Ben Nevis Ultra Marathon 2018 Race Report 

Andy Reilly

Photo by Skyline Scotland

Travelling north to the Scottish Highlands for the first time there was a palpable sense of excitement in the car. With Dj cheesey Linsley in charge of tunes the Kia rocked to The Proclaimers ‘letter from America’. Snaking up the road at a snail’s pace stuck behind camper vans and caravans would normally test the patience but this was different. The mountains and valleys on both sides were the first taste of this spectacular place. It is like Connemara on steroids. The rain poured non stop and as we were soon informed it had been raining solidly for the past fortnight.

Our accommodation was just outside Fort William at the foot of Ben Nevis and about a half hour from the race registration and start in Kinlochleven. Registration was in the village hall, and there were people queuing out the door for kit check and registration. There were athletes from around the globe wearing slick National team gear - Hungarians, Chinese, Americans they were all there. And in the middle were four chancers from Trim AC with dirty runners in an Aldi bag. Being out of our depth sprang to mind but as Sir Edmund Hillary famously said, “You don't have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things -- to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.” So all checked in and starting to tire it was time for a good feed of pizzas, prep all the gear and hit the hay. Then the word came through that the bad weather route was to be enacted in the morning. High winds and zero visibility on the high peaks meant it was too dangerous to summit Ben Nevis in the race.

Naturally disappointed we reformatted our plans for the morning with the race start moved out to 10am. The morning was cool and damp as the four Meath men lined up to challenge the world’s finest in a 50km foot race across Scotland’s highlands. The race leaves the village streets behind and immediately the climbing starts into the Mamores. Up narrow tracks the going was slow with runners filing their way up along and trying to avoid the puddles. The first river crossing proved that was a waste of time as the knee high water guaranteed there wasn’t a dry foot left in the race. The route corkscrewed up and around Binnein Mor before a fast decent onto open mountain. About 10km in there was a very steep descent from Binnein Beag where the mixture of bog, water with a few rocks thrown in for good measure made it impossible to stay upright. Some tobogganed down on their backsides, one or two used their feet as skis and the rest of us did a combination of slip-sliding that lacked any form of grace or coordination. The following section was pure swamp, with full concentration with each foot placement required. There was no telling whether you were going ankle deep or literally waist deep with the next step. It’s quite a shock to be running along and sink without warning into ice cold bog water. It’s best not to dwell on thoughts of running another 35km with turfmould in your shorts. This terrain saps the legs but for me at least it is what trail running is all about. The unpredictability of the terrain, you’ve just got to deal with it as you go and get on it. Around each corner and up each hill the reward was incredible views. There are no roads in this part so if felt like a privilege to be experiencing the wilderness. About 20km in there was a rocky track down the side of a hill. Refilling water bottles with crystal clear water from the waterfalls was a real treat. But the rocks were so wet and slippy it was no surprise to see a fellow runner being rescued after a fall. One slip, one fall and things can go horribly wrong.

I pushed on hard to the single food stop at 28km. I was feeling the pace a bit in my legs after nearly four hours on the go. Andrew was waiting and once I got a bit of food on board we hiked and ran the next four or five kms together. He then went on ahead and was in great shape and full of running. Between thirty and forty kilometres the terrain was undulating and runnable but the legs were a bit drained from earlier. The route followed the West Highland Way and was mostly gravel tracks crossed by dozens of streams. Strangely though, once I hit the marathon mark (42km) I got another wind and felt stronger and started to pass more and more runners. Passing one chap I got a shout of ‘up Meath’, high praise from a Cavan man feeling the burn but recognising the Trim AC gear! The last 8km along the Old Military Road Track actually flew by. The finish is a rocky descent through the forest to rejoin the road and on to the finish back in Kinlochleven. Andrew was waiting at the finish with Robert and Graham right behind. The buzz was great and the four of us getting the snap at the finish was class.

On Saturday after the full Scottish with extra haggis myself and Andrew hiked Ben Nevis. With cloud plonked on top there was very poor visibility and no views from the summit. At an altitude of 1340m there were gale force winds and sub zero temperatures compared to the 14oC at the bottom. At the top a local turned to me, “will ya have a wee nip”? ..... “does a bear sh...” was the obvious reply, at which he produced a fine bottle of Scotch whiskey and proper glasses. Turns out they were promoting Gerston Blended Malt from the Lost Distillery. As a whisky fan it was seriously nice stuff. Where would you get it? Andrew and I savoured that and then got moving. The body temperatures were plummeting and it was important to get off there as quickly as possible. Meeting a red deer stag just before the end topped it off nicely. Back in Fort William the four amigos painted the town red (and white) to cap off a memorable weekend’s adventure.

Andy Reilly, Graham Macken,Andrew Linsley,Robert Farrell.....Photo by Skyline Scotland