great atmosphere with lots of neat touches. The race director made time to wander round the ten or so of us who were camping the night before, to have a wee chat and talk all things ultra. It was great to just blether away with like-minded folk. It is always so reassuring that some of the very best ultra runners around are genuinely happy to be there in such a special place in just the same way as us slower mortals.
I had expected to finish somewhere between 7 and 7 and a half hours. In the end, it was about 7:39, so I was delighted. What a day, what a wonderful place and what a great bunch of people to run with. The race organisation was excellent - with safety paramount, adequate water stations and drop-bags halfway. Actual distance was just under 32miles, with about 3,500 ft ascent. Would I do it again? Oh yes, you bet - but I think next year I’ll run the 15 mile option (the loop round the loch) on the Sunday. My body tells me that may have been my final ultra, but this would be a perfect weekend runfest for Moorfoots, with camping (albeit no facilities except portaloos) and a choice of the ultra race (Saturday) or 15 miler(Sunday). A few hardy folk were doing both (of course).
Like I said, lots of neat touches - including a trophy for the final ultra runner home. Don’t ask me how I know that....... (Actually, I am very proud of it - my first ever trophy, and in possibly my last ever ultra. It really doesn’t get much better than that).
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