We posted on the whw forum we were going and found some willing runners. So this morning Lesley McK picked us up at 8.15am, collected Caroline at 8.30am and then Stevie from Erskine at 8.45am.
We arrived to a wet and windy Milngavie Train Station just after 9am where Paul, a friend of Robert S, was waiting for us. I'd seen a tweet from Norry last night saying he was doing the same run so I invited him as well.
Helen L responded from the forum saying she'd like to join us. Then I looked across the car park and a guy in a yellow jacket was wandering over and it was Steven S from Kilbarchan. I've not seen Steven for a while as his shifts mean he can't run on a Monday night any more.
Steven ran the Fling in 2010 and has entered again for next year. It was great to see him and his dog Gyp. So there were 9 of us in total. I asked Helen's husband to take a group photo and we were off ...
If we all look a bit cold it was because we were! But after 15mins of running we'd all warmed up and the rain held off for a while.
The main group ran together with Caroline and Lesley just a few minutes behind. Norry seemed to be stopping to take photos and running between the two groups.
Just after Carbeth Cottages we had our first real downpour and within a few minutes we were all soaked but again thankfully it stopped and we warmed up again.
It was good to catch up with Steven and get to know Helen as we ran ... plus chatting to Stevie and Katrina.
Katrina took a bit of a tumble going past Dumgoyach. Her first comment was, 'oh no I hope I haven't ripped my new gore jacket!'. It was the one she was given for running the Loch Ness Marathon. If you are concerned it was okay and so was she!
The track along Dumgoyne was very wet and our feet were soon wet and cold! We were making good time and having a good run. The rain was intermittent rather than persistent at this stage.
Katrina seemed to leading the way and I was forever telling her to slow down! Well at least twice! She needs to learn her pacing for these longer runs!! But don't tell her I told you that!!
Once we reached Gartness Paul and Norry pushed on running up the hill while the rest of us walked and ate something. After another half mile or so Paul and Norry came towards us as they were only doing 10miles or so out.
A bit later Caroline rang to say she was also going to turn round at 10miles and Lesley was going to 11miles. Katrina ran to 11.5miles and then turned round, caught up with Lesley and they ran back together.
So Steven, Stevie, Helen and I ran on to Drymen pausing for a photo on the field before Drymen ....
If you know Stevie ... don't worry he hasn't put on weight over Christmas .... his bum bag was inside his jacket!
We reached Drymen in 2hrs 08mins and turned round and ran back. We hadn't been running long when it really started to rain and the wind was soooo strong. We were trying to shelter behind big Steven as we ran! I thought Helen might get blown over the fields.
We made good progress back and the time flew we chatted and ran. This was the furthest Stevie has ran for a while so he was happy to run his own pace but he was in sight and not too far behind.
As we ran on the track past Dumgoyach we had the worst of the weather. Even heavier rain coming from behind us. Withing minutes we were well and truly soaked and getting colder. It wasn't too bad when you were running but we didn't want to stop.
We caught up with Katrina and Lesley as we ran past Craigallan Loch. They were going well but looked as though they'd be happy to stop soon! I took Lesley's car key and caught up with Steven and Helen.
We caught up with Caroline with about a mile to go and we ran in together. We arrived back in 4hrs 13mins so the return leg was a minute faster ... a negative split!!
The rain had stopped for the final 30mins or so but if you look at the photo below you can see we are very wet ...
We got changed as quickly as we could and tried to warm up. Katrina, Lesley and then Stevie arrived a few minutes later and we headed home to get a shower and something to eat and drink.
So a great day out in very tough conditions. Another brick in the training wall. Thanks to everyone for your company and especially to Lesley who picked us all up and dropped us all home!
1 comments:
I was really jealous of you guys, as I had to work. Then during my lunctime run - and at risk of ending up in the canal - I wasn't so jealous anymore!! It was wild.
How did Katrina manage to fall in the new resurfaced path?
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