FIFE PILGRIM WAY ULTRA
By Michael Bissett
Just under 7 weeks ago Tom Farrell and myself both completed our first ultra marathons. In my last report I said that it would not be long before we completed our next one. Here we are on a very early morning, Saturday May 2nd in North Queensferry waiting to start Ultra number 2.
This Ultra was a very different beast to the previous one, for a start it was much longer, and extra 46km to be exact. It was also significantly hillier with around 1300m of climb during the day. The biggest challenge for me personally was that I had a very good idea where I was going. I knew how far places were away and sometimes it is better not to know!
The challenge started at the Hilton in North Queensferry with a nice downhill towards the Fife Coastal path taking you around Inverkeithing Bay and into Inverkeithing itself. There followed the first climb of the day up to Castleland Hill with views of the Forth and all three bridges before moving into Rosyth and heading towards the first checkpoint in Dunfermline.
The first checkpoint was at Dunfermline Abbey and it was nice to see some of my old Carnegie Harrier clubmates who were making sure we had enough water and food.
Moving on from Dunfermline the next checkpoint was Lochore Meadows. We ran through the centre of Dunfermline which was deserted as it was still before 8am. Leaving Dunfermline, we then headed up towards Kingseat and around Loch Fitty before heading up and over to Blairadam Forest. Blairadam Forest was a rather nice downhill in some nice trails and we also went under the M90 and headed towards Lochore Meadows.
We arrived in Lochore Meadows around quarter to ten and we knew that we were sharing the course with parkrunners. We were running towards them in fact, but they were all very supportive giving us lots of shout outs. When we arrived at the check point it was time for a shoe change and a refuel before moving onto the next check point.
The weather forecast had been for overcast with some drizzle – this did not happen it was in fact warm and sunny. On running to Markinch it really began to heat up. We had already covered just over 30km. I was feeling ok but new that the next section was not going to be easy. It started with a trail section around the back of Cardenden before heading along the road to Kinglassie. I was expecting to keep along the road towards Glenrothes but no we turned into a field and had a rather brutal climb up and over towards Leslie. At the top of the hill we met another former clubmate who took picture before we headed onto Glenrothes and then to Markinch. When we running through Glenrothes we passed the half way point in the run.
The next checkpoint was in Markinch where WERC member Mandy was on the checkpoint. This had been a tough leg, and it was nice to see a familiar face.
The next leg was to Kennoway along a field which was a nice route, and you had the feeling you were heading towards St Andrews and the end. I also knew that we had made a decent enough pace to ensure that we would get to the end within the time. Arriving in Kennoway there was a big climb to the checkpoint. This was energy sapping and by the time we had reached the check point I felt truly finished. We had gone 60km, but I really did not want to take a step further. I tried to refuel and probably stayed longer at the checkpoint than I should have. The next stop was in Ceres – another 14km. We were told (wrongly) the cut off to reach Ceres was 5.30pm which was going to be tight. I could see my chances of meeting the checkpoint fading – it was hilly and I was done. I sent Tom off to make sure he made the checkpoint and trudged on. Of course, there was a horrible hill to climb – this was one of the times when my spirits were at my lowest. Every fibre of my being wants to stop – I had to keep going though as I was literally in the middle of nowhere. I reached the top of the hill and tried to get my head together. I started run – walking just short blasts and started to feel better. I looked at the watch and saw that the 5.30pm check point was still viable and got moving again. I also began to remember that the briefing had said 6 o’clock and I was going to trust my judgement on this.
There was literally no one around me, so it was good chance for me to have some positive self-talk which got me through the next 10km or so.
I had one more hill to get over before Ceres and that was when I started to feel the blisters. I had to slow to a walk and they were quite painful. My tracker at this point had also stopped working. I first become aware of this when a startled marshal said “What are you doing here? The tracker says you are in Kennoway.” Clearly, I wasn’t and I kept on going. I was also told by Michael, the photographer that it wasn’t working before I got a call from the tracking team asking me if I was ok as I hadn’t moved for a while. I told them I was in Ceres next to the checkpoint and it was sorted out there. I felt much better at this checkpoint and Karen, our support for the day could not believe the change in my demeanour.
I had made the checkpoint on time – as it was 6pm and not 5.30pm. After some food and putting some layers on I headed towards the final destination. Earlier I mentioned that the weather forecast had been for drizzle, well it seems that all the drizzle had been saved up for one hour in the day. The very hour I was going up the last hill – which was challenging enough without pouring rain and wind in your face. There was no way to put a positive spin on climbing this hill – it was horrible and rather miserable. At the top I started run walking again until I caught up with another runner. The rain had caused his calf muscles and quads to seize up. I did the right thing and walked with him. Criagtoun park was like a quagmire because of all the rain. My feet had started to hurt again – all the plasters had moved. We reached South Street in St Andrews – not long to go. I persuaded – told – the other runner we were going to run walk and kept telling him where we were going to run to. We made the gates of the Cathedral where Tom and Karen were waiting. It was quite the experience.
Less then 24 hours since completing this I still can’t quite comprehend that we ran from North Queensferry to St Andrews – in one day. There were highs and lows. Some of the lows were the lowest I have felt at any time when racing. I also have a lot more mental resilience that I thought. It was sheer will that kept me going between Kennoway and Ceres. That will probably be the thing I take most pride in. Well done to Tom I know he had his own struggles around the 80km mark and was able to power through. It is a privilege to be your running buddy.
Well done Cat at Blast Running for bringing the event to fruition. I can’t image that amount of work you have put in but it was worth it to give us runners an event not to be forgotten.
As for what’s next – the next big one is 9 weeks away and is a challenge in a completely different way.
