Ben Wyvis, 7 February.

A night-time run up Wyvis with Neil (pictured). Full moon – the summit ridge bathed in a silvery light. Amazing experience.

Ben Wyvis, 2nd January

A wild day on Wyvis today. Some real navigation work required along the plateau, and spindrift made the return heavy going.

This photo is of Fran and Neil at the halfway boulder on the descent. A bit weather beaten!

Ben Nevis Hill Race, 3rd September 2011

I’m the one in the red jacket – it was a bit wet at times and I didn’t want to get cold like I did on the Highland Cross.  Thanks to Bob Baker for this photo, which was taken near the bottom of the path on the descent to the road.

After a summer of fairly good quality training I had high hopes of a fast-ish time this year. In the event I finished in 2:17:04, which although 6 minutes ahead of last years time was a bit slower than I had wanted.  Maybe the weather slowed me a little, but mostly it is just that I can’t get enough oxygen to the muscles for the ascent!  The descent was quite brisk, and I finished stronger than usual – the result of better distance training this year.  I placed 178th out of 480 finishers, which I suppose isn’t bad for a 49-year-old average-ability runner.

I forget so quickly just how brutal this race is - much harder than a marathon, for instance. At least with a marathon you spend the first half of the race feeling fairly comfortable, until the pain sets in later on. But with the Ben Race it is just pain right from the word “go”, with heart rate consistently above 162 throughout, rising to 185 by the finish line, and no opportunity to get into a rhythm at any stage in the race.  The constantly varied terrain makes sure that your legs are trashed by the time you get back down to the easier sections of path and then the road.  The only bit I enjoyed this time was stopping at the end.

So why do I do it?  Hmmm.

Highland Cross, 18th June

A tough day; cold, increasingly wet and windy as the event progressed. This photo was taken at Athnamulloch, after about 2hours of running.  At that point I felt good, although arms were getting cold in the wind/drizzle.
The run was my fastest ever, at 2:59:14. I lost time on the cycle ride, but still managed a PB of 4:39:25 at the finish.

Inverness Half Marathon

A cold day on Sunday, but a fairly good result despite that.1:37:10 is only a minute slower than my last half marathon three years ago.

Snake Charmer!

Now that is something which you don’t often see in Inverness on a Saturday morning!  Apparently they travel around the villages of Sindh providing some light entertainment in return for food and drink.  We were just lucky to be in the right village on the right day!

Saint Nenuram

Saint Nenuram is a Hindu saint, and I had the opportunity to visit his shrine at the Ashram in Islamkot, Sindh.
Nenuram founded the Ashram, and every day at sunset, anyone who came to the Ashram would be given a free meal – irrespective of who they were. Even though it is some years now since Nenuram’s death, his disciples continue this tradition. They made us very welcome. Some lessons here for those of us who follow Jesus.