The 2022 West Highland Way Race Report

18th June 2022

I was slightly dreading the 1am start but after a lie down in the van, a strong coffee and the amazing atmosphere, it was a lovely way to start.

The startline

It was very calm as we ran through Milngavie towards Drymen and Conic Hill. After some very good advice about not starting off too fast, I made sure to keep my hr down and just enjoy the morning. Arrived in Balmaha after a lovely Conic hill descent in good time, scoffed a hot cross bun and was on my way again.

I love the technical sections along the loch so was looking forward to getting past Rowardennan to start the low path and get some flow hopping over the rocks! Thankfully there was enough wind to keep the midges away and still a nice day as I picked up another drop bag and headed towards Inversnaid; a lovely section with some great marshals. I did think this was the checkpoint with coffee however and it wasn’t! So on towards Beinglas farm for coffee it was! I had a nice chat with some runners along this section and was feeling quite strong, there were a few glimpses of sunshine coupled with some spots of rain. A few people I passed here found the rocks relentless but I really enjoyed this section. It did, however, feel very good to have a seat at Beinglas with coffee and a Mars bar!

I’d been eating pretty well and thankfully didn’t have any stomach issues. As tempting as it was, I didn’t spend too much time at this checkpoint and headed for the halfway point to meet Euan and Gergely. I was really happy to reach Auchtertyre at about 12:20 on Saturday afternoon. My feet were feeling a bit sore so I decided to take my wet socks off, Euan’s face said it all when he saw my feet and we decided that a dry pair of trainers was also needed! I ate some pasta and drank another coffee then Gergely and I started running towards Bridge of Orchy.

Coming into Auchtertyre

It was great to run with some good chat and the miles flew by. I met my dad and sister at Tyndrum and after some lovely words of encouragement and a calippo we were on our way again and this section was really enjoyable- we managed to keep a good pace whilst putting on and taking off our waterproof jackets multiple times! The marshals told us at Auchtertyre that it was advised to have full waterproofs from there and it would be mandatory past Bridge of Orchy so we knew the weather was on its way! Great chat, great pace and we were at BofO in great time.

I met Euan, my dad and sister at this checkpoint and had a seat on the picnic tables, ate some soup and strawberries and still felt pretty good. Gergely and I then set off towards Glencoe taking our time up the first climb then onto Jelly Baby Hill and the 100km milestone. I still felt decent here but knew the long stretch towards the ski centre would be tough, and it was; a couple of low points made slightly better by one of Gergely’s snickers! It’s so barren along that stretch and we hardly saw anyone else, it would have been very lonely if I was on my tod!

Leaving Bridge of Orchy

I got a bit of a 5th wind coming into the checkpoint and it was so great to see Lisa, my dad, and Euan waiting for me with pizza and coffee. I changed into warm clothing as the weather was pretty stinky. I can see how a lot of people drop out here, the sleep deprivation was starting to kick in and there’s still a long way to go! I spent quite a bit of time here; eating and sorting clothes then set off with Euan towards the Devil’s staircase.

Euan and I about to leave Glencoe

It was nice to tell him about the race so far and the first few miles ticked away nicely as he tried to get me to eat various things. We said bye to Gergely at the Kings House Hotel and kept moving along the roadside. I really was feeling the pain in my feet at this point; the rocky terrain so far had really taken its toll. A team passed us and with the support guy at the front, I caught the eye of the runner behind and said ‘It’s shite now isn’t it’ and he agreed. I then spotted a burnt-out car halfway up the hill……it was actually a rock!

It was tough going up the staircase, Euan made me eat another bit of pizza that I spat out when he wasn’t looking! That loooooooong descent into Kinlochleven was sore and the sleep deprivation was real. It felt very slow and all I was thinking was one foot in front of the other. I’m sure at one point Euan said something along the lines of ‘your flat shuffle is about 13min mile pace which is really good’ trying to make me feel better!

Feeling ropey up the Devil’s Staircase

We finally reached KLL and my sister gave me the biggest hug with a worried look on her face as I think I was pretty grey at that point. I dibbed in and got out to the van quickly, my dad said ‘Oh shit’ under his breath when he saw me as he stirred the noodles I was about to force down. I needed caffeine so drank a coffee and a can of Coke and started to feel better. Some of the colour came back into my cheeks and I wasn’t slurring my words as much so we headed off towards Fort William. Little did I know this would be a horrific experience!

I had put my waterproof trousers on but was getting warm on the first climb, I resisted temptation and kept them on which was the right decision as the weather turned really nasty. Wind and torrential rain battered us for a good couple of hours, and I started to feel really terrible. My feet were so painful and I knew how long this section was if we were walking. It started to get really cold so we put on our puffas and continued. I tried to eat a rice crispy square that went down surprisingly well and continued to drink water and mountain fuel.

It’s difficult to describe the feelings at this point because it was so hard. I kept seeing fences in various colours that would pixilate away as we got closer and I could have sworn I saw a giant luminous pink fly on one of the the bushes- who knows if it was real!

When we got to the top of the last hill this huge sense of relief came over me as I knew it was almost over and ‘when you think you’re done you’re actually only 45% done’ (said someone, sometime) So we got a bit of ‘speed’ going downhill (even though my feet were on fire) and got to the road section and onto the finish. By this point I had already started crying again as I knew I was going to finish.

My dad and sister were waiting for us and ran the last 100m which was lovely. I got into the hall and crossed the finish line with so much relief and emotion I couldn’t even speak! My finish time was 24 hrs 34 mins and I was pretty happy with that since the longest I’d run previously was 70miles. An amazing experience that I’d describe as 70% wonderful and 30% painful. I said at KLL ‘I’m never doing this again’…………!

Finish line emotions