Written by Peter Wright - http://peterwrightblog.tumblr.com/

Background

I’d heard about the Cape Wrath Ultra event a couple of years before, and had decided early on that I would register for the first edition. The thought of running this trail, in one of the most beautiful places in the world was simply an opportunity that I was not going to let pass by.

The event itself is a 400km, 8 day run from Fort William to Cape Wrath. Throughout the route there would be 11,200m of ascent to contend with. In terms of terrain, it is 12% road and 88% track. These tracks are double, single or trackless.

Also, I was familiar with the way Shane Ohly organises his races, since I had experience of completing day 1 of Dragon’s Back in 2015. I DNF’d that one, but I had at least experienced life on camp for one day and knew that personal organization, navigational awareness, sufficient training and sensible kit choices would be crucial. This is something I would take into Cape Wrath, and not take lightly.

The Build-Up

Friday-Saturday

After a final week of deliberating over kit decisions, I finally escaped work for a Friday afternoon flight from Jersey to Glasgow via Southampton. I had a few hours spare in Southampton and chilled out with my good mate and fellow competitor, Jon Gittins. Jon and I had met a couple of years before when we completed the Polar Circle Marathon. Jon was keen to experience a multi day event and we were both buzzing in anticipation. After some time chilling with Jon’s family and a decent meal in the airport bar we boarded our Glasgow bound flight and spent the evening at the Holiday Express at Glasgow Airport.

The following morning was largely spent sat on a very slow train as we faced a lengthy journey to Fort William. We had the pleasure of meeting Kirsten, from Denmark, and spent the hours chatting about our various running challenges and future aspirations.

After arriving at Fort William, we quickly checked into the hotel, and then headed off to register at HQ. Given that it was now mid afternoon, we were among the final competitors to register and this meant for a very desirable ‘non queuing’ experience. The team were extremely organised and it took us no time at all to pass through all the checks and briefings. The final stage in the process, was to have our pictures taken, from various angles, by the highly talented Ian Corless. Mine resulted in me looking slightly evil, which my mates back home were keen to remind me of in my final dose of social media before the event.

Early evening, we attended the formal briefing and it was there that I a saw a familiar face, being Gwyn Stokes. Last time I had seen Gwyn was in the back of a van looking slightly less healthy after we had both withdrawn from the Spine race. I was optimistic that the Cape Wrath experience would be slightly different, being that my fitness levels were much better and the weather would hopefully not be as apocalyptic. The briefing concluded, and the main takeaway for me was that I seemed to know all the likely side effects of tick bites. It was now time to head back to the hotel, eat and relax.

Sleep came fairly easily that night.

The Race Begins

Sunday – Day 1, Fort William to Genfinnan, Distance 37km, Height Gain 500m

Well rested, Jon and I headed to HQ to pick up our trackers and deposit our drop bags for camp at Glenfinnan. The bags were weighed, and a few of the competitors got caught out when their bags came in over the allowance. In this case, food had to be unloaded and fairly quickly.

Everyone then took a leisurely walk through town towards the ferry, and subsequently enjoyed a calm crossing across Loch Linnhe. Once over the other side we were greeted by a bagpiper, which really created a feel good atmosphere. The walk to the start line from there was a short one, and we then had 30 minutes at the start line to chill out, drink tea/coffee, eat biscuits and get the team photos sorted out. The start was now very imminent.

The race began with a 10km road stretch along the shores of Loch Linnhe. I wanted to ease into the event so decided a steady jog would be sufficient here. The objective today was to finish feeling as fresh as possible, and avoid the temptation of going crazy. There was a good vibe amongst all of the competitors, and this early stage knew I was amongst a very sound bunch of people. Its always fun early on in events people watching and I remember coming across a guy who I thought had entered the wrong event on account of his rucksack size (approx. 15kg+). This guy was called Frank Tschope, and as it turned out he was carrying all of his heavy photography equipment and would do so for the entire event. Dedicated to his profession, this guy proved to be an absolute legend for getting some amazing shots for his portfolio, whilst ultimately completing the event in a very respectable time.

After the 10km road introduction came some equally runnable double track which ran westbound towards Conor Glen. It was the first experience of some absolutely stunning scenery and its safe to say I was loving it. The weather was slightly hit and miss with dark clouds forming and occasional showers, but the temperatures felt warm enough. On this basis, I decided to leave the rain jacket packed away and this proved to be a good decision.

The double tracks eventually gave way to more challenging terrain in the form of wet and muddy paths by Sgor Craobb. Today I had decided to test the waters with my New Balance Leadville’s, which are a comfy ride on trails. However, these were proving to be difficult in the wet conditions and I had several stumbles, slippages and eventual falls on my backside. I knew I would be switching to the Salomon’s for the subsequent days.

The day finished with a very nice run descending into Glenfinnan and camp for the day. The camp was located near the ‘Harry Potter’ viaduct, so I made sure a few pictures were taken to share with my little boy, Josh, who is mad on the films.

I spent the remainder of the day chatting to various people around camp, and eating as many chips as I could. It was good to meet my tent mates for the week, who were a great bunch of guys. Even more of a bonus as it turns out was that no one snored.

I remember one of the final moments, before I slept, was looking at the map and analyzing how far we’d gone in relation to the whole route. It then really hit home in relation to what I had let myself in for. This was going to be a challenge and adventure of a lifetime.

Monday – Day 2,  Glenfinnan to Kinloch Hourn, Distance 57km, Height Gain 1,800m

Today would be the same as the next seven mornings, and it would start of with a breakfast for champions. That is baked beans, egg and bread. I’ve always been a baked bean addict, but this event has severely tested that addiction. I really hope it hasn’t made me kick the habit.

That morning, before setting off, I noticed that my tent mate, Lee Walker, was looking underprepared. He told me that he had Plantar Fasciitis and that that his race was over. I was desperately disappointed for him and suspected that I would not be seeing him after today.

I made the decision to get started around 7am and joined the queue. After the mandatory and random daily kit check, just before we deposited our drop bags, we collected our trackers and received a short briefing from Shane about the route ahead. This would be fairly standard procedure for each day of the race.

I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I felt quite heavy legged from the start but soon managed to get into a steady running pattern upon leaving Glenfinnan. Today was ultimately to prove very tough, and to be honest it was a great deal harder than I thought it would be given we were so early in the event. Of all the days, this is the one I remember the least in terms of detail and how the day played out.

What I can recall was that it was more remote and less trodden on many parts of the route. It was very strength sapping in terms of the terrain, and there were plenty of short and sharp climbs throughout and the temperatures were higher than the previous day. Back in October, when in the Amazon Jungle, I’d badly damaged a tendon and all the sinking and twisting was playing havoc. That twisting and turning was pretty standard during this event, so I guess it was just a case of the body getting used to it.

A couple of hours is I did receive pleasant surprise. Lee Walker, mentioned above, came running past with a massive grin on his face. As it turned out he’d had a chat with Marcus Scotney before the race and Marcus had applied kinesio tape to relieve the pressure and pain. Lee was running well and I was delighted for him. This also epitomised the sort of guy that Marcus, the eventual event winner, is. Whenever I saw him run past me, which was early on each day, he would always be smiling and given encouragement. When in camp, he’d be the same and always at hand to give others advice and help.

My memory of this day becomes even more clearer as we approached CP2 as Jon and I trudged across the Carnach Estuary. I was sinking all over the place, and no doubt giving Stu Smith a right old laugh as I approached the checkpoint. Stu made a comment that I looked like I was struggling, which was not an understatement.

Beyond checkpoint 2 everything began to get slightly easier and we had a period of respite as we travelled alongside the river Carnach. I was keeping a good eye on the map, and knew that we needed to look out for, what can only be described as a bastard of a climb, at a turning point on the river. Finding our way up there, to ultimately meet another path, proved more difficult than I imagined and I was absolutely blowing out of my backside as I lumbered up. The legs were really not working today. There were some dark thoughts entering my head during this point about whether I really had it in me to complete this event given how I was feeling on this particular day. However, the other voice just told me not to overthink it and just look around and take comfort in the surroundings. I decided to pay more attention to that voice.

Jon and I finished this day in around 12 hours, and to be honest it had taken me longer than I had wanted. I also felt more beaten up than I though I would, which was not the plan with an even longer day to follow the next day. However, it was good to get back in the tent and chat with the other guys about the days events and how they had unfolded. Mick Cooper, was a complete Gentleman and really looked after me when I got in that day and was on hand to bring me a heavenly cup of tea or two, when I was feeling quite low. Such gestures mean a lot, and there were plenty of people like Mick amongst the Cape Wrath family.

Tuesday – Day 3, Kinloch Hourn to Achnashelloch, Distance 68km, Height Gain 2,400m

I hadn’t slept at all well the previous night, and I didn’t know why. It had taken a while to settle down and the legs felt like they had been in the wars.

Jon and I started off at a decent pace though, and made a steady climb over Bealach Coire Malagain by the Saddle. It was during this climb that we met one of our companions for the day, Scott Clarke. Scott led the charge on the descent to Kintail Morvichthe and it was full of ankle twisting tussocks and boggy ground. Despite this, the legs were reacting pretty well and I was feeling a lot better about life today. Scott also mentioned that there was potentially a place to grab a coke before or after CP1, so that gave me a monumental lift.

Sure enough, and just beyond CP1, we found a small restaurant and Scott treated us all to a coke. Absolute heaven in a can, and it lifted everyone’s spirits immediately. We then carried on along a road for a short time, before once again hitting some mixed terrain.

We were now part of a group of six or seven, and were heading inland to pass the falls of Ghlomaich. As we made our way to the descent we arrived at the edge of a gorge and cleverly worked out the subsequent plummet was not the route. That resulted in a short stop to admire the beauty of the falls, and do get some much needed food in. What better place than to do it than here. Soon enough we were on our way in convoy and began our correct descent to Loch Leitreach and ultimately onto much kinder terrain and CP2 at Carnach. Tiredness was really creeping in for me now, but I was in good spirits and absolutely loving this event. I was absolutely gutted to come across one of my tent mates, Lee, at CP2 who hadn’t been able to keep food down and therefore had to withdraw on this day. However, he did carry on after this day and I never saw him without a smile on his face. There were many people like him on this event, and I admired each of them for their spirit and attitude.

Beyond CP2 we continued in a small group and came across Simon Hodson, who as it turned out was having a tough old day. He’d started off well enough, but it seemed an old injury was coming back to haunt him. Scott, at this point was also in a lot of pain also with his feet, and did his best at some DIY repairs as we trudged along. The magnitude of today, in addition to the previous day, was starting to sink in as we once again hit rougher ground after Loch Cruoshie. This part was quite fun and involved jumping over bogs and puddles, combined with the randomness of not knowing if you were going to sink to your waste or not.

After what seemed like an eternity, and the longest 2km ever, we were at the wire bridge, but I’d really been looking forward to. Beyond this bridge was a nice runnable trail alongside a stunning and picturesque loch. The last few miles, for me, summarized what was so brilliant about this event. The terrain was unpredictable and therefore not boring, and you were never far away from natural beauty. It was on this trail that Scott and I power walked ahead and eventually broke into a good run. This was really getting the legs back to life again. Jon and Simon were slightly behind, but Jon would soon catch up at the end of this particular track.

At the end of this track, there was a small amount of rougher ground to get across, which didn’t take too long. The map didn’t lie and all that lay between us and the Day 3 finish now was one beast of a climb, a cold windswept summit, and a rather painful and at times technical descent into camp.

I enjoyed the climb and was in a nice marching pattern with Scott and Stevie Clare. I was watching Scott’s feet, and Stevie mine. At the top, and for the only time in the event, I was very cold due to the wind chill so it was a case of getting through the next few hundred meters and then descending to lower ground asap. Before the descent we could see camp, but it was deceiving and took an age to get there. Our legs were tired, but we were all focused on getting down there as quickly as we could and power walked and ran where possible. Eventually, the rugged terrain gave way to forest trail and it was brilliant bounding through the forest knowing that camp was imminent. All that was now required was a short river crossing and a run into camp.

It was very late and the day had taken me 15 hours, but psychologically I knew tomorrow was a great deal shorter on mileage and it would be an excellent opportunity to get into camp with plenty of daylight left and have more time to relax.

Jon came in a short while after me, and he had given everything that day. It was tough on both of us, given that it was late and we were the last in our tent back. However, we both made sure we got a good plate of food in us before hitting the sack.

Unfortunately, I didn’t see Scott beyond this day. I’d heard later that he’d had to pull out on account of his blister issues, which was a real shame. It really hammered home just how unpredictable these events are, and how you should take nothing for granted and enjoy it while you can.

Wednesday – Day 4, Achnashelloch to Kinlochewe, Distance 35km, Height Gain 1,400m

Distance wise, I had it in my head that this would be the easy day. However, it didn’t really turn out this way.

I started off with Jon, and soon enough we began a long steady climb. The terrain itself was pretty good and I was able to get a good pace going. I was moving at a different speed to Jon, and waited at the top for a couple of minutes. However, with no sign, I pushed on hoping he would keep me in his sights and catch up.

I maintained decent progress on my own, and made CP1 with ease feeling really positive about the day. Progress continued, and after being on my own for some time I joined up with Stuart Secker and Louise Watson. We ascended to Loch Coire Mhic Fhearchair and were greeted with absolutely stunning scenery. The place was breathtaking and we all took some time to admire the beauty.

After leaving the Loch, it was trickier navigationally, and we began moving East. I was now in the company of Angus McArthur and Phil Humphries. I enjoyed meeting up with different people along the route, and both guys were very laid back and good company. Unfortunately, although we found ourselves on the right bearing, we were a lot higher than we should be and the longer we continued the harder it would be to drop down. As it was we were already 250m too high. This descent was precarious to say the least and it was achieved any way we could, with plenty of time on the backside. All the way down there were hidden rocks, pot holes, tussocks and mud. By now, the risk of ticks warning had well and truly gone out of the window and it was a case of ‘how many’ rat ‘if’. As the three of us descended we spotted other runners moving east below us on the correct path, so we got down as quickly as we could and all moved forwards together in a group of 6. By now, the midday sun was beating down upon us and there was barely a cloud in the sky. It was slightly stop and start as we gradually followed our respective GPS devices to find the correct path that would eventually descend into camp. Once on the path, I was unable to maintain the pace of the others and figured that with plenty of time on my side, I would take a slow plod to the finish and save some energy for day 5. The descent was over quite painful on account of the stone based terrain, with a short stretch of road before camp.

Camp was a welcome sight and it was early. I retrieved my drop bag and got myself sorted out. This involved sitting in the blazing sunshine on a deckchair with my feet in a washing up bowl of cold, clean water. Heavenly!!

An hour later, when I was probably on my 3^rd portion of chips when I saw Jon come through. Initial thoughts were positive, but then I heard him tell Shane he’d been disqualified. It had turned out he’d headed North 6 miles instead of East shortly after the waterfall and had been picked up on the main road, which was well off the map. I think there had been an option to continue along a very busy road, with a time penalty, but Jon had decided against this. However, soon enough, he was his usual positive self, and after a morale boosting call to his wife back home, we were off together to grab a coke from the pub and get a few supplies in at the local store. It was at the local store that we were able to cheer a few other fellow runners through, to include Andrew ‘Basil’ Heaney and Ally Wren whilst also letting them have a bite of our ice creams. I think its safe to say that the gesture was appreciated.

The evening was spent with a nice meal in the pub, and I was feeling well and truly recharged for day 5. I avoided a beer though, and was determined that there would be no beer until I had completed this event.

Thursday – Day 5, Kinlochewe to Inverlael, Distance 44km, Height Gain 1,400m

Feeling fully recharged, I was ready to go today. Jon’s feet were very swollen, so it was beneficial he was skipping todays stage. Off the back of never having run an ultra, he’d carved out around 125 miles in four days, so a bloody good achievement. I had no doubt he’d be raring to go for day 6.

It was also a familiar start to the morning in the tent. It was quite easy to pick up on some conversations from other tents, and I could frequently hear Gilliam Boogerd’s infectious higher pitched laugh over and above everything else. Usually he’d be ripping the piss out of one of his tent mates, and it was amusing overhearing his tactics for reeling them in and dealing the hammer blow. Gilliam was a funny and positive guy to be around, and I enjoyed his company.

This stage started following a nice easy track with Louise Watson and Kevin Stuart , generally chatting about the event so far. Soon enough we began climbing, whilst still on good terrain. I was moving well and truly in the zone. And maintained a good steady pace, running in convoy to PP1. From here we headed inland through Bealoch nan Croise and were now off track. The ground was rough and dull of tussocks, whilst being very boggy in places. However, the scenery was once again mind blowing and at one stage we saw around 12 wild deer run past us. Absolutely spectacular.

After navigating across this terrain, we found another good path and headed north alongside Loch an Nid. Its safe to say I was loving today, since the sights had been out of this world and the body seemed to be adjusting very positively to the daily mileage. I appeared to be particularly strong on the climbs, and was maintaining a good pace otherwise.

For a while I jogged along without a care in the world, with the Loch to my left. Towards the end of the Loch I filled my water bottles and began a steady ascent towards CP1. It was during the ascent that I came across Darren Grigas who was in some degree of pain with a shin injury. Nevertheless, he was very positive and maintained a smile. It was not going to stop him. From memory, when I came across him on this day he was filming tadpoles with his go-pro.

Slightly further on a fellow competitor, Jonathan Douglass, had noticed that Darren was in some pain and and lent him one of his walking poles for support. It was a great gesture, and typified the growing camaraderie between all competitors.

In Darren’s company I continued to and passed through CP1 and we both knew there was a steady climb coming up. It started off fairly steep through woodland, and then eased off and became more steady. We took time at the top to get some great scenic pictures and fill up with water. CP1 had been positioned later in the route today, so psychologically we knew most of the hard work was done for the day and we were once again looking at an early finish.

Eventually, I moved on alone to descend on mostly runnable trail. Today had been hot, and the weather was showing no signs of cooling. I found the descent very painful, since by now the knees and quads were feeling overworked. However, with a face that probably looked rather constipated I was down quickly enough. The last half mile was spent on a flat road running into camp, at an enjoyable pace.

Best thing about camp today, was that I was given a choc ice at the end by the team. Officially, the best choc ice ever!

After today, my hamstring was tight but there were plenty of opportunities to cool this in the river, and I had plenty of time to do so. It was also good to have a second opportunity, after the previous day, to wash and to get the feet sufficiently clean.

The last two days had been very uplifting in terms of scenery and having plenty of time at camp to chill out post race. I personally think that these two days were a masterstroke by Shane and the team, and really afforded everyone the chance to fully recharge. The next two days at 45 and 38 miles respectively were going to be a huge test, given there were a fair few miles in our legs already, but my mind was positive and raring to go.

Friday - Day 6, Inverlael to Inchnadamph, Distance 72km, Height Gain 1,400m

I was well rested after a good nights sleep and the hamstring was no longer tight, which was a relief. However, I had an intense pain on my lower left shin, and had started to notice swelling, but no bruising. Slightly worrying, with 100 miles to go but I was not alone and there were plenty of others in the same boat. This event was never exactly going to be a walk in the park after all.

Jon was also well rested, and was on the start line to get day 6 done. It was good to have his company again. The day started with a steady winding trail up through a forest with good underfoot terrain. One again, I was really enjoying the climbing, and was maintaining a strong pace. Already, at around 7:30 it was very close, and it was clear that today was going to be a very hot day.

With the first mountain section complete we continued onwards to Glen Douchary, and the terrain here was not so enjoyable. The tussocks, bog and rough unpredictable ground was fast becoming my nemesis with ankles twisting and knees jarring at frequent intervals. To maintain a degree of sanity I started keeping score between the two, which in a way too my mind off it a little. At this time, the shin pain was also becoming really intense and the swelling greater. My calf guard was also causing me discomfort by compressing it so I rolled that down to alleviate some pressure. The descents were particularly harsh, and it felt like a chisel knocking against the shin. After what seemed like an eternity we saw off this terrain and began a more enjoyable ascent on track and ultimately bound to CP1.

We’d noticed from the map that there was a pub near CP1 so it was decision time with regards to getting some refreshments on board. After momentary deliberation, and a temptation to get out of the heat, we decided to push on and begin the next ascent which was mostly track. It was now becoming intensely hot, and I could feel a few quite a few hot spots underfoot.

We maintained steady progress along the path, and at Allt Rugaidh Moor I had been keeping an eye out for a right hand path since there was a risk we could overshoot this. Ultimately we did anyway by 50m, but after taking a grid reference realized the error and tracked back and find the path. This was easier said than done, but we eventually found some tracks which ultimately ascended to another main track which we needed to follow.

There was now a nice runnable path to Loch Ailsh, but my shin was in such pain I could only manage a fast walk at best. This was greatly frustrating since there were so many runnable parts at this point.

We reached the Loch and began a northerly bearing, which was ultimately leading to the finish although there was some distance still to cover and it would be slow going. The ground was to become tougher underfoot and by now my legs felt like they had nothing left. It had been a long day, with constant high temperatures, and I was the most tired and low I had been during the event.

After what felt like a very long death march we found ourselves in a group of six and tackled the tricky last part of the course. This involved climbing to higher ground by the gorge and finding the path for the final descent into camp. Mark Rawlinson and David Rennie were kind enough to let me tag along and I kept them firmly in sight as we descended. For me, the end could not come quick enough on account of the shin pain. That said, I was delighted with the time today and was giving myself a big pat on the back for carving today out.

On arrival into camp I had a quick chat with the medic, and the first thing I did was get my feet and shin into a huge bucket of Loch water. What followed was one of the most relaxing experiences of the event. My feet were cooling off, I was given a cold can of coke, I was reading messages from my wife and kids whilst looking ahead at a beautiful Loch. Can life really get any better?

Jon was buzzing when he came in 30 minutes later, and rightly so. He’d exorcised the demons of two days previous and had done an amazing job. His feet were badly swollen, and he’d really had to dig deep today.

We spent a couple of hours down the pub, where the landlord gave me a bag of ice for my shin, whilst serving me up a heavenly pint of milk. Darren, who later joined us, was easily corrupted to the milk gang.

Saturday - Day 7, Inchnadamph to Kinlochbervie, Distance 61km, Height Gain 1,600m

This morning I decided a shoe switch was in order. With the prolonged heatwave the ground was drying out, and with some road factored into todays route I decided to switch back to my comfier option of NB Leadville’s. It would subsequently involve being more unsteady on the boggier ground throughout various stages today, but on balance I figured it would be worth it.

Psychologically, if I completed today I knew it was the event was in the bag given the relatively shorter distance on day 8. Therefore, left camp on my own at 7am, very motivated, and with the simple mantra of ‘one foot in front of the other and repeat’. I started off very well and took the first long and steady ascent strongly.

After this, I hit some more challenging terrain and I passed Eas a Chual Aluinn Waterfalls, which were spectacular. What followed after this was a horrible stretch for me as I headed to Loch Beag and headed east along the shore. It was absolutely horrendous and slow going, whilst my ankles and knees were going every direction possible. I was in some pain, and was solely focused on the bridge at the end of the Loch and sincerely hoping heading back west along the opposite side would be easier.

Thankfully, the other side was a great deal better and very runnable indeed. It had been sometime since I had run, so it was initially difficult to forge a rhythm. Eventually, I got a good run going towards the waterfall ar Maide Burn, so much so that I overshot my planned turning and had to backtrack 100m.

I then found myself on another steep and steady climb and once again surrounded by spectacular views of the waterfalls followed by Loch a Leathaid Bhuain. After my previous error, I was very mindful that I needed to keep a sharp eye out for the NW path to Ben Dreavie.

After taking the path, I found myself on my own amongst lots of small lochs and in complete tranquility and silence. It was quite a special moment for me, so I decided it was time for lunch and for the first time de-bagged, sat on a rock and just took some time whilst I at a trusty pepperoni wrap. I’d just about finished this when Angus, Alex Reilly and Mark Keddie came by so I gladly joined their company for the next stretch. This started with a trek across rougher ground and required careful navigation. Thus ultimately led to a path which descended into CP1. I was proving to be very slow on the more technical descents and found the others were moving faster than me. However, today was going very well in my mind and I was positive, so I ran and walked into CP1.

Hitting CP1 was important since it meant only 10-12km of the rough stuff before joining the road which would lead to the finish. Beyond CP1 there was a good path to follow and I was able to keep Mark in my sights. There was a slightly tricky navigational part to reach the path along Loch a Garbh-bhaid Moir, but I used my GPS to stay on the right track.

I found the path, and got all excited that this would be a nice coast to the road and could get a good pace going. However, it was anything but and I found it really hard to stay on my feet, and once again I was in a lot of pain. I came across Alex, who looked like he was as fatigued as me. However, no complaints from either of us since we were surrounded by natural beauty and loving it.

I pushed onto the CP2 with a sole mission to get a coke in for Alex and I, since I knew there was a pub. After receiving quite a few weird looks in the bar I managed to get back outside outside and give Alex his ice cold coke before we headed off on the final road section.

This stretch was mostly runnable, with the potential of power walking the ascents. Even though runnable, the legs felt like anything but running but doing this meant the finish line would be arriving quicker. Alex eventually passed me as the coke took effect, and just before the end of the stage and a crazy sprint finish I passed John Minta. I had seen John at the end of day 6, and he looked in a really bad way carrying what looked to be a serious injury. I’d also observed him nailing some really technical terrain in previous stages. This guy was hard as nails, and he’d done amazingly well to get today done in the time he had. I also spent some time with John post event finish, and as it turned out John had gifted his finishers medal to an equally deserving fellow competitor who had unfortunately missed one of the days. I was very humbled by his gesture, and it spoke volumes about him as a person.

At the finish, Jon and Mick were there to see me over the line.

I finished off the day giving the feet a well earned cooling in the Loch and several servings of chips.

Sunday - Day 8,  Kinclochbervie to Cape Wrath, Distance 26km, Height Gain 700m

The route itself was shorter today, but after studying the map it was clear that the second half, after Sandwood Bay, would be tougher going in terms of ascents, descents and terrain. I switched back to the Salomon’s and was ready to go.

I started the day with Jon at walking pace whilst the shin warmed up, and soon enough we were in a steady running pattern. We were also in the company of Mark Keddie and Con Bonner. As we progressed along the first half of the route towards the beach Mark and I found ourselves moving fairly swiftly, with Jon and Con not too far behind.

Up until Sandwood Bay it was fairly easy going, and the actual views of the Bay were an uplifting sight. There seemed little point running on the energy sapping sand so we power walked across and began to ascend. With the terrain now becoming more challenging, along with numerous ascents and descents my shin was once again on fire. I was now becoming extremely slow on the more technical descents, and remembered a group of around 10 runners all easing past me as I struggled on down.

However, today was all about absorbing the final experience and just after Sithean holotaireich we noticed 4-5 runners following a NE bearing, which the map referenced as a military danger area. It didn’t look correct to Mark and I, when verifying against our GPS route, so after trying to call them back we took a more westerly bearing and connected with our route.

All that was left now was to stay on this bearing and find the path that led to the lighthouse at Cape Wrath. Soon enough we did, and settled into a steady run.

It was amazing seeing the lighthouse. The feeling was one of elation, tinged with a bit of sadness that this adventure was nearly over. I managed to run in just as the first minibus was leaving with the lead runners. I was able to high five the windows of the van before crossing the line, and having my picture taken by the iconic lighthouse.